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Calcifer
The antagonist of the novel, the Witch of the Waste is an old woman who lives out in the middle of a wasteland known as the Waste. She made a deal with a fire demon, which has enabled her to live a very long life in the form of a much younger woman. While Sophie finds the Witch cruel and calculating (the Witch puts a curse on Sophie, after all), Howl suggests that the Witch is actually a sympathetic figure: she’s just unloved. Despite this, the Witch engages in behavior that horrifies Sophie, such as murdering Mrs. Pentstemmon and trying to assemble a perfect human out of body parts taken from Wizard Suliman, Prince Justin, and Howl. Howl spends much of the novel trying to evade a curse the Witch sends after him which, when it “takes,” will allow her to use Howl’s head on her perfect human. However, it’s ultimately revealed that much of the Witch’s diabolical plan is actually the work of her fire demon, Miss Angorian. The Witch crumbles into a pile of bones at the end of the novel and Howl later crushes her heart, thereby killing Miss Angorian.
The Witch of the Waste Quotes in Howl’s Moving Castle
The Howl’s Moving Castle quotes below are all either spoken by The Witch of the Waste or refer to The Witch of the Waste. 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:
).
Chapter One
Quotes
Sophie felt as if the past months of sitting and sewing had turned her into an old woman or a semi-invalid.
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Chapter Twelve
Quotes
She had said Sophie was a witch. Oddly enough, Sophie accepted this without any trouble at all. That explained the popularity of certain hats, she thought. It explained Jane Farrier’s Count Whatsit. It possibly explained the jealousy of the Witch of the Waste. It was as if Sophie had always known this. But she had thought it was not proper to have a magic gift because she was the eldest of three.
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Chapter Twenty-One
Quotes
He stood up in a hurry. He held out one hand and spoke a sentence of those words that lost themselves in claps of thunder. Plaster fell from the ceiling. Everything trembled. But the stick vanished and Howl stepped back with a small, hard, black thing in his hand.
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The Witch of the Waste Quotes in Howl’s Moving Castle
The Howl’s Moving Castle quotes below are all either spoken by The Witch of the Waste or refer to The Witch of the Waste. 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:
).
Chapter One
Quotes
Sophie felt as if the past months of sitting and sewing had turned her into an old woman or a semi-invalid.
Related Characters:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter Twelve
Quotes
She had said Sophie was a witch. Oddly enough, Sophie accepted this without any trouble at all. That explained the popularity of certain hats, she thought. It explained Jane Farrier’s Count Whatsit. It possibly explained the jealousy of the Witch of the Waste. It was as if Sophie had always known this. But she had thought it was not proper to have a magic gift because she was the eldest of three.
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Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter Twenty-One
Quotes
He stood up in a hurry. He held out one hand and spoke a sentence of those words that lost themselves in claps of thunder. Plaster fell from the ceiling. Everything trembled. But the stick vanished and Howl stepped back with a small, hard, black thing in his hand.
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Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
