Adam Eddington III is a major character in three

young adult In medicine and the social sciences, a young adult is generally a person in the years following adolescence, sometimes with some overlap. Definitions and opinions on what qualifies as a young adult vary, with works such as Erik Erikson's stages ...

novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

s by

Madeleine L'Engle Madeleine L'Engle (; November 29, 1918 – September 6, 2007) was an American writer of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and young adult fiction, including ''A Wrinkle in Time'' and its sequels: '' A Wind in the Door'', '' A Swiftly Tilting Planet'' ...

. A

marine biology Marine biology is the scientific study of the biology of marine life, organisms that inhabit the sea. Given that in biology many scientific classification, phyla, family (biology), families and genera have some species that live in the sea and ...

student, he is the protagonist of '' The Arm of the Starfish'' (

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The First Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lynd ...

), and a reluctant romantic

love interest (; ) were stock characters within the theatre style known as commedia dell'arte, who appeared in 16th-century Italy. In the plays, everything revolved around the lovers in some regard. These dramatic and posh characters were present within pl ...

for

Vicky Austin Victoria "Vicky" Austin is one of Madeleine L'Engle's frequently used fictional characters, appearing in eight books and referred to in at least one more. She is the protagonist of the Austin family series of books being the first person narrator of ...

in '' A Ring of Endless Light'' (

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

), a romantic relationship that continues in '' Troubling a Star'' (

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

). He is one of three characters to have major appearances in both L'Engle's O'Keefe family series of books and her Austin family series.

Major traits

Adam is highly intelligent, with a strong aptitude for science, especially marine biology, a field in which Adam's uncle and namesake made a name for himself a generation earlier. Although he describes himself as "not a churchgoer", he sang in a church choir as a child and retains a strong moral sense along with a questioning, philosophical nature. Initially somewhat naive, Adam unwisely trusts a beautiful young woman in ''The Arm of the Starfish'', which results in the death of a friend. Because of this, Adam tries unsuccessfully to maintain an emotional distance from Vicky Austin when he meets her the following summer. He appreciates Vicky for her kind, forthright, and poetic nature and the two become close to each other anyway. By the end of his third and final appearance, Adam and Vicky appear to have formed quite a strong and close, lasting romantic relationship.

Appearances

''The Arm of the Starfish''

''The Arm of the Starfish'' (1965, ) introduces readers to the character and establishes much of his early history in its opening pages. A 16-year-old

student, he has recently graduated from

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

and plans to attend the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

the following winter. The son of a

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...

who teaches at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

, Adam has been spending his summers with his family in

Woods Hole, Massachusetts Woods Hole is a census-designated place in the town of Falmouth in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States. It lies at the extreme southwestern corner of Cape Cod, near Martha's Vineyard and the Elizabeth Islands. The population was 78 ...

, where he has assisted elderly marine biologist "Old Doc" Didymus "ever since I was a kid". It is said that he considered himself "worldly" due to growing up in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, but this changes when Carolyn "Kali" Cutter exposes him to the wider world. Principled but naive, Adam has trouble determining who can or cannot be trusted in the struggle between the Cutters, the O'Keefes, and their respective allies.

''A Ring of Endless Light''

''A Ring of Endless Light'' (1980, ) finds Adam working with dolphins on Seven Bay Island. Here he meets

and recruits her for his experiments in dolphin communication. Because of his negative experience with Kali Cutter in ''The Arm of the Starfish'' (as theorized by John Austin, Vicky's brother), Adam is initially unwilling to think of Vicky as a potential girlfriend, choosing instead to think of her as a "child". However, by the end of the book, he has become so close to Vicky that he hears her telepathically "call" him to the hospital.

''Troubling a Star''

''Troubling a Star'' (1994, ) continues the story of Adam's relationship with Vicky and also the progress of his education and career in marine biology. He has the opportunity to live and work in

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...

, where his uncle, Adam Eddington II, worked and died. (In the book, Eddington Point in Antarctica, where LeNoir Station is located, is named after Adam's uncle.) Adam's great aunt Serena, widow of Adam Eddington I (a banker) and mother of Adam Eddington II, is introduced. She gives Vicky the trip to Antarctica that drives the story. Adam quotes

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

(especially from ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

'') to Vicky in his letters and postcards, trying to obliquely warn her of the same kind of dangers that resulted in his uncle's murder a generation earlier. When Vicky inadvertently runs afoul of soldiers and a drug kingpin from the fictional

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

n dictatorship of Vespugia, she is stranded on an iceberg, but Adam finds her.

References

External links

L'Engle's Official Site

IMDB entry for the film of ''A Ring of Endless Light''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eddington, Adam Fictional biologists Literary characters introduced in 1965 Madeleine L'Engle characters Male characters in literature