![howls moving castle theme song howls moving castle theme song](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/6l-25AUgjVs/maxresdefault.jpg)
Howl, a wizard with a reputation for stealing the hearts and souls of beautiful young women, roams around the areas surrounding Ingary in his enchanted castle, and the Witch of the Waste, a powerful and dangerous witch who has been banished to the Waste, a dismal land outside of Ingary, is on the prowl. Meanwhile, magical warfare is on the horizon in Ingary. Sophie grows tired of living like an old maid working at the hat shop, but she continues to do so because she feels as though it is her destiny.
![howls moving castle theme song howls moving castle theme song](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/aDkchvNnz30/hqdefault.jpg)
Being the eldest of the three sisters, Sophie is destined to inherit the family hat business while her sisters go on to fulfill their dreams. Both of Sophie’s biological parents died before the story takes place, and she is left in the care of her step-mother, Fanny Hatter. The protagonist of the novel, Sophie Hatter, is the eldest of three sisters, and this is considered to be “quite a misfortune” in Ingary (Jones 1). Howl’s Moving Castle begins in “the land of Ingary, where such things as seven-league boots and cloaks of invisibility really exist” (Jones 1). Diana Wynne Jones’s young adult novel Howl’s Moving Castle is a work of fantasy which meets all of the requirements that are necessary to be considered a work of literature. While a work of popular fiction is merely a source of entertainment that gratifies the masses with no significant end result, a work of literary fiction is a piece of unified art with a purpose. A work of literature intertwines various aspects of a novel that may seem unrelated on the surface in the interest of attaining a certain level of stylistic and technical aptitude. However, a work can meet all of the previous requirements and still lack the necessary cohesion, harmony, and conciseness required to meet the literary fiction standards. To be recognized as young adult literary fiction, a work must meet all of the previous requirements, and it must be appropriate in style and subject matter for the intended audience, provide the audience with a valuable moral lesson, and focus on some sort of theme revolving around coming-of-age or self-realization.
![howls moving castle theme song howls moving castle theme song](https://www.musicnotes.com/images/productimages/mtd/MN0227873.gif)
Generally speaking, a work must adhere to literary traditions, convey a deeper meaning, and present conventional themes in order to be recognized as a work of literary fiction. Everyone has his or her own idea of literature and what separates a work of literary fiction from a work of popular fiction.