Thus, though she must perform a "masculine" role in order to be successful, she must perform it in a "feminine" way, and thus disrupt the idea of gender. This also ties in quite nicely with Cullen's assertion that the modern individual is defined by love and connection with their family, rather than by their place in society. The very fact that meg is the one to save Charles Wallace is a further affirmation of the willingness -- on the part of both Meg and L'Engle -- to buck the societal roles that have been laid out for women and instead to embrace their own identity based on their love for others, and to a greater or lesser degree the love that others bear them. Of course, the romance that is still blossoming between Meg and Calvin still entrenches this novel somewhat...
The suggestion that the romantic love of and for a male figure helps to complete her identity can be read even more cynically, to imply that neither L'Engle nor her heroine have truly been able to escape societal expectations and demands regarding the proper role and identity for women, but it can als be read as an admonition that singularity of perspective and self-enforced isolation are simply inhuman ways of being.
In the historical world, there seemed to be fewer choices in life for many, and roles as adults were more stringent -- and defined as adult meaning very structured cultural templates. There must then be a bit of a Catch-22 when it comes to the advances made in gender thinking, family, and actualization since the end of World War II. Improvements in education, lifting of the gender-based glass ceiling
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