Hayao Miyazaki's films have become a "must-watch list" for many of us. The characters he draws seem almost enchanted, leaving a deep impression on countless viewers. Speaking of Studio Ghibli films, the one I loved most as a child was Howl's Moving Castle — and like so many fans, I was drawn in by Howl's good looks. It was only after growing up that I realised those seemingly fantastical magical worlds were, in fact, mirrors of our inner lives. From a psychological perspective, I'd like to explore that shift in viewpoint, and invite you to consider: in this messy, complicated society, do you have the courage to break the spell on your own heart?
Reading Howl's Moving Castle: A Fate That Can't Be Broken?
The story's heroine, Sophie, is the eldest daughter of her family, so she believes it is her duty to carry on the family business, staying behind to work in her late father's hat shop. Although deep down she is not content to spend her days in this little shop, she always resigns herself and accepts her lot — so much so that even her sister Lettie can't help but ask: "Do you really intend to spend your whole life in the hat shop?" Why, exactly, does she keep going along with whatever fate hands her? The psychologist Alfred Adler (1964) proposed that birth order shapes a person's personality traits, using it to explain the different attitudes and behaviours seen among siblings. His theory suggests that the first child in a family tends to be more adultlike and responsible, as well as more independent and ambitious (Adler, n.d.; Gallagher & La Lima, 2019). Scholars have also noted that, compared with the eldest son, the eldest daughter is more likely to possess qualities of nurturance and responsibility, evidence that women place greater weight on family upbringing than men do (Nyman, 1995). Once a second child is born, and the eldest is no longer the focus of their parents' attention, they may develop a sense of self-protection, becoming more conservative and feeling insecure. By contrast, the second child — being the doted-on one — is more likely to develop a rebellious, competitive mindset, which also helps explain why the youngest child is often more wilful (Gallagher & La Lima, 2019). It is clear, then, that as the eldest daughter Sophie feels responsible for shouldering the family business, and cannot act as freely as her sister does.
Diana Wynne Jones's original novel offers another reading: at the time, society held a saying that in a family of three children, the eldest is destined to fail at whatever they attempt and will never find their own dream. These sayings make Sophie all the more convinced that she is incapable, that she cannot break free of her fate. Sophie's mindset is also shaped by rationalization, one of the defense mechanisms. People often look for excuses to rationalize thoughts and behaviours we are unwilling to accept, thereby persuading ourselves to accept reality (Knoll et al., 2021). So throughout the film, Sophie keeps rationalizing that the reason she is destined to fail is simply that she is the eldest daughter — which makes it easier for her to accept the fact that she cannot leave the hat shop and chase her dreams.
Can You Find Your True Self?
Anyone who has watched this film may have wondered: why does Sophie keep flickering between young and old throughout the story? In fact, her outward appearance symbolises what is going on inside her. Attentive viewers may notice that, even though Sophie shifts back and forth, on the whole she grows steadily younger — a sign that she is slowly finding her true self. When the psychologist Carl Rogers founded person-centered therapy, he put forward self theory, explaining that the "self" is a crucial concept within personality, powerful enough to shape our thoughts and behaviour (Ismail & Tekke, 2015). He held that every person has two different selves: the ideal self and the actual self. The "ideal self" is the self-image or goal we hope to attain, but at the same time this "self" is also constructed under the influence of the outside world. For instance, we build that "ideal self" according to how we think we ought to be, and how others think we ought to be. Just as Sophie, at the start of the film, is shaped by social and cultural pressures into constantly living as the self others expect of her, constructing what she calls her "old woman's mindset." The "actual self," by contrast, is who we really are — that "self" is not perfect, yet it is the truest version of us. Carl Rogers believed that people have the capacity for self-actualization. When we build self-worth out of experience, we can slowly reach a state of being congruent — that is, narrowing the gap between the "ideal self" and the "true self" to become a fully functioning person. So when Sophie begins to learn to listen to what she truly wants, slowly recovering the "actual self" hidden deep within, her body and mind gradually grow younger — and the grey hair that never fully changes back also symbolises this process of self-actualization.
The story's other lead, Howl, may have a dashing appearance, but he is intensely preoccupied with his own looks, and deep down he too is a coward. The harder he works at dressing himself up, the more it reflects the emptiness and fear within him. In the same way, that moving castle symbolises Howl's drifting, unsettled heart; he decorates his room lavishly, but as he himself says, it is really a way of protecting himself from being hurt. We can see in Howl perhaps some of the traits of a narcissistic personality, including exaggerating his own achievements, needing excessive praise, and believing himself to be special. But unlike the grandiose narcissism of some, Howl is more of a vulnerable narcissism. In one study, the researchers Kowalchyk et al. (2021) found that vulnerable narcissists have low self-esteem, worry about others' criticism, and report low satisfaction with life. Their narcissistic traits are thus a form of compensatory behaviour, using self-elevation to mask their own insecurity. So at the start of the film, the blond Howl uses dressing himself up and indulging in a vain lifestyle to cover the lost, anxious feelings within. But when Sophie slowly walks into the castle and helps him clear away his inner wounds, he too tries to open up his heart and return to his true self — which is the dark-haired Howl we see at the film's end.
Conclusion
It is true that we are often constrained in where we can go by external factors, and that public opinion or the views of others sway our decisions. So we tend to feel that life is full of unwelcome limits. But have you ever thought about who really limits you? As the film shows, when Sophie is cursed into a ninety-year-old woman, she quickly accepts reality — because this spell gives her a perfect reason to cast off the bonds of reality and find her true self. Have you given yourself such a chance? Of course, breaking the spell on your heart is not easy, but perhaps we can begin by recognising what we truly need, accepting our own shortcomings, and slowly finding our way back to our inner voice!
References
Adler, A. (1964). Problems of neurosis. New York: Harper and Row
Adler. (n.d.). https://www.durbinhypnosis.com/adler.htm.
Gallagher, R., & La Lima, C. N. (2019). In S. Hupp, & J. D. Jewell (Eds.), The Encyclopedia of Child and Adolescent Development. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119171492.wecad216
Ismail, N. A. H., & Tekke, M. (2015). Rediscovering Rogers’s self theory and personality. Journal of Educational, Health and Community Psychology, 4(3), 28-36.
Knoll M., Starrs C.J., Perry J.C. (2020) Rationalization (Defense Mechanism). In V. Zeigler-Hill, T.K. Shackelford (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-24612-3_1419
Kowalchyk, M., Palmieri, H., Conte, E., & Wallisch, P. (2021). Narcissism through the lens of performative self-elevation. Personality and Individual Differences, 177, 110780.
Nyman, L. (1995). The identification of birth order personality attributes. The Journal of Psychology, 129(1), 51. https://www.proquest.com/docview/1290703255?pq-origsite=gscholar&fromopenview=true
Comments
No comments yet — share your thoughts.