How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
Calcifer moved his orange eyes to look into Sophie's. "I'm scared too," he said. "I shall suffer with Howl if the Witch catches him. If you don't break the contract before she does, I won't be able to help you at all." (12.5)
Calcifer and Howl have entered into a contract that traps them both, and which neither of them can break without outside help. Luckily, the one person who can help them both to break the contract and keep Calcifer alive through her own magic happens to seek out the castle and plunk herself down in front of Calcifer's fireplace. Do the plot twists in a fantasy novel need to be realistic? Do you ever feel dissatisfied with the way that the plot of Howl's Moving Castle relies on chance?
Quote #5
[Mrs. Pentstemmon] had said Sophie was a witch. Oddly enough, Sophie accepted this without any trouble at all. That explained the popularity of certain hats, she thought. It explained Jane Farrier's Count Whatsit. It possibly explained the jealousy of the Witch of the Waste. It was as if Sophie had always known this. But she had thought it was not proper to have a magic gift because she was the eldest of three. Lettie had been far more sensible about such things. (12.60)
Again we see evidence that Sophie's worst prison is actually her own mind—she has a strong magical gift, but she has never allowed herself to admit it. Now she can finally come to terms with the ways in which her own prejudices and low self-esteem issues have kept her trapped—and the ways that she can free herself by choosing to acknowledge her own magical gift.
Quote #6
"And Howl caught you?" said Sophie.
"Five years ago," said Calcifer, "out on Porthaven Marshes, just after he set up as Jenkin the Sorcerer. He chased me in seven-league boots. I was terrified of him. I was terrified anyway, because when you fall you know you're going to die. I'd have done anything rather than die. When Howl offered to keep me alive the way humans stay alive, I suggested a contract on the spot. Neither of us knew what we were getting into. I was grateful, and Howl only offered because he was sorry for me." (17.29-30)
Fear of death leads Calcifer into making a decision that he can't unmake, which is hurting both him and Howl. Part of the problem with the fact that we can't travel in time is that we are to some degree trapped by the poor decisions we have made in the past. No one can get through their lives without regret, of course (and unfortunately), but Calcifer's literal confinement according to his contract with Howl also has symbolic value: it shows the ways in which his past mistakes have restricted his current freedom.