the foolish and the weak summary
Answers
Answer:
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 to them about her father, but they, who clearly have a lot of respect for Meg's father, will have none of it. Mr. Murry tells them that he is going to try to return to Camazotz to get Charles back, but Mrs. Which tells him that were he to go he would not be successful. Calvin then offers to go, since he almost got through to Charles those few times, but Mrs. Whatsit forbids it, saying that he would have to go so deep into IT to save Charles that Calvin himself would be lost. A silence follows.
In this scene, the respect and love that the Mrs. W's show to Mr. Murry and Calvin in not letting them go to Camazotz and that Mr. Murry and Calvin show for Charles by offering to go by themselves is admirable…only Meg hasn't show this spirit of self-sacrifice coming from love yet.
Themes
The Value of Love Theme Icon
Meg realizes that she is the one who must rescue Charles. She feels terrified and overwhelmed, bursts into tears, and cries 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 do without understanding." And with that sentence, Meg's resentment leaves her. She forgives her father in her heart, and then clearly explains to all of them that she understands it must be her, because she out of all of them knows and loves Charles best.
One of the most important points of the book is that acts of love must be freely given: Meg's going to Camazotz is worthless unless she chooses to do it of her own free will. She matures when she sees that only she can save Charles, and when she chooses to put herself in grave danger out of love for him, not out of a sense of coercion from the Mrs. W's. To act from coercion, without understanding, would be a kind of conformity.
Themes
The Value of Love Theme Icon
Mr. Murry and 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 go alone is the only way Charles may be saved, though they don't know what will happen…but they do believe she will succeed, because it is her fate. When Calvin asks if they know what's going to happen, Mrs. Whatsit tells him they don't, because that would be living like the people on Camazotz, with their lives all planned out for them. She explains to a confused Calvin that fate and freedom are compatible, just like a poet is constrained by a certain rhyme and meter in a sonnet but can say whatever he likes in the lines.
There is a sense of Divine Providence in the events of this novel; Mrs. Whatsit and the Medium somehow know ahead of time what will happen, yet Meg must choose all the right things on her own for the events to take place. She is able to have total freedom within those foreseen events because she can always choose which path she goes down. This wrestling match between fate and freedom recalls writings of Boethius and Augustine on how God can know and have power over everything, yet people can still be free.
Themes
Nonconformity Theme Icon The Value of Love Theme Icon
Related Quotes
Blue quotation bubble icon linking to an important quote associated with this summary and analysis.
The time comes for Meg to leave for Camazotz. She thanks the beasts and Aunt Beast, embraces her father lovingly, and, to her surprise, receives a kiss 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 quote from Scripture of which the first line is: "The foolishness of God is 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 the children had first arrived, and gives Meg her gift, which is the knowledge that Meg has something that IT does not have…but Mrs. Which says that Meg must be the one to discover what that thing is.
Answer:
Yes the process is foolish and the weak summary