The whole story isn't a happy sight. But even in the face of sudden old age and ugliness, in the face of war, and in the face of challenges, the protagonists of the story live on so bravely, peacefully and kindly.
I was fascinated by Sophie's personality. After reading it, some of her words lingered in my mind. So I read it a second time, and excerpted her words that touched my heart.
1. Background: When Sophie was cursed by the Wilderness Witch and turned into a 90-year-old old woman, she saw her wrinkled hands, facing herself in the mirror, and was frightened by what she saw in front of her.
Is this really me? Just be calm... (she walks back and forth in the room for a while, then looks at herself in the mirror) Be calm... nothing to be afraid of, Sophie. (She moves back and forth in the house) Nothing happened, nothing happened. to be calm, to be calm
Under such circumstances, she didn't even cry, she just told herself to calm down over and over again. If it were me, I would definitely cry, and I don't know what to do. How could I have reason to tell myself to calm down.
2. Background: The next morning when Sophie became a 90-year-old old woman after being cursed by the Wilderness Witch, she decided to run away from home alone. Before running away, she faced the mirror and said something like this
(smiling faintly) It's alright, old lady, you look good and your clothes fit better than before. (Hears the laughter of the girls downstairs, showing a trace of reluctance) But I can't stay here anymore
3. On her way out, she met people who wanted to help her because of her inconvenience in her legs and feet, those who drove carriages, and kind-hearted farmers. Her responses were all gentle and rational. She encountered unfair things, and no one could told, but she did not vent the pain in her heart on others. In the eyes of others, she is an ordinary 90-year-old old woman, but they don't know that she is actually an 18-year-old flower girl.
4. She was under a spell and couldn't tell anyone, so she decided to get out of the town where she had lived for 18 years and go out on an adventure alone.
5. Sitting on a hill far from the town, she eats food brought from home by herself
In fact, it didn't go very far at all (she disliked herself for walking slowly), but fortunately, her teeth were still easy to use. (she sees a stick not far away and wants to make a cane, she walks over and wants to pull it out, but it's not easy), it hurts, it's stubborn enough (she gasps) don't look down on it Granny Sophie. (After pulling it out, I saw that it was a scarecrow) The head is a vegetable head, I hated vegetable heads the most since I was a child. It's much more comfortable now than before. take care of yourself
6. Caitou followed and gave Sophie a cane
Thanks, this cane is just perfect for me. It would be better if... by the way, you could find a place for me to stay tonight. (Watching Caitou go away) When I got older, I started to want to be clever
7. Caitou found Howl's castle for Sophie as a shelter at night, and he helped Sophie bring the cloak that was blown away by the wind
Although you have grown a vegetable head, but a good vegetable head, I wish you happiness (inexplicably want to laugh)
8. Sophie entered the castle and looked around the dark and chaotic surroundings
The advantage of being older is that you are not afraid of being frightened
9. The little girl asked Sophie, mother-in-law, are you also a witch, Sophie answered in a humorous manner
Yes, I am the most terrifying witch in the country.
10. The little apprentice said to Sophie, you are talking nonsense about me being a big head. Sophie didn’t answer, but said
I think you'd better not wear this weird makeup
11. Sophie found out that any door can lead to different places, she was surprised to go out to see, the little apprentice said, if you don't come in, your nose will be gone (hhh)
12. Sophie turned any door curiously and looked at the scenery outside the door. The little apprentice said, I'm really going to be angry if you play like this again. It's strange that Sophie never answers. Domineering hhh
This is any door, isn't it, where is this black one leading to?
13. The younger apprentice said that no one could use the fire when Mr. Hal was away, but Sophie directly brought the pot and said, I will burn it. The little apprentice said, no, Calcifa only listens to Mr. Hal. Calcifa also said, yes, I won't let you cook. Sophie didn't answer again and changed the subject.
So my hat is here
then say
Okay Calcifa, I'm going to start
Calcifa said, no, I'm the devil, I don't listen to anyone's orders
I'm going to water if I don't listen, or tell Hal our deal anyway
Calcifa is angry, Cheche, if I knew I wouldn't let you in. Finally, let Sophie do the cooking.
Although Calcifa was still angry and said that I let your bacon scorch, the little apprentice was still surprised and said, Calcifa would actually listen to her.
Sophie starts doing what she wants to do
I would also like some tea, is there a pot?
At this time, the little apprentice was a little surprised by Sophie's personality and began to cooperate with Sophie.
14. Hal came in and asked Sophie who you are, Sophie said with a blunt smile
I'm Granny Sophie, the new cleaning lady in this castle
As Hal cooks, he asks Sophie, who hired you as a cleaning lady?
Sophie said bluntly
I decide for myself, because there really isn't a place dirtier than here.
15. Sophie started to clean the house, smoldering while cleaning, she felt that no one took her seriously, she heard Calcifa said that she was about to die, so she just took care of her own work, really a little willful.
16. Howl is also a really good person. Although he is also a little childish, even if Sophie almost destroyed Calcifer (that was his most precious thing), he turned his head back to Sue gently. Fei said, can you please be gentle with my friend, he always speaks softly, only when he dyes his hair is he mad like a child
17. Sophie is not only frank, she just said something frankly when Kalcifa complained that she was bullying herself. She doesn't seem to realize the seriousness of the matter
I'm just a cleaner, it's my job to clean the room
18. Markle's little apprentice won't let Sophie clean the second floor, Sophie said slyly
If I were you, I'd definitely go and tidy up the room now
The little apprentice was caught, and asked Sophie to clean her room at last. Sophie never talks about things, but jumps directly to the topic, goes straight to her own thoughts, and does what she wants to do
19. Sophie is also very good at complimenting others. She said to Calcifa, are you really starting this castle? You are really a first-class magician. I am impressed by your magic, even Calcifa is shy
20. Sophie is really witty
The little apprentice asked Sophie, are you really not a witch? Sophie says
Yeah, but I'm the No. 1 cleanliness witch in the country
21. Sophie went to the market to buy something, the little apprentice said, I think Mr. Hal will never eat, Sophie said
I do, the vegetable market in the morning is the best, and this is my first time to see the sea
22. The little apprentice saw that Sophie was picking potatoes and said that the old man hated potatoes. Sophie ignored him and said after the selection.
pay
After reading it twice, the logic of the whole story gradually became clear.
Howl made a contract with Meteor, and Howl handed over his heart to Meteor, and his heart became a fire demon, Calcifa, and he possessed a powerful magic power. But if the heart and the body are separated for too long, Howl will gradually forget what he looks like. In the end, he is like the witch of the wilderness, making deals with the devil with his heart, and finally he can't be himself. So this matter, although let Hal have powerful magic, but also has a huge risk.
But why would Hal do this? My understanding is that Hal is lonely and weak when he doesn't meet the one he loves, so in order to make himself strong, he has to give his heart to Meteor. But when he met his true love, he had strong spiritual strength, no longer lonely, frightened, and had the courage and self-confidence to be his true self. (Just like today's young people, in order to make themselves strong, they must make some sacrifices. Only when they are strong can they have capital without compromise)
At the beginning of his appearance, Howl is handsome and handsome, with strong magic power. Although he treats people gently and considerately, he is still holding it up, trying his best to maintain his good external image, and he doesn't want others to see his imperfect appearance. This is a common problem of modern elites. Although they seem to be powerful, they are actually lonely, fighting alone and trying their best to maintain their own image. In fact, they are not confident in themselves. Need to rely on external image, magic (ability, money, power, etc.) to maintain themselves. But in the end, he met his true love, accepted his true appearance, and began to live a life of company and dependence.
Sophie is the one destined to break this contract. And Howl has been waiting for Sophie to break the contract. Because only by breaking the contract can he have the courage and sincerity to be his true self.
Sophie took Calcifa out of the castle, and the original castle no longer existed, then Saliman would not be able to find Howl's castle, and Howl would no longer need to continue fighting to protect Sophie. Sophie rebuilt another castle and went to find Howl, wanting to take Howl and escape together.
Before Hal moved, it was also to avoid Saliman's pursuit, but later found that he couldn't escape, he did not choose to escape again, but to accept the battle for the person he wanted to protect - beloved Sophie.
The destruction and reconstruction of the castle is actually Sophie's reshaping of Howl's heart. Howl did not expect to do this, this is what Sophie did for Hal, which means that Sophie gave Hal a new inner state and bid farewell to that heavy past.
Why is Saliman going after Sophie, because she says she found Hal's weakness, and that weakness is Sophie. Howl has been reluctant to go in and see her because Hal doesn't want to go against his heart, become a war machine, and use magic to win the war. (There will also be troubles when you become stronger.) He also dislikes the powerful mentality of Saliman using magic to protect the royal family, but disregarding the life and death of ordinary people. So he kept running away. His childlike naivety thought that by letting Sophie pretend to be his mother and explain to Saliman that he was a timid and useless man, he could avoid repeated requests. But he didn't expect that this made Sophie the target of Saliman's actions against him. Saliman's point is that Hal has strong magic and should serve the royal family, if he doesn't, he should no longer have magic and take it back, she also said that Hal's heart and body are too far away. After a long time, he will become a demon, so Hal is not a good person - taking the moment, you can think that when a person with wisdom, money, and power wants to cooperate with another equally powerful person, but this person is not willing to cooperate, The former wants to destroy him, so that no one can get the help of the latter's power. In fact, Salliman is the most greedy and wicked person, but Sophie saw through it all, so she explained to Hal that he is a straightforward person, and as for the deal with the devil, he can solve it himself. ——Because of the deal with the devil, just because Hal was not strong at that time, he needed to become strong to protect himself, so that he would not be manipulated by others, and had the ability to pursue the freedom he wanted. But that doesn't mean he's a bad guy. When Saliman was about to take back Hal's magic, Sophie blocked Hal and saved Hal.
The two escaped, but Sophie undoubtedly became Salliman's tool against Hal. That's why Hal decides not to run away and protects Sophie from fighting.
And Sophie knew that the power of an individual was insignificant, and no matter how powerful Hal was, he could not resist the suppression of the status quo. So she thought the best way was to run away. Therefore, there is a scene of demolishing the castle and rebuilding the castle later.
But things are unpredictable, and the Witch of the Wild is a little trouble in life, and she makes Sophie's plan come to nothing. But Sophie came to Hal's childhood by accident and learned about Hal's contract with the Fire Demon. She returned to reality and understood that she was the one Hal had been waiting for, breaking the contract and letting Hal be himself again. Hence the last scene.
In the end, the Scarecrow turned back into the neighboring prince, and the two countries agreed to stop the war. Saliman no longer pestered Hal to serve the country. Although Little Fire Demon was separated from Hal, he was still alive and wanted to stay with Hal and Sophie, while Hal became himself. The two understand that each other is the most important person in their lives. Because of the existence of each other, their hearts are no longer lonely, and they have the courage to be their true self. Hal no longer needs a contract to hand over his heart to make himself. Powerful, with Sophie's company, he became his true self. And Sophie also has self-confidence, no longer worrying that she is not good-looking and not worthy of Hal. She loves Hal and is willing to face her heart. Knowing Hal's heart, she is the person Hal has been waiting for. So the two lived happily ever after.
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