Repression of Sophie Hatter in Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wayne Jones (1986)

The research entitled “Repression of Sophie Hatter in Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wayne Jones (1986)” aims to figure out the repression defense mechanism of Sophie Hatter, the main character from the novel Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wayne Jones (1986). The researcher used qualitative method to analyze the data. The primary data are taken from Jones’s novel in the form of speech, thought, action, effect on other, and look. In addition, the researcher also used psychoanalysis and characterization theory in literature to analyze the depiction of repression in the character of Sophie Hatter. The researcher found three occasions of Hatter’s repression. The first one is repression of anger where Sophie refuses to feel angry when she was accused unjustly, when she was jealous and when she was betrayed.The next one is repression of fear when Sophie’s action that were driven by emphaty and need to be safe is hindered by her fear. Lastly, repression of passion in Sophie happened when she was forced to quit school even though she loves studying. Anger, fear and passion are repressed since they would give Sophie negative mental states such as embarassment, shame, and guilt. Also, the repression helps Sophie in coping with conflict and eases her mind which makes her able to do things she would not be able to do otherwise.Finally, this research illustrates that there must be conflicts in each person’s mind that lead them into making every action they do which differs according to what they deem as more important: id or superego. In Sophie’s case, she feels the most comfortable when she follows her superego’s demands which makes her have repression defense mechanism