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Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Howl’s Moving Castle, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Destiny vs. Free Will
Appearances and Assumptions
Family
Magic and Coming of Age
Summary
Analysis
Sophie doesn’t see any point now in badmouthing Howl to the King, but Howl insists he can’t fight off the King and the Witch at the same time. So the next afternoon, Sophie and Michael dress in their new clothes and wait for Howl to finish in the bathroom. Sophie tells Calcifer about the strange country through the black door while she waits. Calcifer is impressed with the Witch’s curse; sending it in through a totally different world is very clever. He says Howl was a fool to tell the Witch too much about himself. Sophie isn’t surprised that Calcifer admires the curse, but she can’t tell if he really detests Howl or not. Calcifer admits that he’s afraid, since he’ll suffer if the Witch catches Howl.
The differences between Sophie and Howl come into focus again here: Sophie seems to think it’s no use doing anything but sitting around and waiting for the curse, while Howl believes he can at least try to thwart destiny. Sophie continues to think badly of Calcifer, despite evidence that Calcifer isn’t an evil being. Indeed, she should realize that one can admire the Witch’s cleverness without agreeing with what she’s doing. And that seems to be exactly what Calcifer is doing—especially since he could suffer if the Witch gets Howl.
Themes
Just then, Howl emerges from the bathroom. He grudgingly allows Sophie to take her “awful old stick” with her, and then he escorts Sophie and Michael into Kingsbury. It’s extremely hot, and Sophie feels a bit unwell as they walk to Mrs. Pentstemmon’s tall house. Once the footman lets them in, the boy leads them into an elegant drawing room. Mrs. Pentstemmon is dressed all in gold silk—and she’s both beautiful and frightening. Howl kisses her gold-gloved hand and then introduces Sophie as his mother. Once Sophie and Howl sit, Mrs. Pentstemmon says she’s 86 and in poor health. Sophie shares that she’s 90, and Howl interjects that Sophie is too active for her age.
In Kingsbury, Sophie is totally out of her element—and the heat makes this feeling even more pronounced. It’s also becoming more difficult for Sophie to fully embody an old lady persona as she confronts an actual old woman. But as Howl observes, Sophie is more active than many 90-year-olds—and part of this seems to be due to her walking stick. It’s not pretty, but it helps Sophie navigate the world while she’s stuck in her current elderly body.
Themes
Giving him a withering glare, Mrs. Pentstemmon tells Howl that she’s speaking to his mother, who’s certainly proud of him. They’re going to talk about him, so he and Michael should go drink something cold on the porch. Howl looks surprised but he shrugs, gives Sophie a look, and leaves with Michael. Mrs. Pentstemmon starts in on critiquing Howl. She preferred his hair black, and she says he’s “going to the bad.” Sophie thinks he’s already bad, but says nothing. Instead, she murmurs as Mrs. Pentstemmon talks about Howl’s suit, which has charms to attract ladies darned into the seams. Sophie darned the seams herself and didn’t notice anything, but she figures she’s no expert.
Without Howl to surreptitiously direct her, Sophie is totally on her own. In Mrs. Pentstemmon’s imposing presence, Sophie reverts somewhat to her shy, teenage self: she doesn’t fully participate in the conversation, and she keeps many of her thoughts to herself. Interestingly, just as the Witch implied Sophie was charming the hats, Mrs. Pentstemmon seems to raise the possibility that Sophie charmed Howl’s suit without realizing it. Again, Sophie may be more powerful than she gives herself credit for.
Themes
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Then, Mrs. Pentstemmon says she’s going to die soon; this is why she wanted to see Sophie. She explains that Howl was her last pupil; she was going to retire after training Benjamin Sullivan, whom Sophie probably knows as Wizard Suliman. But Howl showed from the start that he was smarter and better, as well as a force for good. But, Mrs. Pentstemmon says, something has happened to his goodness. She suspects he’s become like the Witch of the Waste, who apparently wasn’t always evil. Then, she asks Sophie what she thinks is going on. Remembering Calcifer saying that the contract isn’t helping him or Howl, Sophie mentions that Howl has a contract with his fire demon.
Mrs. Pentstemmon is framed as a trustworthy authority figure. So, it’s noteworthy when she describes Howl as a force for good—it suggests that Sophie should take her seriously, rather than continuing to think of Howl as evil. However, Mrs. Pentstemmon also allows that Howl might not stay good if his contract with Calcifer remains intact. Howl and Calcifer’s forced relationship, Sophie is realizing, may be their downfall—after all, that’s how the Witch turned evil.
Themes
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Mrs. Pentstemmon tells Sophie to break the contract; she should be able to, thanks to her “maternal feelings” and her magical gift. It brings things to life, such as her stick—which is now a sort of magic wand. Sophie is flustered, but Mrs. Pentstemmon closes her eyes and continues. She says the Witch made a contract with a fire demon and that demon has, over the years, taken control—demons don’t understand good and evil, but they will work with people for something only humans have. A contract prolongs the demon and the person’s life. Sophie must find out what Calcifer is getting. Then, Mrs. Pentstemmon says she must rest.
Finally, Mrs. Pentstemmon is able to voice what Sophie has been ignoring for a long time: that Sophie does have magical powers, and that she can charm things by speaking to them. Her walking stick, in this case, becomes symbolic of Sophie’s growing power—it’s not just the thing that keeps her upright and moving, it proves that she can change her world to suit her. Mrs. Pentstemmon also encourages Sophie to give Calcifer some grace, if her understanding of demons is correct. Essentially, she insists Calcifer isn’t good or bad—he’s just looking out for himself.
Themes
A page immediately appears to usher Sophie out. Sophie is so uncomfortable; she’s impressed Howl survived a day as Mrs. Pentstemmon’s student. As she calms down, Sophie decides it makes sense that she’s a witch. This explains her hats’ popularity and Jane Farrier’s good fortune with her count, as well as the Witch of the Waste’s jealousy. She just never expected to have magic, being the eldest of three. Then, Sophie realizes she charmed Howl’s suit to draw in women when she told it that it was made to draw in hearts while mending it. That’s why Lettie looked so in love, and it must’ve had an effect on Miss Angorian. She must get the suit off of him.
As Sophie accepts that she has magical powers, she realizes that her supposed destiny isn’t as set in stone as she once thought. She is powerful, and she can change things—and by leaning so hard on what’s supposed to happen to the eldest of three, she essentially allowed herself to feel trapped and impotent. But with great power comes great responsibility, which is why Sophie immediately jumps to needing to get Howl out of the suit she charmed. She doesn’t want to be complicit in what she sees as Howl’s evil, selfish ways.
Themes
When Sophie finally reaches Howl and Michael, Howl looks sad and worried—he suggests Sophie looks too unwell to speak to the King. He’ll go badmouth himself another day. Sophie doesn’t want to see the King, but she remembers Calcifer. If Howl is forced to go into the Waste and the Witch gets him, Sophie will never be young again. She insists on seeing the King.
Again, just as Sophie focuses on how evil and manipulative she thinks Howl is, Howl shows that he’s actually quite kind and compassionate. He doesn’t want to overwhelm Sophie; he’d rather she be comfortable and feel in control.
Themes
