Sophie's Magical Incident

4.1.1.2. Sophie is cursed by The Witch of the Waste
Sophie’s title as ‘the eldest of three’ has shown its power. The witch of the waste suddenly approaches Sophie and puts a spell on her. Sophie is mistaken as her little sister, Lettie, who previously told had challenged the witch. The spell turned a 17 years old Sophie into a 90 years old woman. The magical event she experienced is a result of her condition: the unluckiest daughter of the Hatter family. Besides of the effect of the Land of Ingary’s magic, the event also happens because of the intrusion of the witch who curses Sophie. Nikolajeva (2002) believes magical event happens because there is active participation of magical character. The intervention of the witch of the waste to Sophie’s

Tolkien (1966) defines escape as a part of human’s wills to flee from the viciousness of world. In Sophie’s case, the magical event helps her to escape from her current life. Excerpt 4.9. shows that her 90 year old look doesn’t really bother her that much. She worries more that the look will surprise her family and her acquaintances. Moreover, since she cannot really tell about the spell to them, it would be hard for her to explain the exact situation. Hence, she chooses to go out from her house to find a life that suits her new-look more; as well as to discover the method to remove the spell. What is more important, her new-look gives her a chance to escape from her predestined life.
Before the magical event happens, she is described as someone who feels doomed over her destiny. She is also presented as someone who has lack of self-confidence and self-esteem. It is because The Land of Ingary, the world she lived in, has already determined her destiny to be the least successful among her siblings; because she is the eldest of three. No matter how hard she works, the future she has will not as bright as her sisters; even if she has better qualities than them. She always too focuses over her unlucky fate. Therefore, she always feels unhappy because she thinks she only has few options for her own

“Don't worry, old thing,” Sophie said to the face, “You look quite healthy. Besides, this is much more like you really are.” Everything seemed to have gone calm and remote. She was not even particularly angry with the Witch of the Waste. (p.22).
Rather than feeling depressed and blaming the witch for her 90 years old look, she feels quite relieved about her look. She finds out that becoming old fits her style more; she doesn’t need to pay attention to her appearance anymore. It shows that Sophie tries to escape from all the pressure she felt as an unlucky young girl. Moreover, her new-look offers her an opportunity to escape from her predestined fate. As it implied in the excerpt 4.9, the magic gives her a chance to seek her own fortune and escapes from her boring life; while she is also searching for a way to break the