Why Does Sophie’s Age Change in ‘Howl’s Moving Castle’?

Why is Sophie old? Why is she young again? Why is her hair silver? Is Calcifer an alien? Did Howl just eat a star? Is Howl single? Are he and Sophie still together? Are they monogamous or is it an open thing? Do you have his number? Will you give it to me?

I can’t answer all of these questions. When it comes to anime I’m pretty smart, but I’m not a total egghead like these dudes. I don’t know the ins and outs of the relationships of Studio Ghibli’s hottest bachelor, but I can at least help you out with some story/lore stuff. That way, you’ll be better informed when you write your Howl x Reader fanfics. I’m sure that you can figure out a way to make Sophie old and crusty for good. Then you, the reader, can tempt the wizard with your supple young flesh. It’s the perfect scheme.

So how did Sophie get old in the first place?

When we discover Sophie at the start Howl’s Moving Castle, she appears to be a young woman in her twenties. Then what happened? She was cursed by the Witch of the Wastes of course! Why? It’s complicated. You must keep in mind that the Studio Ghibli film was inspired by a book of the same name. In the film, Sophie is cursed by the Witch of the Wastes in her hat shop. For extremely understandable reasons. After Sophie’s sexy meet-cute with Howl in the city, the witch becomes jealous of her (just like everyone else.) The Witch’s infatuation with Howl causes her to try and take Sophie out of the running for the hot wizard’s affections. The joke’s on the witch though because Howl is SUCH a stand-up guy that he sees past Sophie’s now-elderly exterior and decides to love her anyway. And THAT is why we love Howl, along with his perfectly symmetrical face. In the book, Sophie is cursed by the Witch because Howl had a flirty run-in with Sophie’s sister. The Witch mixes up Sophie and her little sister and curses the elder to become … an elder.

Okay so she’s old now, but why does she look young in some scenes?

After being cursed by the Witch, Sophie remains an old lady until she takes up residence with Howl in his titular moving castle. As she begins to form bonds with Howl and Calcifer the fire demon, her age begins to subtly shift. Many of these moments occur in times of emotional intensity or when she feels confident. Her hair grows lighter and her back gets less of an arch. When she gets REALLY emotional, she will revert back to her young self almost completely.

She also reverts back to her youthful appearance when she sleeps. So is it just “beauty sleep?” Well, sort of. While the reasons for Sophie’s age fluctuation are never fully revealed, the best theory I’ve come across is that Sophie becomes as old she she currently feels. When she’s uncertain, she reverts back into a dottering old lady. When she feels passionate or confident, like young people often are, she reverts back to her younger self. This also explains why she de-ages when she sleeps. Her mind is at rest and isn’t conscious of the curse, and therefore she reverts back to her original self. When she wakes up, she remembers the curse and ages into it.

So why does she stay young at the end of the movie?

Haven’t you ever been in love? What’s wrong with you? Sophie reverts back to her younger self at the end of the movie (albeit with some chic silver hair) because she realizes her love for Howl. The two are finally honest with their feelings towards each other, and they end up getting together. And that’s what love does! It makes you feel young! While not directly stated, the film is making the point that you are only as old or as young as you feel and that feelings of love are what give life its splendor and magic. The magic of love is able to completely counteract the magic of the curse, and Sophie’s joy at her relationship with Howl causes her to become her true self once more. Who wouldn’t feel as giddy as a young schoolgirl with a man like that?

How is Sophie’s age fluctuation different in the book? And why did they change it?

In the novel, Sophie is cursed to become elderly by the Witch of the Waste, and she stays that way until the very end of the story. However, there are moments in the book when Sophie feels younger than her elderly body would have her believe. While her appearance doesn’t change until the curse is broken, Sophie’s perception of herself changes. When Sophie feels confident in the novel, she feels younger. Her growing awareness of her love for Howl causes her to feel the same. The change in Sophie’s aging mechanism in the movie from the book is due to the fact that literature and films are two entirely different mediums.

In a novel, the audience is able to understand exactly how a character feels because the author provides either an internal monologue or an omnipotent narrator to tell us so. “At the moment Howl looked at her, Sophie felt 60 years younger”. It’s easy to communicate Sophie’s youthful feelings with the written word, but it’s a hard thing to represent them visually. Unless a film uses a narration voiceover (which could spoil the magic) the director has to get creative. What was Hayao Miyazaki’s solution? Show Sophie getting younger! It’s much more visually compelling for an audience watch someone’s age change before their eyes than hear a narrator say “I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling 22”.

So if you want to figure out a way to keep Sophie old forever for your fan fiction purposes, you’re just gonna have to figure out a way to totally crush her spirit and make her soul wither up and die. Then you can have Howl all to your young hot self.

(featured image; Studio Ghibli)