A Wind in the Door (originally called A Wind in the Door in English) is a novel fantastic science fiction for young adults, written in 1973 by the American writer Madeliene L’Engle (1918-2007).
Synopsis
The main character Meg Murry is worried about her brother Charles Wallace, a 6-year-old genius bullied at school by the other children. The new principal of the elementary school is the former principal of the secondary school, Mr. Jenkins, who has often disciplined Meg, and who Meg is sure has a grudge against her entire family. Meg tries to enlist Jenkins’ help to protect her brother, but is unsuccessful. Later, Meg discovers that her brother has a progressive disease that leaves him breathless. His mother, a microbiologist, suspects that it may be a disorder of his mitochondria and the faking of his mitochondria (fictional microfiches) inside the mitochondria.
One afternoon, Charles tells Meg of a “dragon ride” in his backyard, where he and Meg discover a bunch of unusual feathers. Later, Meg has a terrifying encounter with a monstrous facsimile of Mr. Jenkins. That night, Meg, Charles and their friend Calvin O’Keefe discover that Charles Wallace “drive of dragons” is an extraterrestrial “cherub” named Proginoskes (nicknamed ‘Progo’ by Meg), under the tutelage of the immense humanoid Blajeny, who recruits the three children to counter the Echthroi.
Meg’s first task, the next day, is to distinguish the real Mr. Jenkins from two double Echthroi, by identifying the (potential) goodness in him despite his personal resentment. The protagonists then learn that Echthroi is destroying Charles Wallace’s showcases, and they travel inside one of his mitochondria, to persuade a larval showgirl, named Sporos, to accept her role as a mature showgirl, against the urges of a Echthros. In the process, Meg is nearly wiped out, and Mr. Jenkins is invaded by her double Echthros; then Proginoskes sacrifices himself to “fill” Echthroi’s void, and Charles is saved.
Characters
- Meg Murry: She is a high school student, a defensive misfit who gets along better with her family and her new friend Calvin O’Keefe. She is considered “repulsive” and “silly”, although she is quite good at math. By the time of A Wind in the Door, she is much happier in school than before, partly because of her friendship with Calvin, but she is deeply concerned for Charles Wallace. By “naming” Mr. Jenkins, Meg learns to love and appreciate someone she has always resented. Over the course of the story, Meg also learns to “kythe” with Calvin, Proginoskes and others, communicating with them essentially by telepathy .
- Charles Wallace – Known for being very intelligent and also a telepathic being. He is something new and different, biologically and “in essence” according to his mother . He is usually the first to discover certain items important to the books , including the unique cherub Proginoskes. He is bullied by other children and misunderstood by adults outside his family. He recognizes that this is a problem he must solve on his own, that like any new life form , he must learn to successfully adapt to his environment in order to survive. He has blue eyes, and is said to be small for his age. He also has mitochondritis.
- Calvin O’Keefe – tall and skinny with orange hair , freckles and blue eyes, he’s a popular kid on the basketball team . From A Wind in the Door, and is a senior year of high school at the age of fifteen, and president of the class. However, he didn’t feel like anyone understood or cared about him until he became friends with the Murry family. He is the third oldest child of Paddy and Branwen O’Keefe, who have eleven children and are apparently neglectful of all of them.
- Jenkins: He became the principal of Charles WallaceElementary School , an apparent demotion. He is said to have dandruff , thinning auburn hair and smells like “old hair cream”, and is considered by Meg to be a failure and a hindrance. However, later in the book, Meg respects the man who is often overlooked.
- Proginoskes: is a “singular cherub” that seems to resemble a Seraph; he becomes a particular friend of Meg. “Progo” has what looks like hundreds of constantly moving wings , a large number and variety of eyes (which Meg seems to go through at some points in the book), and “jets of flame” and smoke. He doesn’t always take material form, and even when he does, as he tells Meg, not everyone can see him. Like Meg, Proginoskes is a Namer, and once learned the names of all the stars . The character’s own name means “prior knowledge.” He teaches and helps Meg Kythe, which is a form of telepathy
