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 in Chapter 5, but a tesseract is essentially 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.
Tesseract Quotes in A Wrinkle in Time
The A Wrinkle in Time quotes below all refer to the symbol of Tesseract. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 1
Quotes
"The tesseract—" Mrs. Murry whispered. "What did she mean? How could she have known?"
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Tesseract Symbol Timeline in A Wrinkle in Time
The timeline below shows where the symbol Tesseract appears in A Wrinkle in Time. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1
...stole the constable's wife's sheets, and furthermore, that there is such a thing as a "tesseract". While Charles and Meg have no idea what this means, Mrs. Murry turns white and...
(full context)
Chapter 3
...says yes, because she misses their father so much, and Mrs. Whatsit's mention of the tesseract has aggravated it. When Meg presses for a further explanation, her mother tells her that...
(full context)
Chapter 4
...They're currently standing on a planet outside Earth's galaxy, and they got there by a tesseract, which is a way to travel instantaneously through space and time.
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Chapter 5
...and is behind the dark shadow. And they are going to get to him by tessering. Mrs. Whatsit then explains to Meg what a tesseract is: it's like a wrinkle in...
(full context)
Then the group once more tessers. This time, it's an even more painful experience, since the Mrs. W's accidentally take them...
(full context)
Chapter 6
The three Mrs. W's and the three children then leave the Happy Medium, and tesser to Camazotz, the dark planet on which Mr. Murry is held captive. This time, the...
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Chapter 9
...rhythm, but IT is becoming too much for her. Calvin shouts for Mr. Murry to tesser them away, Mr. Murry grabs their wrists and does so. The tessering is so painful...
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Chapter 10
...how he ended up on Camazotz. It turns out it was never his intention to tesser to Camazotz—along with some other scientists he was trying to tesser to Mars, but he...
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...to her that if they'd tried to rip Charles from the clutches of IT by tessering with him, it might have destroyed his mind. Her main disappointment is in her father:...
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Chapter 11
...they are also fighters against the Black Thing. They reveal that it is, in fact, tessering through the Black Thing that has caused Meg's injuries. Despite herself, Meg feels calm and...
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Chapter 12
...wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men." Mrs. Which then tessers with Meg to Camazotz, leaving her on the same spot outside the town at which...
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...into her arms, sobbing her name, and, after the abrupt and cold feeling of a tesseract, they find themselves back home in the Murry's backyard, along with Calvin and Mr. Murry!...
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