Howl's Moving Castle by Hayao Miyazaki
- Lydia Melow
- Oct 26, 2024
- 3 min read
article by 𝕃𝕪𝕕𝕚𝕒 𝕄𝕖𝕝𝕠𝕨
Synopsis:
Young Sophie, 18, works every day in the hat shop formerly run by her father, who unfortunately passed away. Resigned to her fate, it is during one of her rare outings in town that she meets the handsome Hauru, a famous magician.
However, the witch of the Landes, jealous of the relationship they can maintain, casts a spell on Sophie, transforming her into a 90-year-old old lady. Overwhelmed by her new appearance, Sophie flees into the mountains in search of someone who can undo the curse. This is how she meets Navet, a scarecrow who takes her to Hauru's home: a ruin wandering in the moors, thanks to the powers of a demon named Calcifer.
A new daily life opens up to her alongside this young, narcissistic and cowardly magician.
Will she be able to free herself from her curse?
Will she be able to uncover the secret of the pact that binds Calcifer to Hauru?
My Opinion:
Before we begin, I would like to thank the L'Analyse channel for its video on this film.
I share with you here the link to the video:
The analysis that you are about to read is written after having seen this video as well as having read the book that inspired Hayao Miyasaki: Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
Diana Wynne Jones wrote "Howl's Moving Castle" in 1986. Hayao Miyazaki released "Howl's Moving Castle" in 2004.
These two stories trace the story of Sophie, a young hatter and her meeting with Hauru.
However, in Miyasaki's film, we only touch on Sophie's relationship with her sisters. Indeed, being the eldest of three sisters (Lettie and Martha the youngest), she resigns herself to running the family hat shop, without realizing that she is still very young and that she has her whole life ahead of her. In the book, there is a prophecy that indicates that the eldest of a family is always the one who will have the least success in life, which explains Sophie's behavior.
This job is not chosen at random because the theme of appearance is omnipresent. Despite the fact that she has no confidence in herself, she is heavily hit on in the street by soldiers, before being rescued by the magician.
The curse cast by the witch of the Landes only accentuates what Sophie already feels. This change in appearance will ultimately push her to be braver and move forward.
From a romantic point of view, Sophie will gradually conquer the heart of Hauru, symbolized by Calcifer and the Howl's Moving Castle. Indeed, the cleaning that Sophie does is not a trivial task since the castle, in other words the heart, is in disarray and Sophie will repair it. She will also learn to love herself, since she finds her beautiful young appearance when she is happy or in love. On the contrary, when she gets angry or sad, she finds her old woman appearance again.
Haru is presented to us rather negatively. From the beginning, he is described as being a heart devourer, symbolic of the womanizer, leaving behind broken hearts. Very superficial and cowardly, he protects his heart behind his castle full of artifice. As the film progresses, Hauru lets down his barriers: we see it just by his clothing which becomes simpler and simpler.
Little by little, through contact with Sophie, he will open up and go so far as to reorganize the castle so that it pleases Sophie (the place chosen for the house is Sophie's old hat shop).
For her part, the witch of the Landes represents the one who has never found love. A seductress just like Hauru, she hides behind spells because she wants to stay young. She really becomes aware of her advanced age during the staircase scene when Sophie climbs the steps while she drags behind.
Without her powers, she is old and terribly weak. However, returning to her true age seems to make her wiser because she recognizes that she is still in love but gives Sophie the opportunity to conquer Hauru.
The war in the story is a war also linked to appearance. It leaves permanent traces: the magician soldiers are transformed into monsters permanently.
In the end, love of oneself and others overcame the various evil spells!
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