This week we meet The Happy Medium. Before going to the dark planet, Camazotz, the Mrs W’s take the children to see the Happy Medium, who lives on a planet on Orion’s Belt and who can show them in her crystal ball things that are happening all over the universe. The Medium shows them the evil that is happening, but also the good that is being done to fight the evil, so that the children can achieve a happy medium in their outlook going in to fight the Black Thing.
We also learn about a tesseract. In geometry, a tesseract means the fifth dimension. In the world of A Wrinkle in Time, a tesseract is that as well, but also an exciting and dangerous way to travel through space and time, as the Mrs. W’s and the children do. Mrs. Whatsit attempts to explain it exactly to Meg, Charles, and Calvin, but essentially a tesseract is a shortcut between two points in space and time: a “wrinkle” in time. Mr. Murry and the U.S. government were experimenting around with tesseracts, and he was accidentally whisked off to the dark planet Camazotz; it is by tessering that the more skilled Mrs. W’s take the children around the universe. When Mrs. Whatsit casually mentions a tesseract at the beginning of the story to Mrs. Murry, who turns white, she marks the beginning of the adventure to save Mr. Murry.
As the children travel to meet the Happy Medium, they learn that most creature do not want to experience unpleasant things. The Happy Medium does not wish to look at the places where the dark shadow is lurking. Mrs. Which has the wisdom to acknowledge that even though it might be nicer to look at good things, the essences of those things are threatened by the essence of evil. Because of that, it is important to think beyond what is superficially pleasing and consider how to preserve the things we love and enjoy. As Mrs. Which suggests, this involves deep engagement with bad things. Do you tend to stay away from the bad things, or do you help to make things better? What did Jesus do?
When Calvin asks, “Who have our fighters been?”, who was the first person you thought of? Were you surprised to hear Charles Wallace say Jesus? What do you know about being a light to the world? This thought of being the light brings me to a song that I absolutley love: My Lighthouse, have a listen:
Who are some of the people who have been a light for you? How have they walked along side to push evil or back, or how have they helped and pushed back for you?
When I look at the planet of Camazotz I can’t help but think about people with no free will! Everything must be done just as it is ordered to happen. Do you feel like you are a puppet on a string and God directs every move you make or are you aware that God is there to hold you and sustain you while you venture through life? What is your thought process?
When the children meet the paper boy on Camazotz they learn much about the planet. They hear the boy mention IT and the Central Intelligence which implies the particular kind of trouble that Mr. Murry is in. Camazotz is the embodiment of evil, and this scene lets us know subtly that if these characters are going to save themselves and Mr. Murry they will have to do so by sticking with love and individuality instead of conforming to the relentless norms of Camazotz. “The greatest of these is LOVE.”