Howl’s Moving Castle

by

Diana Wynne Jones

Martha Hatter Character Analysis

Martha is Sophie and Lettie’s younger sister; she’s Fanny’s biological daughter. As the third-born, Martha is supposedly destined to be wildly successful. Because of this, when her father dies, Fanny apprentices Martha to Mrs. Fairfax; this will give Martha the best chance at success. However, what Sophie and Fanny don’t realize is that Martha isn’t very ambitious. She just wants to get married and have 10 children. To achieve this goal, she and Lettie switch places so that Martha is actually apprenticed at a local bakery. There, she meets Michael and falls in love with him. When Sophie initially visits Martha and discovers her sisters switched places, Martha expresses concern for Sophie: she believes Fanny is exploiting her.

Martha Hatter Quotes in Howl’s Moving Castle

The Howl’s Moving Castle quotes below are all either spoken by Martha Hatter or refer to Martha Hatter. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Destiny vs. Free Will Theme Icon
).
Chapter One Quotes

In the land of Ingary, where such things as seven-league boots and cloaks of invisibility really exist, it is quite a misfortune to be born the eldest of three. Everyone knows you are the one who will fail first, and worst, if the three of you set out to seek your fortunes.

Related Characters: Sophie Hatter, Lettie Hatter, Martha Hatter
Page Number: 1
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter Two Quotes

“I never knew!”

“Well, it wasn’t much good going on about it when you were so busy backing Mother up about me making my fortune,” Martha said. “You thought Mother meant it. I did too, until Father died and I saw she was just trying to get rid of us—putting Lettie where she was bound to meet a lot of men and get married off, and sending me as far away as she could! I was so angry I thought, Why not? And I spoke to Lettie and she was just as angry and we fixed it up. We’re fine now.”

Related Characters: Sophie Hatter (speaker), Martha Hatter (speaker), Lettie Hatter, Fanny
Page Number: 26
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter Three Quotes

Perhaps Howl kept him in abject servility. But Michael did not look servile. He was a tall, dark boy with a pleasant, open sort of face, and he was most respectably dressed. In fact, if Sophie had not seen him at that moment carefully pouring green fluid out of a crooked flask onto black powder in a bent glass jar, she would have taken him for the son of a prosperous farmer. How odd!

Still, things were bound to be odd where wizards were concerned, Sophie thought.

Related Characters: Sophie Hatter, Wizard Howl, Michael, Martha Hatter, Mrs. Fairfax
Page Number: 54
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter Eight Quotes

“As if I wouldn’t recognize one of my own honey-based spells! But as I said to her at the time, ‘I’m not one to keep anyone against their will and I’d always rather teach someone who wants to learn. Only,’ I said to her, ‘I’ll have no pretense here. You stay as your own self or not at all.’ And it’s worked out very happily, as you see.”

Related Characters: Mrs. Fairfax (speaker), Sophie Hatter, Michael, Lettie Hatter, Martha Hatter
Page Number: 166
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter Nineteen Quotes

But she could not deny that something had been wrong ever since the moving castle moved, or even before that. And it seemed to tie up with the way Sophie seemed so mysteriously unable to face either of her sisters.

Related Characters: Sophie Hatter (speaker), Lettie Hatter, Martha Hatter
Page Number: 364
Explanation and Analysis:
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Martha Hatter Quotes in Howl’s Moving Castle

The Howl’s Moving Castle quotes below are all either spoken by Martha Hatter or refer to Martha Hatter. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Destiny vs. Free Will Theme Icon
).
Chapter One Quotes

In the land of Ingary, where such things as seven-league boots and cloaks of invisibility really exist, it is quite a misfortune to be born the eldest of three. Everyone knows you are the one who will fail first, and worst, if the three of you set out to seek your fortunes.

Related Characters: Sophie Hatter, Lettie Hatter, Martha Hatter
Page Number: 1
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter Two Quotes

“I never knew!”

“Well, it wasn’t much good going on about it when you were so busy backing Mother up about me making my fortune,” Martha said. “You thought Mother meant it. I did too, until Father died and I saw she was just trying to get rid of us—putting Lettie where she was bound to meet a lot of men and get married off, and sending me as far away as she could! I was so angry I thought, Why not? And I spoke to Lettie and she was just as angry and we fixed it up. We’re fine now.”

Related Characters: Sophie Hatter (speaker), Martha Hatter (speaker), Lettie Hatter, Fanny
Page Number: 26
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter Three Quotes

Perhaps Howl kept him in abject servility. But Michael did not look servile. He was a tall, dark boy with a pleasant, open sort of face, and he was most respectably dressed. In fact, if Sophie had not seen him at that moment carefully pouring green fluid out of a crooked flask onto black powder in a bent glass jar, she would have taken him for the son of a prosperous farmer. How odd!

Still, things were bound to be odd where wizards were concerned, Sophie thought.

Related Characters: Sophie Hatter, Wizard Howl, Michael, Martha Hatter, Mrs. Fairfax
Page Number: 54
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter Eight Quotes

“As if I wouldn’t recognize one of my own honey-based spells! But as I said to her at the time, ‘I’m not one to keep anyone against their will and I’d always rather teach someone who wants to learn. Only,’ I said to her, ‘I’ll have no pretense here. You stay as your own self or not at all.’ And it’s worked out very happily, as you see.”

Related Characters: Mrs. Fairfax (speaker), Sophie Hatter, Michael, Lettie Hatter, Martha Hatter
Page Number: 166
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter Nineteen Quotes

But she could not deny that something had been wrong ever since the moving castle moved, or even before that. And it seemed to tie up with the way Sophie seemed so mysteriously unable to face either of her sisters.

Related Characters: Sophie Hatter (speaker), Lettie Hatter, Martha Hatter
Page Number: 364
Explanation and Analysis: