In fantasy literature, Age is often treated as a feature that defines abilities, intentions and importance. Rarely, if ever, is a capable heroine beyond the ripe age of twenty-five, and it may be written within the stars that no male lead shall ever grow older than the age of 32, lest he be a force for fear. This idea, proven further by the lack of aged characters within the literature chosen for our class, is one bred out of a combination of cultural arrogance and an innate fear of growing old. However, it is this fear and rejection of the elderly that makes the movie Howl’s Moving Castle so very interesting, as it could be argued to subvert the genre’s negative predisposition towards age. In fact, one could begin to argue that in the case of Howl’s moving castle age is treated more as a blessing than anything else, and the characters who begin to show age can grow far more than the ones who do not.…