Line #43 Literature/CastleInTheAir


1	%%Commented out examples are zero context examples. Please do not re-add without adding context.
2	%%
3	[[quoteright:222:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/castle_in_the_air_6225.png]]
4
5	A companion piece to ''Literature/HowlsMovingCastle'', written by Creator/DianaWynneJones. The story centers on Abdullah, a moderately successful carpet merchant who daydreams of adventures and beautiful princesses. That is, until a stranger sells him a magic flying carpet and all his dreams begin coming true.
6
7	Like ''Howl's Moving Castle'', the story lampshades, subverts and plays with various tropes related to the Literature/ArabianNights.
8	----
9	!!The book provides examples of:
10	* AccidentalKidnapping: Near the end of the novel, the djinn Hasruel abducts Princess Valeria. The soldier, wanting to get a reward, orders the genie to take him after the djinn and place Whippersnapper, who had reverted back into his true baby form, with someone who could look after him. The genie, being the JackassGenie that he is, brings the baby to the castle in the air with them. When [[MamaBear Sophie]] discovers that her baby's been taken to the djinn's hideout, she is furious and accuses the soldier of abducting him.
11	* AchillesHeel: All djinns have a life which they must keep hidden for their own protection. If anyone destroys the life, the djinn is killed.
12	%%* AchillesInHisTent: Prince Justin is apparently in the habit of doing this.
13	%%* ActuallyIAmHim: The soldier says this almost word-for-word to Princess Beatrice at the end of the novel, when he reveals his true identity.
14	* AffablyEvil: Hasruel. He's not truly evil, but has been forced into the role after his brother stole his life and made him his slave.
15	%%* ArabianNightsDays: Abdullah's homeland is this.
16	* BabiesEverAfter: [[spoiler:Both Sophie and Lettie give birth during the book - to a son and a daughter, respectively.]]
17	* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: A large number of Abdullah's daydreams come true - including his most horrible ones that include merciless villains and the like. [[spoiler:Turns out Hasruel did this on purpose.]]
18	%%* BelligerentSexualTension: Between Flower and Abdullah in the castle in the air.
19	* BewareTheNiceOnes: [[spoiler:As Midnight, Sophie]] seemed relatively sweet to the soldier. However, as a human mother who thinks that said soldier has purposefully abducted her child, she is not so nice.
20	* BetaCouple: Abdullah and Flower in the Night are the main couple, with [[spoiler:Justin and Beatrice]] as the BetaCouple. The alpha and beta couples from ''Howl's Moving Castle'' also appear in supporting roles.
21	* BewitchedAmphibians: The genie threatens to turn anyone who annoys him into toads. [[spoiler:At one point in the story he actually does turn Abdullah and the soldier into toads, but only for a limited amount of time.]] He also turns the first people to open his bottle into toads, though Abdullah makes him reverse the spell during his attempt to challenge fate.
22	%%* BigBrotherInstinct: [[spoiler: Hasruel to Dalzel.]]
23	* CanonCharacterAllAlong: Initially the book appears to be an unrelated story to ''Howl's Moving Castle'' set in a different part of the same fantasy world, with all-new characters. However, late in the book it's revealed that several of the supporting cast are actually characters from the first book, who've been transformed and/or enchanted by djinn magic. Furthermore, [[spoiler:the titular castles of both books are one and the same.]]
24	* CatsAreMagic: Midnight the cat appears to have some magic abilities, as she can become as large as a panther when she is annoyed. Because of this, Abdullah theorises that both Midnight and Whippersnapper must belong to a witch of some sort.
25	%%* ChekhovsGun: Just about everything, really.
26	* ChekhovsGunman: Pick a character, any character. Most importantly, [[spoiler:Hasruel]] admits to having a hand in everything the main characters go through. [[spoiler:Naturally, he's in disguise for most of the important events.]]
27	%%* ChekhovsSkill: Princess Valeria's [[HellIsThatNoise screeching]].
28	%%* CoolCat: Midnight.
29	* CoolOldLady: The Princess of Tsapfan, a magic-user and mother to fourteen boys.
30	* CutenessProximity: The Strangian soldier goes completely gooey over the cats. Abdullah, on the other hand, is firmly convinced that CatsAreMean.
31	%%* CuteKitten: Whippersnapper.
32	* DamselInDistress: Subverted. While the kidnapped princesses are being held captive, they do make several escape plans.
33	%%* DisproportionateRetribution: A lot of the genie's spells are this.
34	%%* EvilFeelsGood: Hasruel admits to it.
35	%%* FireForgedFriends: Abdullah and the Soldier.
36	* FirstGirlWins: Flower-in-the-Night is the first girl Abdullah encounters in the story. He falls in love with her instantly and marries her by the end of the story.
37	%%* ForcedIntoEvil: Hasruel...but he's thoroughly enjoying it.
38	* ForcedTransformation:
39	** [[spoiler:Sophie]] explains that out of the blue, [[spoiler:she was turned into a cat while pregnant]].
40	** [[spoiler:A number of the main characters from ''Howl's Moving Castle'']] turn out to have been trapped in the form of various creatures.
41	* {{Foreshadowing}}: Several things point toward [[spoiler:Howl being the genie]]:
42	** [[spoiler:Both Howl and the genie are able to summon a wind to speed themselves and their companions to their destination quickly.]]
43	** [[spoiler:Both of them are cowards at heart.]]
44	** [[spoiler:When Abdullah is arguing with the genie about whether a wish asked for but not granted equals 'one wish per day', the genie says, 'The young man is a coffee-shop lawyer!' Coffee shops were frequent in Britain in the 20th century.]]
45	** [[spoiler:When Abdullah is telling the genie of his intention to challenge fate, Abdullah notices that the genie's eyes look almost human.]]
46	* GenieInABottle: Abdullah acquires a genie in a bottle, who is forced to grant him a wish a day.
47	* GuileHero: The first thing Abdullah tries to do when confronted with the robbers in the desert is convince them that he is a powerful magician who is wearing chains that prevent him from using his magic. He says this in an attempt to trick the robbers into taking his chains off him.
48	* HaremSeeker: [[spoiler:Dalzel. He settles for ''all'' of the highborn ladies in the world because no female djinn will have him.]]
49	* HiddenInPlainSight: [[spoiler: Hasruel's life is ''under his nose.'']]
50	* IChooseToStay: [[spoiler:Abdullah and Flower-In-The-Night stay in Ingary.]]
51	%%* ItsAllAboutMe: Dalzel.
52	* JackassGenie: He grants only one wish a day and thinks up ways to ''specifically'' screw whoever makes the wish over. His justification is being stuffed in an old bottle makes him cranky. Toward the end, the genie is revealed [[spoiler:to be Howl, cursed to be a genie by the djinn]].
53	* KarmicJackpot: The Soldier rescuing a mother cat and her kitten pays off big-time. [[spoiler:It turns out the two are the genie's wife and child, which makes the genie more amenable to helping out when they need to get his castle back. Sophie also becomes a formidable ally to rescue the princesses and her son]].
54	%%* KidWithTheLeash: [[spoiler: Dalzel to Hasruel.]]
55	* KindHeartedCatLover: The Soldier turns out to be this. Much to Abdullah's disgust, he insists on keeping the two strays they find in the mountains and even names them 'Midnight' and 'Whippersnapper'.
56	* LoveAtFirstSight: Abdullah falls for Flower-in-the-Night the moment he first meets her. Only days after first meeting he's already planning to elope with her.
57	* MadeASlave: Hasruel was forced to slave away for his brother after his brother stole his life.
58	%%* MagicCarpet: Turns out to be [[spoiler:Calcifer, changed into a carpet by the djinn]].
59	* MakeAWish: The genie is forced to grant anyone who asks a wish.
60	* MamaBear: Sophie. Do NOT harm Morgan Jenkins if you know what's good for you.
61	* MuggingTheMonster: The Strangian soldier finances his tour of Ingary by flashing a few gold coins in a village and waiting until the local toughs attack him.
62	* NoSympathy: The genie shows no sympathy towards Abdullah's plight, and is always very difficult when being asked for a wish. He doesn't show any sympathy at all either when the soldier wishes for salmon and milk for Midnight and Whippersnapper who he claims are starving. [[spoiler:Subverted with the latter, when he realizes the cat and kitten are Sophie and his son Morgan]].
63	* OminousFloatingCastle: The djinn's hideout. [[spoiler: Turns out to be none other than Howl's moving castle, transformed by magic.]]
64	* OurGeniesAreDifferent: Played with -- the two djinns mentioned are powerful, but one has control over a host of angels, which is in line with some mythology, but they also have more of a demonic shape. There is also a ''genie'', which is the normal granter of wishes.
65	* PairTheSpares: [[spoiler:The two fat cousins from Abdullah's stepfamily are married off to Dalzel.]]
66	* PapaWolf: In hindsight, this was why [[spoiler:the genie brought Morgan along in baby form with the soldier to the castle. He said he wanted someone to look after his son and Sophie was away at the time]].
67	%%* PerfectlyArrangedMarriage: [[spoiler:Prince Justin of Ingary and Princess Beatrice of Strangia.]]
68	%%* PetTheDog: All of Abdullah's actions toward Jamal.
69	%%* PregnantBadass: Lettie Suliman.
70	* ProphecyTwist: Abdullah is prophesied to be raised above all others in the land. At first, he assumes this means he will become famous and powerful. After he attracts the ire of the sultan -- who has a penchant for impaling people he dislikes on forty-foot stakes -- Abdullah faces the prospect of the prophecy coming true in an unpleasantly literal way. [[spoiler:Ultimately, the prophecy is instead implied to have been fulfilled by Abdullah reaching the floating castle, which is a lot higher up than forty feet.]]
71	* TheQuest: The princess Abdullah wants to elope with is suddenly abducted by a djinn. Abdullah resolves to rescue her.
72	* RagsToRoyalty: Given that Abdullah is a common carpet merchant in love with a princess, this should be obvious. [[spoiler: It's averted entirely. Instead, Abdullah and Flower-In-The-Night are given diplomatic titles and live well, but certainly not as King and Queen.]]
73	* RewatchBonus: The Soldier vents to Abdullah that he never saw a red cent of his veteran's pension. [[spoiler:He doesn't know it, but he never received a pension because he's not really a veteran. He's Prince Justin with FakeMemories]].
74	* SaveThePrincess: Abdullah's quest. Later on, [[spoiler:the djinn admits that he's tried to bait ''many'' princes into trying to rescue their beloveds; but Abdullah has so far been the only one to try]].
75	* SelfFulfillingProphecy: Flower-In-The-Night said that her father kept her away from men because she was prophesized to fall in love with the first one she sees and he wants to control her future match. She tells this to Abdullah, the first man she sees. Abdullah misses the implication of this and offers to bring her photos of other men so she could make an accurate judgment.
76	* SoulJar: [[spoiler:The ring in Hasruel's nose is this for Hasruel's life.]]
77	* TalkAboutTheWeather: One of the princesses in the castle complains that, since it's up above the clouds, there ''isn't'' any weather to talk about.
78	* TextileWorkIsFeminine: Among her other virtues, Beatrice can darn socks. And mend boots.
79	%%* UnspokenPlanGuarantee: The final plan to defeat the djinns.
80	* VillainHasAPoint: [[spoiler: When Howl confronts Hasruel about Hasruel trapping him in a genie bottle, Hasruel admits that he only did it because Howl had been complicit in Ingary unfairly using magic to defeat Strangia during the war. Otherwise, if Howl had been innocent, he would have been banished to the island that Dalzel ends up being banished to. Even Howl realises that he ''could'' have convinced the King of Ingary not to use magic against the Strangians, and accepts that he was not entirely blameless in that matter.]]
81	* YouCantFightFate: Toyed with. Abdullah convinces the genie to fetch milk and salmon for the cats and prevents him from turning Abdullah permanently into a toad by reminding the genie of the prophecy about him. The genie then rather moodily accepts that he can't go against the prophecy.

Context Literature / CastleInTheAir