Howl’s Moving Castle:Why Did Sophie Become an Old Woman? – The Divided Porco Rosso –

“Howl’s Moving Castle(Official Studio Ghibli Website)” is an animated feature film directed by Hayao Miyazaki, released in 2004. I have written the following article about this work as part of my “Hayao Miyazaki’s Sorrow of Men” series:

Howl's Moving Castle:Sophie's Tenacity to Capture Everything - Hayao Miyazaki's "Sorrow of Men" Series ② -This article explores Sophie's tenacity to capture in 'Howl's Moving...

I personally believe that “Porco Rosso,” “Howl’s Moving Castle,” and “Ponyo” depict the “sorrow of a man being captured,” and this film, positioned right in the middle, was a story of a handsome man being splendidly captured.

That being said, this time I want to explore the most important feature of “Howl’s Moving Castle”: the fact that the protagonist is an old woman. The key to understanding this issue lies in “Porco Rosso.” What do these two films have in common?

*This article is an English translation of the original Japanese article, “【ハウルの動く城】ソフィーは何故老婆になってしまったのか-分裂する紅の豚-“

The Mystery of Sophie and the Old Woman in “Howl’s Moving Castle”

Sophie’s Inexplicable Attitude

Perhaps the most puzzling aspect of “Howl’s Moving Castle” is Sophie’s attitude after she is turned into an old woman. Sophie is transformed into an “old woman” by a spell from the Witch of the Waste, who seeks to have Howl all to herself.

Something terrible has happened, yet Sophie’s subsequent behavior is astonishing.

While Sophie was initially flustered upon realizing she had become an old woman, she quickly regained her composure, casually abandoned her former life, and set off to find Howl.

In other words, while Sophie was rattled by the fact that she had become an old woman, she also accepted it in a positive light.

This is likely related to Sophie’s family situation and her “self-consciousness.”

Sophie works to keep the hat shop her father left her afloat, but it’s clear that neither her sister nor her stepmother values the shop.

Furthermore, she seems to have a low opinion of herself, feeling “plain” compared to her “star” sister.

However, looking at Sophie’s attitude, it’s not that she dislikes her sister or her mother. It’s likely that what she was dissatisfied with was the “situation itself,” created by these various factors.

By being transformed into an old woman, Sophie finally found a reason to escape the “situation” that had bound her, and she headed to Howl with a calm demeanor.

Why did she go to Howl? Well, it’s obvious she fell in love at first sight, isn’t it?

“Porco Rosso” and Cynicism Towards One’s Surroundings

Now, we know of a Miyazaki protagonist who was in a very similar situation to Sophie: Porco Rosso, the hero of “Porco Rosso.”

Just as Sophie seemed unfazed by her emergency of “becoming an old woman,” Porco was unfazed by his emergency of “being a pig.” In fact, he embraced it. In the end, Porco is essentially saying, “What a foolish thing to get worked up about. I’m ‘out of here.'”

For Porco, who survived the Great War while losing many comrades, the “normal world” was not so wonderful; rather, it was something he likely wanted to reject. Yet, to continue living without dying might be the sorrow of humanity, or perhaps its strength.

In other words, both Sophie and Porco “want to deny their current reality.” This alone makes them seem like similar beings, but they have even more in common.

If you recall “Porco Rosso,” there are two instances where he is seen in a non-pig state.

The first is through the eyes of Fio as she watches Porco on the eve of his duel with Curtis. The second is by Curtis himself.

Similarly, Sophie is repeatedly seen reverting from her old form. This phenomenon is easier to understand with Sophie, so let’s look at her situation to understand Porco’s.

The Mystery of Sophie’s Occasional Rejuvenation

Self-Affirmation as a Fleeting Affirmation of the World

For a while after becoming an old woman, Sophie’s “rejuvenation” is linked to her inner elation. In other words, when she thinks, “Maybe this world isn’t so bad,” she shows signs of becoming younger. There’s also a scene where she turns young while crying her eyes out, but I believe that being in a situation where she could unleash her inner feelings in such a way was also a “not-so-bad situation” she hadn’t had before.

The corresponding scene in “Porco Rosso” would be the part where he turns back into a human after the duel with Curtis. After receiving a faint kiss from Fio, Porco must have thought, “Ah, maybe this world isn’t so bad after all.”

However, the important thing is that even if they thought that for a moment, the world is ultimately not beautiful for them. In the end, Sophie quickly returns to being an old woman, rejecting reality, and Porco probably turned back into a pig as well.

Nevertheless, for a brief moment, they might have thought, “Maybe even I am not so bad.” The forms of an “old woman” or a “pig” are a rebellion against the world that torments them, and also a “rejection of their own inability to cope.” In that moment, Sophie and Porco might have been able to affirm themselves, just a little.

Thinking this way seems to “solve” things, but there is a clear difference between “Porco Rosso” and “Howl’s Moving Castle.” Namely, from a certain point on, Sophie remains young.

Sophie Remaining Young from the Middle Onward

The fact that Sophie stays young from the middle of the story is probably what confused us the most when watching “Howl’s Moving Castle.” However, we can offer a definitive answer to this.

Sophie’s despair was despair towards her “family,” and after arriving at Howl’s castle, she, in a sense, finds her “ideal family.” To put it a bit harshly, she is in a situation where she feels she is with a “family that needs her.”

While she rejects “this world,” she actually had a specific thing she wanted to reject: her “family.” That’s why she finds a degree of satisfaction in a situation where she has been able to “turn the inhabitants of Howl’s Moving Castle into a family” through her own power. That is why she remains young from that point on.

However, this might still leave you dissatisfied. Sophie becomes young, but her hair remains white. Now, why does her hair stay white?

A World Still to Be Rejected

The reason her hair remains white is likely because she still wants to reject the world that exists outside the family she created.

By “becoming an old woman,” Sophie said goodbye to the “reality she wanted to reject” and created a “closely affirmable reality” by making people she liked into her family. However, she remains critical of the foolish situations occurring outside of it. Or rather, she wants to shake off such things.

That is why the rejuvenated Sophie keeps her white hair.

By maintaining an appearance that differs from the “common sense” of this world, she continues to express her criticism and cynicism towards it.

If we apply this to “Porco Rosso,” it would mean that after his duel with Curtis, Porco briefly returned to his human form but ultimately went back to flying the skies as a pig.

Porco did indeed turn back into a pig.

I hope this has helped you understand Sophie (and Porco) better. At least, I am satisfied with this explanation.

But one last mystery remains. It’s not about Sophie, but about Howl. Why was Howl portrayed as such an incredibly popular man?

The Mystery of the Extremely Handsome Howl

So far, I’ve been discussing the similarities between “Howl’s Moving Castle” and “Porco Rosso,” focusing on “Sophie becoming an old woman” and “Porco becoming a pig.”

However, there is one character in the two films who is completely dissimilar in every way.

Of course, that’s Howl.

In “Porco Rosso,” there is no man as popular as Howl. Perhaps there was, but he wasn’t depicted so explicitly.

Starting with Sophie, every woman who meets Howl falls for him. The Witch of the Waste was the same, and so was Madam Suliman. It seems that once a woman meets Howl, she can’t forget him.

Considering the parallels with “Porco Rosso,” what does the existence of Howl signify? If we think about it…

Howl’s nature would be the “inner truth” of Porco.

In other words, Porco, while appearing as a pig on the outside, believed himself to be an incredibly charming man on the inside.

Of course, Porco is depicted as never having been approached by Gina, but the “inner Howl” Porco likely kept thinking, “You’re really in love with me, aren’t you?”

It’s a rather foolish male self-consciousness, but haven’t you ever thought something similar in your youth?

To summarize the above:

I believe this is the case.

However, considering that Porco in “Porco Rosso” is an alter ego of director Miyazaki, it might mean that the director himself has an “inner Howl,” but I’ll avoid delving into that as it becomes needlessly critic-like.

The images used in this article are from the “Studio Ghibli Still Images” collection.