How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
The pitying look made Sophie utterly ashamed. He was such a dashing specimen too, with a bony, sophisticated face—really quite old, well into his twenties—and elaborate blonde hair. His sleeves trailed longer than any in the Square, all scalloped edges and silver insets. (1.46)
Howl's first appearance in the novel emphasizes what he wants people to notice about him: that he is grandly dressed, that his hair is blond, and that he is dashing. Once Sophie gets to the moving castle, she finds out that Howl's blond hair is the result of hours in the bathroom and that he only has two suits to his name. While Sophie finds Howl immediately attractive when she first meets him, he's not really a viable romantic partner for her until she learns what's behind that ridiculous, carefully constructed mask.
Quote #2
The shop bell clanged and the grandest customer she had ever seen sailed in, with a sable wrap drooping from her elbows and diamonds winking all over her dense black dress. Sophie's eyes went to the lady's wide hat first—real ostrich plume dyed to reflect the pinks and greens and blues winking in the diamonds and yet still look black. This was a wealthy hat. The lady's face was carefully beautiful. The chestnut-brown hair made her seem young, but … (2.41)
The Witch of the Waste has careful control over her appearance. This appears to be one of the advantages of magic: if you are vain and conceited about your looks, magic can help you to maintain them. But Sophie can see the cracks in the Witch's appearance that show she's not all she pretends to be. Her face is "carefully" beautiful, and she seems "young, but …" Even before Sophie learns more than she wants to about the Witch of the Waste, her perceptiveness warns her that there is something wrong with this woman.
Quote #3
[The shepherd] had now edged himself downhill of Sophie and seemed to feel better for it. "Then I wish you good luck, Mother, provided your fortune don't have nothing to do with charming folks' cattle." And he took off down the road in great strides, almost running, but not quite.
Sophie stared after him indignantly. "He thought I was a witch!" she said to her stick. She had half a mind to scare the shepherd by shouting nasty things after him, but that seemed a little unkind. (2.75-6)
It's hilarious that Sophie gets so mad at this shepherd for misjudging her based on her appearance when she often assumes things about people without thinking through her conclusions (for instance, she believes that Fanny is deliberately using her based only on Martha's biased word). Don't get us wrong: the shepherd is a jerk for thinking that Sophie might be a witch because she is an old woman out on her own muttering to herself. But like this shepherd, Sophie could use a few lessons on withholding judgment for a bit.