How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
The air was hot and steamy and filled with the scent of flowers, thousands of them. Sophie nearly said the smell reminded her of the bathroom after Howl had been in it, but she bit it back. The place was truly marvelous. Between the bushes and their loads of purple, red, and white flowers, the wet grass was full of smaller flowers: pink ones with only three petals, giant pansies, wild phlox, lupines of all colors, orange lilies, tall white lilies, irises, and myriad others. There were creepers growing flowers big enough for hats, cornflowers, poppies, and plants with strange shapes and stranger colors of leaves. Though it was not much like Sophie's dream of a garden like Mrs. Fairfax's, she forgot her gruffness and became delighted. (17.48)
Sophie doesn't seem to notice the romantic implications of the fact that Howl just gave her a whole garden full of flowers. But we noticed. Since Sophie is old and feels self-conscious about it (and jealous of Miss Angorian) in the last third of the novel, she doesn't seem to consider the possibility of romance developing between her and Howl seriously—but there are all kinds of clues to Howl's feelings before he actually tells her in the last chapter that they deserve their happily-ever-after.
Quote #8
[Sophie] told herself she had never been happier in her life.
This was not true. Something was wrong, and Sophie could not understand what. Sometimes she thought it was the way no one in Market Chipping recognized her. She did not dare go and see Martha, for fear Martha would not know her either. She did not dare tip the flowers out of the seven-league boots and go and see Lettie for the same reason. She just could not bear either of her sisters to see her as an old woman. (18.8-9)
The funny thing about Sophie's return to Market Chipping is that there are certainly changes—she's not just back in her old home as though nothing is different. However, in a lot of ways, she does return to her old patterns. At the start of the novel, Sophie feels too shy and busy to visit her sisters; here, eighteen chapters later, she feels too embarrassed about her old appearance to see Martha and Lettie. In both cases Sophie's mindset is still interfering with her relationships with her family.
Quote #9
[Sophie] stumped into the bathroom and stared at her withered old face in the mirrors. She picked up one of the packets labeled SKIN and then tossed it down again. Even young and fresh, she did not think her face compared particularly well with Miss Angorian's. "Gah!" she said. "Doh!" She hobbled rapidly back and seized ferns and lilies from the sink. She hobbled them, dripping to the shop, where she rammed them into a bucket of nutrition spell. "Be daffodils!" she told them in a mad, angry, croaking voice. "Be daffodils in June, you beastly things!" (18.60)
This is the first time that we can remember when Sophie actually starts to admit to herself that she has feelings for Howl. Of course it's not flowers and rainbows with Sophie though—instead she gets royally upset because Howl is spending so much time with Miss Angorian and Sophie can't compete with her beauty (she thinks). Still, we think it's progress that Sophie is at least willing to acknowledge that she wants something different from Howl, even if she is so resigned to not getting it that her spells start to misfire as a result.