44 pages • 1 hour read
Madeleine L'EngleA Wind In The Door
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 1973A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 10-12Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 10 Summary: “Yadah”
Meg continues to help Mr. Jenkins kythe. She tells him about the Echthroi-Mr. Jenkins following them into Yadah and about Sporos. He struggles to accept this new information but continues to try. Meg also tries to help him understand how fara can communicate when they’re not a person or animal. Mr. Jenkins becomes overwhelmed, so Calvin kythes to Meg and offers to help.
Calvin tells Mr. Jenkins about a science project he did when he was nine. He wanted to learn more about plant response, so he planted three bean seeds, placing one in his home’s kitchen and two in a window at the library. He watered one of the library seeds but tried to nurture and love the other library seed as well as the one at his house. The first seed grew into a small plant because of the unhealthy environment Calvin’s family created. The second plant was average, but the third was large and healthy because of Calvin’s affection and care. Calvin explains to Mr. Jenkins that love is what made the difference and that the plants can communicate despite the distance between them.
Proginoskes confirms that Meg has been close to Calvin and Mr. Jenkins while kything regardless of the distance between them. Proginoskes explains to Mr. Jenkins that their next test is to Name Sporos, but they must help him Deepen first. Mr. Jenkins questions why Charles Wallace is so important, and Proginoskes tells him this is a pattern in human history. One small change in an event or life changes everything.
Chapter 11 Summary: “Sporos”
Meg and the others listen to the farae sing a song of the universe with the stars. They say few of the farandolae on Yadah are Deepening, so the singing from other galaxies helps the farae maintain their energy. The farae know the Echthroi are working on the farandolae. Meg watches Sporos and a group of farandolae dance chaotically and take nourishment from a fara named Senex, the fara where Sporos was born. The farandolae constantly swirl each fara, draining them of their energy.
Meg hears the farae’s song falter and sees a vision of Charles Wallace struggling to breathe. She knows these result from the farandolae’s dance and the farae’s lack of energy. Meg tries to kythe this image to Sporos but gets no response from him. A voice encourages the farandolae not to Deepen. The farae begin to weaken, so Meg tries to call Sporos out from the group of dancing farandolae. Something whips at her, stopping her kythe. Meg hears the Echthros-Mr. Jenkins tell the farandolae to kill the farae. Mr. Jenkins then kythes to Meg to help her regain her composure. He’s beginning to understand the situation better than Meg, so Mr. Jenkins tells Meg they’re fighting for their lives, not just Charles Wallace’s. Proginoskes agrees and explains that they’re all connected, so Meg has to focus on Sporos, not Charles Wallace.
Calvin kythes to Sporos, and Sporos kythes back that he doesn’t need their help. Calvin and Proginoskes tell Sporos that they need him, but Sporos withdraws. Calvin suggests they fill the vacuum the Echthroi create. He urges Sporos to work with him because they are partners. The Echthros-Mr. Jenkins continues to persuade Sporos to ignore them, but Calvin persists. Proginoskes begins to kythe, but it is so gentle it overpowers the Echthroi’s noise. Proginoskes tells Sporos he is needed and unique. Meg and Calvin then join Sporos in his dance around the farae because they are partners. Meg feels herself dying as she loses her strength. Mr. Jenkins holds her, and his love revives her. A ring of Echthroi-Mr. Jenkinses surround the real Mr. Jenkins, and Meg moves away to be with Calvin. The Echthroi-Mr. Jenkinses go into the real Mr. Jenkins, leaving only one remaining. Meg begs Sporos to Deepen to save them. Sporos realizes Mr. Jenkins sacrificed himself to save everyone else, so he turns to his fellow farandolae and tells them it’s time to Deepen.
The farae continue their song as the farandolae Deepen and join in the singing. Meg feels relief after accomplishing her second test, but Proginoskes reminds her she has one more test to complete: save Mr. Jenkins.
Chapter 12 Summary: “A Wind in the Door”
Mr. Jenkins reaches toward the others says he allowed the Echthroi to come into him and tells them to join him in Xing. Sporos, now a fara like Senex, kythes to the group and says he’ll sing, which the Echthroi can’t stand. He calls on the other Deepening farandolae to save their galaxy, Charles Wallace.
Meg argues with Mr. Jenkins and sees images of Calvin trying to pull the real Mr. Jenkins out of the Echthroi’s grasp. The Echthroi hit Calvin and begin to X him. Proginoskes tells Meg to kythe to Mr. Jenkins because he can’t help him. Meg kythes to Mr. Jenkins and sees his true self, not the principal she once hated. He reminds Meg to fill the vacuum, and Calvin kythes that he agrees. Meg throws herself into the Echthroi, telling Calvin and Mr. Jenkins to help her fill the Echthroi.
Proginoskes senses that the Echthroi are Xing Meg, Calvin, and Mr. Jenkins, so he also throws himself into the Echthroi. Meg realizes she must follow Mr. Jenkins’s example, so she holds the Echthroi by holding Calvin, Mr. Jenkins, and Charles Wallace, remembering that size does not matter. She then names the Echthroi and tells them she loves them. Meg also shows the Echthroi they are connected to everything. Senex, Sporos, and the other farae, farandolae, and galaxies join her.
Meg suddenly sees she is back in Charles Wallace’s room and is embracing her brother. Calvin, Mr. Jenkins, the twins, Mr. and Mrs. Murry, and Dr. Colubra are in the room too. Charles Wallace is sitting up and breathing normally. Meg tells her parents she was in one of Charles Wallace’s mitochondria. They believe her, but the twins don’t. Mr. Jenkins confirms Meg’s statement, adding that he will work to improve the elementary school if Charles Wallace learns to adapt.
The adults and the twins go downstairs to prepare dinner. Calvin tells Meg that Proginoskes Xed himself, but because he is Named he’s ok. Proginoskes chose to X, so the Echthroi don’t have him.
After dinner, Dr. Colubra orders Charles Wallace back to bed. He tells Meg and Calvin to look around the north pasture; they go but don’t find anything. On the way back to the house, Calvin and Meg see Louise the Larger in the garden. Meg feels comfort and reassurance about Proginoskes as Louise slithers away. They return to the house, and Meg goes upstairs to see Charles Wallace.
Chapters 10-12 Analysis
This final section closes out the plot and establishes the novel’s climax, falling action, and resolution. The novel’s climax occurs when Meg completes her third test by saving Mr. Jenkins from the consuming Echthroi. She does so by maturing in her character and sacrificing her own life for the sake of his. Proginoskes likewise sacrifices himself when the Echthroi ensnares Meg. The combined strength of all four characters finally overpowers the Echthroi. Though Proginoskes voluntarily Xes in the process, Meg and Calvin immediately transport back to the Murry house, and the Echthroi disappear. Because the climax occurs in the last chapter, the falling action is brief. The family chats momentarily about where Meg has been and Charles Wallace’s miraculous recovery. They then have dinner as a family, as if nothing extraordinary has occurred. The novel’s resolution happens when Meg and Calvin find comfort and strength from one another and when Meg returns to her house from the pasture and goes upstairs to talk to Charles Wallace. This moment of family togetherness brings the theme the Power of Relationships into the fore.
The pace and tension in this section are markedly different than the rest of the novel. The other chapters of the book move along at an average reading pace with growing suspense but without feeling chaotic and panicky. Beginning in Chapter 10, however, L’Engle’s speed and style shift significantly, with shorter sentences and more action, increasing the tension for her readers. This sudden increase in pace directly reflects the chaotic rhythm of the farandolae’s dancing. The farandolae surround each fara to take its energy and nourishment, and they do so in a chaotic dance, circling the fara repeatedly. The tension created in the farandolae’s dance increases the characters’ fear, as they know they must convince Sporos to Deepen despite his desire to keep dancing. The imagery of the farandolae dancing and the characters' panic work with L’Engle’s increased writing pace to add further tension to the novel’s climax and make the novel's end more impactful and exciting for the reader.
Lastly, this section of the novel offers some lessons for young readers. Sporos is a young farandolae, and the Echthroi try to convince him that he doesn’t need to Deepen—mature, in other words—because he deserves to be free to move around and do as he pleases. The Echthroi make being responsible and grounded appear dull. They also point out that Sporos and the other farandolae will be controlled by the adult farae when the farandolae should be in control of themselves. This conflict between the Echthroi and the farandolae reflects many adolescents’ struggle to find their place in the world. Teenagers especially want the freedom to explore and do as they please, thinking that growing up and acting maturely is something to be avoided. Thus, Sporos’s struggle to Deepen symbolizes the conflict many of the book’s readers must face as they mature and become adults. Ultimately, Sporos is an example of overcoming that struggle and the benefits of growing up and moving on.
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By Madeleine L'Engle
