#howl avoidant/disorganized attachment icon fr...

[i-dreamed-i-had-a-son]

Just watched Howl's Moving Castle for the first time last night and I have thoughts! Specifically on Howl's living space, which represents a lot about him as a character.

When we first meet Howl, his house is a shambling mess. The inside is in total disarray, and only a child (Markl) is left to care for it. Howl gave up his heart when he was a child, so in a sense, Markl is a representation of Howl--a child that has to look older than he is, overwhelmed by his responsibilities and feeling quietly abandoned. The state of the house makes that very clear: it's too much for Markl (and Howl) to handle.

The castle also illustrates Howl's facade, hiding his depressive tendencies. It has many entrances, the outsides of which are well-kept and presentable, but false; the buildings which the house occupies are actually ramshackle and ruined. Inside the house, there's a mess that is never cleaned--dirty dishes, filthy bathrooms, dust and cobwebs--which may well occur when someone is depressed. And since the house is deeply tied to Howl, this is also a reflection of how Howl sees himself: beautiful on the outside, disgusting on the inside.

Sophie first helps Howl by coming in (uninvited) and cleaning the inside of the house. She isn't off-put by the state of it. Howl resists some of the changes, which immediately have an effect on how he sees himself (the hair scene in particular shows how vulnerable--and childlike--he is when his space is changed), but her cleaning is what enables him to finally be open with someone about his fears. She is removing the clutter and helping the real Howl to shine through.

It's telling that the most concentrated vulnerability for Howl happens in his room. He first confesses to being a coward while snuggled up in bed (much like a child with their mother, a role which Sophie does fill for him at points). Sophie's dream vision, in which she speaks to Howl's monstrous form, also occurs in his room. These are both further indications that the house represents Howl himself; his room represents his heart (or the place where it should be).

Howl's room is cavernous and filled with many shiny trinkets. This connects to multiple aspects of his character: first, his monstrous form is based on a corvid, a type of bird which has a penchant for collecting shiny things; the trinkets he collects are flashy but empty of value, much as Howl presents himself. Second, it illustrates how Howl feels the space where his heart used to be and is compelled to try to fill it--this is clear especially in Sophie's dream, where dark tunnels stretch back into blackness and trinkets line the walls. Nothing Howl collects can really fill the hole within him. In fact, the only thing which takes up space in the tunnels is himself--a monster, hiding in the darkest recesses. He feels that deep down he is the monster he fears himself to be, so he collects things to cover it up and put on a show.

This is also why Howl's castle is made up of so many parts, shambling along. His instinct is to collect and to cover, almost hoarding whatever he can find. These things also happen to be everyone else's leftovers. (It's telling that even the people who end up with Howl seem to be outcasts or forgotten. We don't even know how Markl comes to be with him.)

This touches on the underlying reason Howl is the way he is, as we see at the end of the movie: he has felt abandoned by everyone in his life. It's implied that Howl gave up his heart because carrying it was too heavy: he was alone, without companionship, without anyone to value and love him. This created a deep feeling of inadequacy, which makes him both compulsively collect things, and preemptively push people away.

But Sophie, sitting alone in the hat shop, has shared that feeling and can see through it. She refuses both to abandon Howl, and to allow him to abandon himself. She removes his things and clutter, and collects people instead--people whom Howl almost immediately calls "family." And because of this, his house changes. It becomes cleaner, with her help. Calcifer becomes more cooperative. Howl adds new rooms, making space in himself for more people. But even in this, it's still a house which isn't what it seems on the outside.

So, in the end, Howl's home is destroyed--and rebuilt--just like Howl himself. He is completely broken down by what he's had to do, and he collapses on the last remnants of his old castle, which has been increasingly falling apart the more he pushes himself. But Sophie, and the rest of the family, work together to restore him--they all see him for who he is, and all choose to stay and to help. When he accepts his heart and wakes, it is somewhat of a rebirth. And after this, his home is remade too! There is room for all of the people he loves, no longer a desperate cramming together. And his castle still moves, but he's not running away anymore. It flies, like he can, because Howl is finally free.