Witches

Diana Wynne Jones’s novel, “Howl’s Moving Castle”, takes a different approach to witches and wizards, and twists around several tropes commonly found in fantasy novels. The setting where the novel takes place, Ingary, is a magical land where it is assumed that all of the fantasy tropes are a given, specifically the rule that the youngest gets an adventure and fortune. The main character, Sophie, takes this “rule” as a given fact, and restricts herself as the oldest sibling to a lonely and boring life.

            Diana Wynne Jones uses Sophie to advocate female empowerment and condemn the social restrictions placed on women. Sophie’s viewed restriction as the oldest is similar to the viewed restriction that women should stay at home. At first, she is shy and demure, and restricts herself to a boring and lonely job even when her sisters try to persuade her to do otherwise and live freely. When the curse is placed upon her, she loses her inhibitions and extreme self-restraint, becoming bolder and going on an adventure, since the worse had already happened. In a way, when she became older, she finally stared to act her age, since she no longer cared what anyone else thought after all that she had been through. Sophie’s emerging powers are a huge testament to female empowerment, as she literally bosses things into doing what she wants. This is one of the ways Sophie begins to take her life in her own hands, a manifestation of her taking control and breaking her previous meek attitude.

            The portrayal of men also advocates female empowerment and breaks the stereotype that they must be the strong ones that save the day. The main male character, Howl, is shown to be incredibly immature, and that his constant playboy antics are a symptom of his weak, child heart. No explanation is needed for the meaning there. The other men in the novel are also pretty much all shown up by the women. The prince of the country and the royal magician Sullivan are defeated and cursed by an especially powerful woman, and then saved in the end by Sophie. Sullivan also falls in love with Sophie’s sister, who worked as an apprentice magician to try a break his curse.

            Overall, the story uses more unconventional portrayals of magic and fantasy characters to weave a story about strong female empowerment and tearing down social restrictions in a whimsical and compelling way.