Calvin O'Keefe

Calvin O'Keefe
Gregory Smith as Calvin in the television adaptation of A Wrinkle in Time
First appearance	A Wrinkle in Time (1962)
Last appearance	A House Like a Lotus (1984); referred to in An Acceptable Time (1989)
Created by	Madeleine L'Engle
Portrayed by	Gregory Smith (2003 film) Levi Miller (2018 film)
Information
Nickname(s)	Cal (occasionally used by Meg)
Occupation	Student, later marine biologist
Title	Dr. (holds M.D. and Ph.D)
Spouse(s)	Margaret Murry O'Keefe
Children	Polly, Charles, Xan, Den, Peggy, Johnny, Rosy
Relatives	parents Paddy and Branwen; siblings Hinky and Whippy, and eight unnamed siblings)

Calvin O'Keefe is a major character in Madeleine L'Engle's Time Quartet series of books, and, as "Dr. Calvin O'Keefe", an important character in her O'Keefe series of young adult novels. In an interview released on the DVD of the TV adaptation of A Wrinkle in Time, L'Engle describes Calvin as "the boy that we all, all us girls want to meet. Not all of us are lucky enough to meet a Calvin, but I was. And I married mine."

Calvin is tall and skinny, with red hair, freckles, and blue eyes, and is a popular boy on the basketball team as an adolescent. Being bright, he is already a high school junior at the age of fourteen. However, he does not feel that anyone understands or cares about him until he becomes close friends with the unpopular Meg Murry.

He is the third eldest child of Paddy and Branwen O'Keefe, who have eleven children and seemingly neglect all of them. Calvin considers himself a biological "sport" and different from the rest of his family. Meg agrees, and wonders in A Swiftly Tilting Planet how a family like that could have produced someone like Calvin. As Calvin says in A Wrinkle in Time: "I love them all, and they don't give a hoot about me." When invited to the Murry house, Calvin intuits that "For the first time in my life I'm going home!"

Being poor, the O'Keefes are unable to afford new clothes to accommodate Calvin's growth spurts, and he often wears clothes that are too short for him. Calvin has told Meg that one point in seventh grade he had to make do with women's shoes that were much too small for him. The school principal, Mr. Jenkins, bought him new ones, carefully scuffing them first to make them appear used. Later Calvin earned enough money in summer jobs to buy his own shoes and other necessities.

Mrs. Whatsit says that Calvin's great gift is "to communicate with all kinds of people." Calvin communicates best with Meg, and is able to share a telepathic link with her, called "kything". Even as early as their first adventure together, they form a close attachment, according to L'Engle: "Meg couldn't have rescued herself if she hadn't had the love of Calvin behind her."

As an adult, Calvin O'Keefe is a marine biologist, famous for his work on regeneration in starfish and other animals as well as his environmental work. He is married to Meg, and the father of seven children: Polyhymnia (better known as Poly or Polly), Charles, Alexander (initially called Sandy, later nicknamed Xan), Dennys (Den), Peggy (presumably short for Margaret), Johnny and Mary (nicknamed Rosy). Calvin is described as "a loving father but not over-protective", who "treats his children with respect." Calvin works on the remote fictional island of Gaea off the coast of Portugal for several years before moving the family to fictional Benne Seed Island off the coast of South Carolina.