Also during this time, Howl courted and then dumped the Witch of the Waste, who put a curse on him. Though he never explicitly told Michael he could stay, Howl allowed him to live in the castle, eventually making him his apprentice. Howl was impressed by Calcifer's reaction to Michael. During this time, Howl found Michael Fisher sleeping on his doorstep, and invited him in. He dyed his hair and spent all his money on make-up and clothing, and spent his days wooing young ladies until they fell in love with him, and then jilted them. After doing so, Howl quit his apprenticeship and became a hermit. ![]() He gave his heart to the creature, binding them together, and allowing Calcifer to live for he felt sorry for him, while boosting his own magical power. One night on the Porthaven Marshes, Howl caught a Falling Star named Calcifer and made a contract with him. Howl is a wizard in the land of Ingary and he has several names he is known as Wizard Howl in Market Chipping, "Wizard Pendragon" in the capital Kingsbury, and "Jenkins the Sorcerer" in lower-class Porthaven. He was in the same league as the Witch of the Waste. His natural gift for magic showed, and he was quite powerful. He became her last pupil, and one of her favorites (and best). Pentstemmon (or Madame Suliman in the movie). Still young, he took up tutelage under Mrs. In an attempt to hide from three angry rugby players whose sister he had jilted, he cast a spell that opened a portal to another land, Ingary, where he moved almost permanently. In Wales, Howl had a habit of going out with girls and then jilting them. Even in college, he wrote his thesis on magical spells and charms, and joined a group of other gifted magicians on Earth. Gifted with a natural talent for magic, he began studying it. However, he himself was anything but ordinary. ![]() Not only does this last gesture from Calcifer prove that he's essentially a decent, sociable guy despite his demonic nature, but it also allows Jones to end the book happily on a small joke, which is totally in keeping with the whole children's fantasy novel thing that Howl's Moving Castle has going on.Howl Jenkins was born to an ordinary family in modern-day Wales. He clearly likes living there, but he also doesn't much enjoy the drippy weather in Market Chipping (what with being a fire demon and all). Calcifer decides to rejoin the moving castle's household, as long as he's free to come and go. After all, she blushes "fiery red" (21.110) at his offer-a good sign that romance is on the way.Īnd Calcifer gets the last word. Fairfax admits to Sophie that she has been encouraging Lettie to lead Howl on so that Howl might teach her more magic? This potential relationship between the Wizard Suliman and Lettie is like the better version of that, where Lettie actually appears to respect and admire the Wizard Suliman. We see that the Wizard Suliman is the one to approach Lettie once his body is back together he offers to teach her more magic. ![]() The other happy endings in this chapter are sketched out pretty briefly. Her youth represents her willingness to accept Howl's love now that he is both emotionally and magically capable of choosing to be with her in return. Sophie literally holds Howl's heart in her hands when she turns young. ![]() We mentioned in the "Symbolism" section that hearts in this novel-and especially Howl's heart-represent the ability to love truly. It's clearly significant that Sophie finds herself ready to let her curse go once she presses Howl's heart back into his chest. But again-this only happens after Miss Angorian's destruction.īy contrast, the fact that Sophie changes back on her own reinforces the idea that at least part of the curse she's been under is a matter of Sophie's will. Once Miss Angorian dies, the various body parts that had been distributed between Percival, the scarecrow, and the headless body that Sophie finds in the Witch's fortress all resolve themselves into two men, Prince Justin and the Wizard Suliman. But the interesting thing about Sophie's curse removal is that Sophie notices that her hair is falling "across her face in reddish fair hanks" (21.91) before all of the other curses are removed. Of course, since this is a fairytale it makes sense that the evil witch and her fire demon go down. The last chapter of Howl's Moving Castle is action-packed, what with the destruction of both the Witch of the Waste and Miss Angorian, and the reversal of Sophie's curse.
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