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Mr. Murry
First appearing to Meg, Charles Wallace, and Calvin as an old, funnily dressed woman, Mrs. Whatsit is nothing close to what she appears to be. She was a star who gave her life to fight the darkness—now she is a beautiful winged centaur-like creature, when she's not taken on the form of an eccentrically dressed tramp. Calvin describes her—along with Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Which— as angels and messengers of God, for they are fighters for the good, are on the side of God, and are there to help but not directly intervene in what the children must do to save their father and themselves from IT.
Mrs. Whatsit Quotes in A Wrinkle in Time
The A Wrinkle in Time quotes below are all either spoken by Mrs. Whatsit or refer to Mrs. Whatsit. 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 4 Quotes
"Should I change, too?" Mrs. Who asked. "Oh, but I've had fun in these clothes. But I'll have to admit Mrs. Whatsit is the best at it. Das Werk lobt den Meister. German. The work proves the craftsman. Shall I transform now, too?
Related Characters:
Mrs. Who (speaker), Mrs. Whatsit
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Page Number and Citation:
72
Explanation and Analysis:
This is a very concrete instance in which the book is addressing the conflict between appearance and reality. While Meg had initially assumed that the three Mrs. W's were all vaguely distasteful because of their appearances, she is here being shown quite literally that their appearances have nothing to do with what they actually are. Furthermore, this changing of appearances comes off as a game. Meg takes appearances seriously enough to base character judgments on them, while these women engage in whimsical transformations of themselves at will. They clearly have no attachment to any one appearance except in the ways in which appearances can be put on for fun.
This is also a scene in which language, like appearance, is shown to be disconnected from reality. Mrs. Which is dressed up like a witch. This is a pun on her name, but it also suggests a deeper truth, which is that language – like superficial appearance – sometimes only masks what is true. It also shows that language can be a game, like appearance, that can be tried on and cast aside.
"Listen, then," Mrs. Whatsit said. The resonant voice rose and the words seemed to be all around them so that Meg felt that she could almost reach out and touch them: "Sing unto the Lord a new song, and his praise from the end of the earth, ye that go down to the sea, and all that is therein..."
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Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 5 Quotes
"Who have our fighters been?" Calvin asked.
"Oh, you must know them, dear," Mrs. Whatsit said.
Mrs. Who's spectacles shone out at them triumphantly, "And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not."
"Jesus!" Charles Wallace said. "Why of course, Jesus!"
"Of course!" Mrs. Whatsit said. "Go on, Charles, love. There were others. All your great artists. They've been lights for us to see by."
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Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 11 Quotes
"Angels!" Calvin shouted suddenly from across the table. "Guardian angels!" There was a moment's silence, and he shouted again, his face tense with concentration, "Messengers! Messengers of God!"
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Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 12 Quotes
"You mean you're comparing our lives to a sonnet? A strict form, but freedom within it?"
"Yes." Mrs. Whatsit said. "You're given the form, but you have to write the sonnet yourself. What you say is completely up to you."
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Mrs. Whatsit Character Timeline in A Wrinkle in Time
The timeline below shows where the character Mrs. Whatsit appears in A Wrinkle in Time. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1
...absurd amount of brightly colored clothing. Charles seems to know her and calls her Mrs. Whatsit. Meg is very suspicious of her, considering her strange clothes and the time of night,...
(full context)
As Mrs. Murry calmly helps Mrs. Whatsit to take her water-filled boots off, Mrs. Whatsit reveals out of the blue that she...
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Chapter 2
...her with a snack, Fortinbras on a leash, and a plan to go visit Mrs. Whatsit (who is staying, it turns out, in the haunted house not far from their property)....
(full context)
As they near Mrs. Whatsit's house, Meg and Charles are surprised to run into a boy from Meg's school: Calvin...
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The three of them approach the haunted house and don't find Mrs. Whatsit, but instead a friend of hers, Mrs. Who, inside. Mrs. Who is a plump, cheerful...
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...confused. Charles doesn't know quite what's going on yet but says that he's sure Mrs. Whatsit and Mrs. Who can be trusted. Calvin is happy, feeling as if he's going home...
(full context)
Chapter 3
...but tells them that the time has come for them to find Mr. Murry. Mrs. Whatsit and Mrs. Who suddenly appear out of nowhere, and the children then meet their third...
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Chapter 4
...very much autumn in the Murry's village) with a tall mountain in the background. Mrs. Whatsit and Mrs. Who materialize nearby, and Mrs. Which appears as a shimmery witch, which Mrs....
(full context)
At this point, at Mrs. Which's command, Mrs. Whatsit shape-shifts into her real form. She is not a funny old woman, but a magnificent...
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As they fly over a group of creatures just like Mrs. Whatsit, they hear them making a beautiful music whose song Mrs. Whatsit roughly translates into their...
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...the children are given oxygen-omitting flowers so they can breathe in the thinning atmosphere. Mrs. Whatsit reaches the top of the mountain, and the children disembark to gaze at the stars...
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Chapter 5
...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 time and...
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...Orion's belt. As they cross a nondescript plain and enter a dark stone cavern, Mrs. Whatsit explains that they're there to visit the Happy Medium. The Medium looks rather like a...
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Chapter 6
...Darkness in a part of the galaxy. Mrs. Which reveals that that is what Mrs. Whatsit did: she was once a star, and gave her life in the battle against the...
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Mrs. Whatsit tells the children that she cannot come with them in search of Mr. Murry; they...
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Chapter 8
...down and eats turkey dinner, he tells Meg and Calvin that they were wrong, that the Mrs. W's were their real enemies the whole time. He is colder, crueler, and stronger, and tells...
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Chapter 11
...better as angels or messengers of God, but the beasts still don't understand…when suddenly Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Which appear!
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Chapter 12
As in previous times when they've appeared, Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Which cannot fully materialize on the beasts' planet. Meg begins complaining...
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...out, "All right, I'll go, I know you want me to go!" To which Mrs. Whatsit sternly replies, "We want nothing from you that you do without grace, or that you...
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...Calvin immediately protest Meg going back to Camazotz alone. But they are persuaded when Mrs. Whatsit tells them that she and the Happy Medium have both seen that for Meg to...
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...from Calvin. Again, the Mrs. W's each give Meg a gift for her journey. Mrs. Whatsit simply gives Meg her love, Mrs. Whatsit's love for her. Mrs. Who gives her a...
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...she appears, he begins to speak to her coldly and cruelly, telling her that Mrs. Whatsit is on ITs side and other lies. Meg begins to hate this Charles so much...
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...all share a joyful family reunion. Suddenly the Mrs. W's appear, deepening their joy. Mrs. Whatsit apologizes for failing to say goodbye earlier, and mentions that they are already involved in...
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