Our Greatest True Love — An Analysis of Howl’s Moving Castle
Howl’s Moving Castle is a film that attacks the fear of growing up and maturing into an adult. A fear that, let’s be honest, we all have. In this paper, I will be discussing the way that Howl’s Moving Castle goes about the question of maturing by observing Sophie, the girl that didn’t love herself, and Howl, the man-child, along with some of the other lovely characters this movie introduces us to. I will also be referring to a lovely man by the name of Adam Dobay, who is a film analyst and has spent lots of his time analyzing Studio Ghibli films. So, without further ado, let’s dig into Howl’s Moving Castle.
“They Say That The Best Blaze Burns The Brightest When Circumstances Are At There Worst.” -Sophie
I chose this film, not only for its beautiful animation style and coloring, but also because of the impact it has had on my own personal life. While Studio Ghibli has many films with many different stories to tell and characters to tell them, Sophie was the character I related to the most. From my very first time watching the film I felt like Sophie was a sort of kindred spirit. At the beginning of the film, we see Sophie sitting at a table, making a hat, and in front of her is this large window. A window that gives her a perfect view of the world and people in front of her. But, instead of going out and enjoying the world she chooses to stay inside her safe and comfortable hat shop. Cassiel, my first interviewee, said it best: “She could see the world and it was almost like reachable, but she was, especially in her mind, she thought she was too ugly.” She didn’t believe that she mixed well with the other ladies in the hat shop, or her sister and mother. But, at the same time, the viewer can know that deep down Sophie wants to be a part of that outside world. This aspect of her character that is shown within the first 15 minutes of the film is what drew me in and kept me watching until the very end.
This leads me into the conversation of Sophie as a character. As I stated previously, Sophie doesn’t believe herself to be beautiful. She hides away in her little hat shop, not because she doesn’t want to go outside but because she sees the dark parts of the world and believes it’s better inside. Adam Dobay said it best in his article: “Of course, she doesn’t want to live her life in the back room making hats, but her experience is that it’s still better in here than out there.”. This is a sentiment that plays a huge role in how she reacts to being cursed by the Witch of the Waste. She’s quick to embrace it, happy with the fact that she can skip adulting and move on to being a happy old lady and not worry about her appearance. You can’t really blame her for being happy about the skip. If you look at the adults that surround Sophie you see greedy people who chase money, fame, and glory. They want power and do nothing but manipulate others. Her sister Lettie lets her life revolve entirely around the fact that she’s pretty and her mother is the same way. Taking all those people into account, and of course, the intruding, catcalling men that appear (other than Howl), of course, Sophie was happy to skip through all those adult years.
The whole idea behind Sophie's character, to me and Cassiel, is self-love. As the film goes on the viewer see’s that whenever Sophie gets riled up or passionate (and when she’s sleeping) she returns to her younger appearance, showcasing that the only curse that Sophie is under is the idea that she is ugly. Whenever she stops thinking about her appearance the curse disappears. The only curse she is truly under is her own self-perception. Cassiel mentioned this in her interview when I asked her about what character she related to the most. “When I was younger, I felt like I was an outcast. I felt like I couldn’t be seen as beautiful especially because of my weight and growing up and finding a beautiful best friend. Showing me how much I was loved and appreciated I really it doesn’t really matter: my weight, my looks. What really matters is what’s on the inside.”. Just like Cassiel, Sophie didn’t realize how important and beautiful she was until she surrounded herself with the right people. Through meeting Howl, Calcifer, Markl, and even the Witch of the Waste, she came to appreciate her true beauty.
Moving on from Sophie, we have the ever-lovely Howl (if you don’t have a crush on him, yes you do). When we meet Howl at the beginning of the film we are introduced to this powerful mysterious wizard, but as the film goes on and we get acquainted with him it’s revealed that he is similar to a child. Howl knows he’s powerful, and he basks in that power. It’s a source of great joy for him; he loves magic. But he’s a coward, and he even says so during the film.
“I’m such a big coward, all I do is hide. All of this magic is to keep everybody away. I can’t stand how scared I am.” -Howl
He runs away from the ongoing war because he’s afraid of the consequences. He sees that the other wizards that joined the war lose control and become slaves to magic and Howl hates the idea of losing control. This fear of losing control is showcased in the scene where he has a breakdown over Sophie messing with his potions and therefore turning his hair black. Howl throws a tantrum over this slight change that occurs; however, this also shows how impactful Sophie is within his life. Her presence forces him to stop running away; to face himself and as Cassiel so beautifully phrased it: “Accept every part of you.”. Howl must learn to solve problems rather than maneuver around them.
“Knowing you’d be there gave me the courage to show up. That woman terrifies me. I can’t face her on my own. You saved me, Sophie. I was in big trouble back there.” -Howl
Another important aspect to realize is the path of violence that Howl lives. Adam Dobay mentions in his article that the use of fire is symbolic. “Fire is good if you use it in moderation, as the core energy to heat, to cook, to keep your castle moving. But if you have too much of it, it will be destructive fire and it will consume everything you love.”. This is also shown in the aspect of Calcifer, a fire demon, having Howl’s heart. Sophie is the one burdened with finding Howl’s core underneath all the fire and, eventually, returning his heart to him.
By putting these characters under the same roof Miyazaki was able to tell the story of how these adult characters, that failed to mature on their own, find themselves amongst each other and grow into the person they were meant to be. I asked my interviewees why they thought this film was important. Isabella answered simply, “It’s a really classical story. You watch it once and you never forget it, so a lot of the stuff behind the story: the romance, the character development, and the friendships, by showing that, it’s unforgettable.” What Miyazaki does with Howl’s Moving Castle is tell a tale that is not easily forgotten. The colors, the music, the romance, and friendships that are built throughout the film are not easily forgotten even if you haven’t seen the film in years. Cassiel’s answer was more personal, “I feel like it’s showing you no matter what your background is, you know, you gotta either love yourself or everyone has their own problem, like loving themselves. You don’t want to be around people, you want to be alone, your childish, you have to grow up, you’re growing up to fast, you trust people too easily, or you’re taking from people or you’re getting taken from. I think it’s a, like, especially growing up you have to heal.”. Miyazaki took these flawed characters and made a whole lot of people fall in love with them, so how is it that there are so many people out there that can’t fall in love with themselves? Cassiel summarized the answer to this question exquisitely: “You don’t really mature without loving your flaws.”
That line right there, “You don’t really mature without loving your flaws.”. When I heard Cassiel say this it made me realize that that was it. That is what Howl’s Moving Castle is about. That is why it’s such an important film. The idea that our flaws need to be our greatest true love because they make us who we are. This movie starts with Sophie, a girl who knows in her heart that she is ugly and that no one could ever truly love her. And Howl who wants nothing more than to be in control; to be loved by everyone. That’s how they begin the story, but by the end of it, Sophie realizes that she is beautiful and loved. Not just because Howl told her she’s beautiful or that Howl loves her, but because she realized that she is beautiful and that if no one was going to love her then she would. Howl finally accepts that he doesn’t have to do everything alone and that he can relinquish some control to the right person.
Humans are flawed and imperfect and a lot of them are unkind, greedy, and manipulative, but if one can manage to find a community or a family and surround themselves with kind, generous, and honest people then the likely hood of becoming the person they wanted to be when they were younger is greatly increased and maybe, by some work of magic (and a moving castle), possible.
“I think we ought to live happily ever after.” -Sophie
Dobay, Adam. “Howl’s Moving Castle Explained: Character Analysis and Main Themes.” Follow the Moon Rabbit, 18 Oct. 2019, www.followthemoonrabbit.com/howls-moving-castle-people-dont-want-to-be-adults/#6-sophie-hatter-the-girl-who-leapt-through-adulthood. Accessed 3 May 2022.
Johnson, Cassiel. Interview. Conducted by Sydney Kindberg. 9 April 2022.
Johnson, Isabella. Interview. Conducted by Sydney Kindberg. 1 May 2022.
