Howl's Moving Castle Morality and Ethics Quotes

How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)

Quote #10

"But you should have told me where you were, love!"

Sophie knew she should have. She had taken Martha's view of Fanny, whole and entire, when she should have known Fanny better. She was ashamed. (20.39-40)

See? Sophie isn't perfect either. Her regret over not talking to Fanny before running away is totally fair: she was regarding Fanny as a tyrant and a bully without thinking about the hat shop situation from Fanny's perspective. Often Sophie feels bad for things that aren't real: she thinks that she is doomed to be a failure because she is the oldest daughter in a family of three sisters and that's how fairytales go.

But Sophie's worry over her birth order is a totally invented thing to feel bad about, which she has to let go. Here her guilt over her treatment of Fanny is justified, but she is also taking a healthy approach to that shame by learning from it and improving her future relationship with her stepmother.