Sophie Hatter is one of the main characters throughout the movie, who leads and ordinary life doing the same thing every day. In the beginning, it seems as if she has already established herself as an old woman even before she is turned into one. Her dull, plain and boring personality is conveyed at the start of the movie through a medium shot, where the strong contrast between Sophie (in her drab clothes) and the bright and colourful background of the hat shop is very distinct. Sophie is a representation of how she sees herself, and is the character that undergoes the most changes during the course of the film. There is nothing invigorating in what Sophie does; she is just an ordinary, emotion-less and shy girl, with a low self-esteem. She has become the person she has to be and not who she truly wants to be. After being cursed by the witch, Sophie is portrayed as a 90 year old woman with heavy wrinkles on her face and a hunch in her back. Her appearance as an old woman is showed through several close up shots that show her wrinkles as well as her facial expressions, a point of view shot, showing how stiff, wrinkly and frail her hands have become with veins sticking out, an over the shoulder shot showing Sophie who is shocked about her old appearance when she looks in the mirror, and a long shot that emphasizes how high she has reached after she struggled to climb the steps to the royal palace. In summary, whenever Sophie feels tired, worn out and old, her physical appearance is a reflection of these feelings and emotions. On the contrary, when she feels happy, young, and stands up for either herself or others (by breaking her barrier) and changes her perception about her, she transforms into her young self again. Her growing love for Howl also appears to increase her desire to look out for herself more and to know what she wants and does not want. At the point where Howl tells Sophie that she can open her own flower shop now, her progression as a character can be clearly seen, as instead of accepting this, Sophie wants to be equal with Howl and to always be by his side; not alone. This moment in the film is also when her appearance starts to fluctuate rapidly until the end. Her body and face gradually begin revert to a younger state.