Moomins?
The Moomins (Swedish: Mumintrollen, pronounced [ˈmʉːmɪnˌtrɔlːɛn]) are the central characters in a series of novels, short stories, picture books, and a comic strip by the Finnish writer and illustrator Tove Jansson, originally published in Swedish by the Finnish publisher Schildts.[2] They are a family of white, round fairy-tale characters with large snouts that make them resemble the hippopotamus. However, despite this resemblance, the Moomin family are trolls who live in a house in Moominvalley.
The Moomins
The Moomins, comic book cover by Tove Jansson. From left to right: Sniff, Snufkin, Moominpappa, Moominmamma, Moomintroll (Moomin), the Mymble's daughter, Groke, Snork Maiden and Hattifatteners
The Moomins and the Great Flood (1945)
Comet in Moominland (1946)
Finn Family Moomintroll (1948)
The Exploits of Moominpappa (1950)
The Book about Moomin,
Mymble and Little My (1952)
Moominsummer Madness (1954)
Moominland Midwinter (1957)
Who Will Comfort Toffle? (1960)
Tales from Moominvalley (1962)
Moominpappa at Sea (1965)
Moominvalley in November (1970)
The Dangerous Journey (1977)
Villain in the Moominhouse (1980)
Songs from the Moominvalley (1993)
Author
Tove Jansson
Original title
Mumintrollen
Translator
To English: Elizabeth Portch, Thomas Warburton, Kingsley Hart, Ant O'Neill
Illustrator
Tove Jansson
Country
Finland
Language
Finland Swedish[1]
Genre
Children's fantasy
Publisher
Drawn & Quarterly, Macmillan, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, Schildts, Zangavar, Sort of Books
Media type
Print, digital
Website
www.moomin.com/en
Between 1945 and 1993, nine books were released in the series, together with five picture books and a comic strip.
The Moomins have inspired numerous television series, films, and three theme parks: Moomin World in Naantali, Finland, and MoominValley Park and Akebono Children's Forest Park both in Hannō, Saitama, Japan.
Etymology
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There are two different stories of how the term moomintroll was invented.[3][4]
On one occasion, Jansson explained that the term mumintroll was originally coined during her childhood by her uncle: to deter the young Jansson from taking food from his pantry, the uncle told her that it was inhabited by "cold moomintrolls", which would come out of the corners and rub their noses against Jansson if she came to steal food.[3]
In a 1973 letter to Paul Ariste, an Estonian linguist, Jansson wrote that she had created the word moomintroll to express something soft: She came up with an ad hoc Swedish word mumintroll because, in her opinion, the consonant sound of m in particular conveys a sensation of softness. As an artist, Jansson gave the Moomins a shape that also expresses softness, as opposed to flabbiness.[4]
Synopsis and characters
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See also: List of Moomin characters
Finnish Moomin toys from the 1950s
Edward the Booble and the bathing hut, at Moominworld
The Moomin stories concern several eccentric and oddly-shaped characters, some of whom are related to each other. The central family consists of Moominpappa, Moominmamma and Moomintroll.[5]
Other characters, such as the Snork Maiden, Hemulens, Sniff, Snufkin, and Little My are accepted into or attach themselves to the family group from time to time, despite generally living separate lives in Moominvalley, the setting of the series, where the Moomin family decides to live at the end of The Moomins and the Great Flood.
Characters
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Moomintroll, also referred to as "Moomin" in some of the English translations: The main protagonist and little boy of the family, interested in and excited about everything he sees and finds, always trying to be good, but sometimes getting into trouble while doing so; he always tries to be brave and find a way to make his friends happy.
Moominpappa: Orphaned in his younger years, he is a somewhat restless soul who left the orphanage to venture out into the world in his youth but has now settled down, determined to be a responsible father to his family.
Moominmamma: The calm mother, who takes care that Moominhouse is a safe place to be. She wants everyone to be happy, appreciates individuality, but settles things when someone is wronged. She always brings good food as well as whatever else may be necessary on a journey in her handbag.
Little My: A mischievous little girl, who lives in the Moomin house and has a cynical spunky personality. She likes adventure and loves catastrophes; she sometimes does mean things on purpose. She finds messiness and untidiness exciting and is very down to earth, especially when others are not.
Sniff: A creature who lives in the Moomin house. He likes to take part in everything, but is afraid to do anything dangerous. Sniff appreciates all valuables and makes many plans to get rich, but does not succeed.
Snork Maiden: Moomin's friend. She is happy and energetic, but often suddenly changes her mind on things. She loves nice clothes and jewelry and is a little flirtatious. She thinks of herself as Moomin's girlfriend.
Snufkin: Moomin's best friend. The lonesome philosophical traveller, who likes to play the harmonica and wander the world with only a few possessions, so as not to make his life complicated. He comes and goes as he pleases, is carefree and has many admirers in Moominvalley. He is also fearless and calm in even the most dire situations, which has proven to be a great help to Moomintroll and the others when in danger.
The Mymble, also referred to as "the Mymble's daughter": Little My's amiable and helpful big sister, and half-sister of Snufkin. She often has romantic daydreams about the loves of her life, particularly policemen.
The Snork: Snorkmaiden's brother. He is an introvert by nature and is always inventing things. The residents of Moominvalley often ask Snork for help solving tricky problems and building machines. Snorks are like moomintrolls, but change colour according to their mood.
Too-Ticky: A wise woman, and good friend of the family. She has a boyish look, with a blue hat and a red-striped shirt. She dives straight into action to solve dilemmas in a practical way. Too-Ticky is one of the people in Moominvalley who does not hibernate, instead spending the winter in the small changing shed and storehouse over the water at the end of the Moomin's summer landing stage.
Stinky: A small furry creature that always plays jokes on the family in the house, where he sometimes lives. He likes pinching things, is proud of his reputation as a crook, but always gets found out. He is simple and only thinks of himself.
Biographical interpretation
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Tove Jansson with Moomin dolls
Critics have interpreted various Moomin characters as being inspired by real people, especially members of the author's family, with Tove Jansson having spoken in interviews about the backgrounds of her characters and possible models for them.[6] The first two books about the Moomins (The Moomins and the Great Flood and Comet in Moominland) were published in 1945 and 1946 respectively, and deal with natural disasters; they were influenced by the upheavals of war and Jansson's depression during the war years.[7][8] The reception of the first two Moomin books was lukewarm at first; the second book received more attention than its predecessor, but sales figures were still poor.[9] The third book, Finn Family Moomintroll, which was the first Moomin book translated into English, became the first international bestseller.[10]
Tove Jansson's life partner was the graphic artist Tuulikki Pietilä, whose personality inspired the character Too-Ticky in Moominland Midwinter.[6][11] Moomintroll and Little My have been seen as psychological self-portraits of the artist.[6][11] The Moomins, generally speaking, relate strongly to Jansson's own family – they were bohemian, lived close to nature and were very tolerant towards diversity.[6][8][11][12] Moominpappa and Moominmamma are often seen as portraits of Jansson's parents Viktor Jansson and Signe Hammarsten-Jansson.[6][11][12] Most of Jansson's characters are on the verge of melancholy, such as the always formal Hemulen, or the strange Hattifatteners, who travel in concerted, ominous groups. Jansson uses the differences between the characters' philosophies to provide a venue for her satirical impulses.[13]
List of books
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The Moomin books and Tove Jansson's biographies at the Moomin Museum in Tampere, Finland
The books in the series, in order, are:
The Moomins and the Great Flood (Originally: Småtrollen och den stora översvämningen) – 1945.
Comet in Moominland (Originally: Kometjakten/Kometen kommer) – 1946.
Finn Family Moomintroll, Some editions: The Happy Moomins –(Originally: Trollkarlens hatt) – 1948.
The Exploits of Moominpappa, Some editions: Moominpappa's Memoirs (Originally: Muminpappans bravader/Muminpappans memoarer) – 1950.
Moominsummer Madness (Originally: Farlig midsommar) – 1954.
Moominland Midwinter (Originally: Trollvinter) – 1957.
Tales from Moominvalley (Originally: Det osynliga barnet) – 1962 (Short stories).
Moominpappa at Sea (Originally: Pappan och havet) – 1965.
Moominvalley in November (Originally: Sent i november) – 1970 (In which the Moomin family is absent).
All of the books in the main series except The Moomins and the Great Flood (Originally: Småtrollen och den stora översvämningen) were translated and published in English between 1951 and 1971. This first book was eventually translated into English in 2005 by David McDuff and published by Schildts of Finland for the 60th anniversary of the series.[8] A later 2012 version of the same translation, featuring Jansson's new preface to the 1991 Scandinavian printing, was published in Britain by Sort of Books,[14] and was more widely distributed.
There are also five Moomin picture books by Tove Jansson:
The Book about Moomin, Mymble and Little My (Originally: Hur gick det sen?) – 1952.
Who Will Comfort Toffle? (Originally: Vem ska trösta knyttet?) – 1960.
The Dangerous Journey (Originally: Den farliga resan) – 1977.
Skurken i Muminhuset (English: Villain in the Moominhouse) – 1980
Visor från Mumindalen (English: Songs from Moominvalley) – 1993 (No English translation published).
The first official translation of Villain in the Moominhouse by Tove Jansson historian Ant O'Neill was premiered in a reading at the ArchWay With Words literary festival on 25 September 2017.[15]
The books and comic strips have been translated from their original Swedish and English respectively into many languages. The Book about Moomin, Mymble and Little My is the first Moomin book to be adapted for iPad…
