How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #10
"[Howl] said, 'I know someone called Sophie who looks a little like you.' And Lettie said, 'That's my sister,' without thinking," Percival said. "And she got terribly worried then, particularly as Howl went on asking about her sister. Lettie said she could have bitten her tongue off. The day you came there, she was being nice to Howl in order to find out how he knew you. Howl said you were an old woman. And Mrs. Fairfax said she'd seen you. Lettie cried and cried. She said, 'Something terrible has happened to Sophie! And the worst of it is she'll think she's safe from Howl. Sophie's too kind to herself to see how heartless Howl is!' And she was so upset that I managed to turn into a man long enough to say I'd go and keep an eye on you." (19.59)
It's strange that it never occurs to Sophie until this chapter that her family might be concerned that she suddenly upped and disappeared off the face of the earth with no warning and no note. At the opening of the novel, Sophie has spent so much time on her own that she seems to have forgotten how to put herself in the place of other people, to imagine how they might feel.
And while we can totally sympathize with the fact that she can't think straight when the Witch of the Waste has just turned her into an old woman, we still feel bad for her sisters and stepmother, left on their own to worry about her with no news.
Quote #11
And, to Sophie's surprise, Fanny threw aside her hat and her parasol and all of her grand manner and flung her arms round Sophie and wept. "Oh, I didn't know what had happened to you!" she sobbed. "I went to Martha and I sent to Lettie, and neither of them knew. They changed places, silly girls, did you know? But nobody knew a thing about you! I've a reward out still. And here you are, working as a servant, when you could be living in luxury up the hill with me and Mr. Smith!"
Sophie found she was crying as well. She hurriedly dropped her bundle and led Fanny to the chair. She pulled the stool up and sat beside Fanny, holding her hand. By this time they were both laughing as well as crying. They were most powerfully glad to see one another again. (20.30-1)
We really like this reunion—the old cliché of the wicked stepmother in fairytales and novels is so old hat that it's nice to find out that Fanny means well. What's more, Sophie's new sympathy toward her stepmother indicates that she's been using her timeout in Howl's castle not just as a vacation from her life, but also as a chance to reflect on herself and on her family. Sophie has changed and matured as an old woman so that, when she gets young again, she'll be ready for her second chance at life.