• Metaphor is a term that refers to a figure of
speech in which a word or phrase that literally
denotes one thing is used figuratively for something
else, as a way of suggesting likeness or analogy
between the two.
• eg ‘She's a pillar of the community’... a metaphor
because she isn’t really a pillar
• eg ‘It's a jungle out there...’ where, I can’t see the
jungle?
• Metaphor is used by many film makers to influence
their audience on another subject like in the movies
'District 9,' an apartheid allegory (with aliens), and
'Metropolis‘ a bleak take on class and class relations.
• Director/screenplay Hayao Myazaki, Studio Ghibli
• From a book of the same name
written by Diana Wynne Jones
• A young girl named Sophie is turned into a 90 yearold woman by the Witch of the Waste. She takes
refuge in the moving castle that is owned by Howl.
Howl and Sophie embark on enchanting adventures
together... As I watched I realised the whole film
seems to be a metaphor for a love story
• The castle represents Howl’s life, it has different
faces and lots of baggage, it is heavy because of this,
it moves around to keep hidden.... Like a man who
presents false faces to the world and hides his real
self
• It was said Howl, who is very good looking, liked to
suck the souls of young girls.... Metaphor for a player
He rescues her from the unwanted
attention of soldiers and then
whisks her off her feet and
they walk on air...... the feeling of
falling in love
• A witch who Howl once pursued , he thought ‘she
was beautiful but discovered that she wasn’t’... An
old girlfriend who is a bitch but still wants his heart
• Sophie is discovered by the witch who...................
belittles her and her shop, and curses her to be
turned into an old woman... The old girlfriend finds
her and makes fun of the way she looks and her life
leaving her feeling self conscious and ugly
• A small boy who lives in the castle... Howl’s inner
child
• The fire and heart of the castle and the power that
drives it. He lets her live in the castle.... She has
power over his heart like no-one else because he
loves her
Sophie is the only 1 to make it inside the castle and
she finds a home and friends, ugly and old as she
is..... She is in his heart he knows her and allows her
to know him
The place is a mess but she puts it in order and
cleans it out... She makes his life better- as with all
women in men’s lives
• Sophie starts to look younger like her real self as the
film goes on... When she feels more secure she feels
better about herself and her self opinion improves
The witch’s true age is revealed ... Her true
character shows through, not beautiful at all
Howl is summoned to report to the King’s castle to face
Mme Suliman.... I think Howl is summoned to his
parents, he tries to avoid them but goes with Sophie
Howl gives Sophie a ring that always leads her
home to the castle..... A wedding ring?
Howl changes the castle making rooms for Sophie....
They move in together to a new home
• The witch figures out that Calcifer is Howl’s
heart and steals it for herself, she ‘just adores
the hearts of young men’.... The old girlfriend
and Howl have an affair.
• The affair breaks their home and life apart as
the castle splits in 2, staggers and crumbles...
• Sophie and the dog end up alone in the
depths... Depression and defeat result from
the affair
• When Sophie gently but firmly regains the
heart and restores it to Howl they are reunited
and the castle is rebuilt better than before, it
can fly.... They love again and it’s better than
ever
• So Howl’s Moving Castle, the story of a girl cursed to
become a 90 year old who takes up residence in a
magician’s walking castle, is a metaphor for the ups
and downs of an ordinary relationship
1. Handout for Language and Popular Culture (LING 057) University of
Pennsylvania
H. Schiffman, Instructor Pop Culture, School of Arts & Sciences - University
of Pennsylvania http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/popcult/handouts/metaphor/metaphor.html
2. Ellen Yu - Howl's Moving Castle Review and Analysis
http://hbthingy.blogspot.com.au/2005/06/howls-moving-castle-review-and.html
3. Ransom Riggs - February 11, 2008 http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/12161
4. University of Phoenix- online University http://www.accreditedonlinecolleges.com/;
http://www.accreditedonlinecolleges.com/blog/2011/10-famous-films-you-didnt-know-were-allegories/