Charles Wallace Murry
| Charles Wallace Murry | |
|---|---|
| First appearance | A Wrinkle in Time, 1962 |
| Last appearance | A Swiftly Tilting Planet, 1978 |
| Created by | Madeleine L'Engle |
| Portrayed by |
David Dorfman (2003 film) Deric McCabe (2018 film) |
| Information | |
| Nickname(s) | Charles Wallace, Chuck, Charlie (latter only by Mom O'Keefe) |
| Species | human but "something new" |
| Gender | male |
| Occupation | none initially, later a student |
| Family | Parents: Drs. Alex and Kate Murry Sister: Meg Murry Twin brothers: Sandy and Dennys Murry |
| Relatives | nephew Charles O'Keefe, niece Polly O'Keefe |
Charles Wallace Murry is a major character in Madeleine L'Engle's Time Quintet series of young adult science fiction novels. He is first introduced in L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time as the youngest sibling of the protagonist, Meg Murry, and accompanying her on her adventures alongside Calvin O'Keefe.
Charles Wallace has blue eyes, and is repeatedly described as small for his age. At five, Charles Wallace has the intellect and a vocabulary of a college student. His size is also offset (somewhat) by a mature and serious demeanor.
Of the Murry children, Charles Wallace stands out as being the most extraordinary. In the first book, it is mentioned that Charles Wallace did not learn to talk until he was almost four but afterwards began talking in full sentences, skipping over the "baby preliminaries.” He always speaks in a very formal manner with no slang or abbreviations much as an adult professor would. Charles possesses an almost unfathomable amount of intellect and knowledge for his age. At the beginning of Charles’ character development, this immense intelligence makes Charles in danger of falling into complacency and arrogance about his abilities.
Charles Wallace is also characterized by a sense that he is in some way, alien and not fully human. Although none of the novels explicitly say that Charles Wallace is anything but human, there are many hints throughout that Charles possesses senses and knowledge that are not of this world. He is telepathic and able to pick up on what those closest to him are thinking and feeling especially Mrs. Murray and Meg. He often senses or knows about things which are about to happen before the other characters. Charles also has a much more open mind than his older siblings and friends. Although he does not believe in the childish fantasies of most young children, he is the most open to the impossible and fantastic such as when the cherubim Progo appears in the "Wind in the Door."
Because of his extreme intelligence and other-worldly nature, he is often bullied by other children and misunderstood by adults outside his family. He is often beaten up by older children at school and ridiculed by adults in town.
Charles Wallace prefers to be called Charles Wallace rather than Charlie or Chuck, as noted in Wind and Planet, but Meg frequently calls him simply Charles. In A Swiftly Tilting Planet, he allows Mrs. O'Keefe to call him Chuck, correctly guessing that she is identifying him with someone from her personal past (her brother, as it turns out).
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