Moominpappa at Sea (Moomins Fiction)

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It was only natural, because they had so much to do at dusk. They were always doing something. Sooner or later, Moominmamma would bustle over from the kitchen side of the house toward the outside cellar to fetch some sausages or some butter. Or to the potato patch. Or to get some wood. Every time she did it, she looked as though she were walking down a completely strange and exciting path. But you could never be sure. She might just as well be out on some secret errand of her own which she thought was fun, or playing some private game, or just walking round for the sake of it. Dening, Lizzy. (2017, September 26). The Moomins: Tove Jansson’s feminist legacy. The Guardian. Accessed March 15, 2021, from https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/sep/26/moomins-tove-jannson-feminist-oxfam.

Tove Jansson explores a variety of themes and has a peculiar philosophical vision. The Moomintroll books were written in the immediate aftermath of World War II, which hit Finland very hard. While there is no war and almost no violence in them I think that they are a sort of antidote to the inhumanity of that conflict. The books all have a moral core which is accepting individual idiosyncrasies while at the same time feeling that there is a sense of appropriateness to things. This is personified by the character of Moominmamma who is described as very moral but broad minded. Moominpappa aimlessly puttered about in his garden, his tail dragging along the ground behind him in a melancholy way. Here, down in the Valley, the heat was scorching; everything was still and silent, and not a little dusty. It was the month when there could be great forest fires, the month for taking great care. At night, Moomintroll looks for the seafillies whom he admires greatly. The fillies are selfies and mean to Moomintroll, but he doesn't care. As he tries to attract them by waving his lamp he instead finds he's attracted the Groke. Every night, Moomintroll tries to call for the seafillies, but only ends up being accompanied by the Groke. However, slowly he starts growing a fondness for her, and when the lamp ultimately runs out of petroleum the Groke is no longer cold. As Moominpappa begins to get closer to nature and its essence, and no longer stands above it, he can be seen to show signs of a greater understanding of himself as well. In this way, approaching nature and accepting it can be seen as supporting humanity, self-acceptance and empathic understanding. Meanwhile, Moominmamma grows more and more melancholy as her dream of planting a garden never works out and her longing for home grows stronger. Eventually she starts painting the walls of the lighthouse with flowers until she's drawn all of Moominvalley. Moominmamma finds she can walk inside the painting to be at peace.At night, Moomintroll looks for the seafillies whom he admires greatly. The fillies are selfish and mean to Moomintroll, but he does not care. As he tries to attract them by waving his lamp, he instead attracts the Groke. Every night, Moomintroll tries to call for the seafillies, but only ends up being accompanied by the Groke. Slowly, he starts to grow fond of her, and when the lamp ultimately runs out of kerosene, the Groke is no longer cold. Boyce, Frank Cottrell; Cottrell-Boyce, Frank (25 December 2015). "Frank Cottrell Boyce: Five things to learn from the Moomins". The Guardian.

In the end, and hopefully without giving away too much, Pappa’s skills become invaluable and Moomintroll makes an extraordinary discovery that reminds us not to judge a book by its cover! Being a little bit older, and hopefully a little bit wiser, I was genuinely astounded by the degree to which this story resonated with me on an intellectual level. (Forgive me in advance for being over-analytical—my college English courses were not so long ago.) For me, Moominpappa at Sea felt like an incredibly timely account of a father grappling with his sense of self worth and yearning for a more traditional “Dad brings home the bacon” family dynamic. There is, in short, everything in the Moon books: giant comets and secret caves and tree houses and stilts and magic-carpet clouds and amusement parks run by despotic practical-joking kings and time machines and ski instructors.” — Harper's Marten, Peter. (2010, April). Moomin Characters Ltd Keeps the National Treasure in the Family. thisisFINLAND. Accessed March 15, 2021, from https://finland.fi/business-innovation/moomin-characters-ltd-keeps-a-national-treasure-in-the-family. Moominvalley in November ( Swedish: Sent i november, 'Late in November') is the ninth and final book in the Moomin series by Finnish author Tove Jansson, and was first published in her native Swedish in 1970, and in English in 1971. Set contemporaneously with her previous novel Moominpappa at Sea (1965), it is the only installment in the series where the titular Moomin family are actually absent. Instead it focuses on a set of other characters, including Snufkin, who come to live at Moominhouse during the onset of winter whilst its inhabitants are away, and the various interactions which they have with each other.Except for a special, collectable edition of “The Invisible Child” paired with the short story “The Fir Tree” and reinforced with the cover slogan “Share the gift of the Moomins”, Oxfam has been selling a range of other Moomin-related products, including stationery, handkerchiefs, tote bags and kitchenware. Other partners, such as Fiskars and Finlayson from Finland or Macmillan Children’s Books, supported the campaign by contributing part of the revenue from their Moomin products. In June 2018, a new attraction was launched when a famous British actor, Bill Nighy, recorded his reading of the short story. Overall, the campaign has been very successful, since by 30 December 2020 Moomin Characters officially reported that their partnership with Oxfam had raised 1 million pounds for charity projects supporting women and girls around the world. They were indescribably beautiful, and they seemed to be aware of it. They danced coquettishly, freely and openly, for themselves, for each other, for the island, for the sea – it seemed to be all the same to them. The Moomin books make for both splendid bedtime read-alouds and solitary savoring.” — Wall Street Journal

After the publication of Tales from Moominvalley, the book was assessed as filled with psychological sophistication and “the reviewers wrote of Tove Jansson as a therapist, moralist and educationalist” (Westin, 2014/2007, p. 281).Moomintroll explores the nearby woods and finds a meadow he eventually moves into. He's disappointed to find it already inhabited by ants, and asks Little My for help with getting them to move elsewhere. Little My solves the problem by exterminating the ants with petroleum, much to Moomintroll's dismay. Since the book practically says goodbye to the Moomin family, which is absent in the next and last, ninth volume, it seems of particular significance. Furthermore, as Westin stressed, “ Moominpappa at Sea is the real breaking point between Tove’s writing for children and writing for adults, a coming to terms with her narrative of the Moomin world, much more dramatic and subversive than what was to be her last Moomin book, Moominvalley in November” ( 2014/2007, p. 294). Moominpappa has already dreamt of contraband whisky being swept into the island’s saltwater lake early in the book; now, when a storm engulfs the island, he and Moomintroll rescue the mysterious fisherman who is its only other inhabitant – and salvage a crate of whisky in the process.

De Saint-Exupéry, Antoine. (2017/1943). The Little Prince. Transl. Katherine Woods. London: Egmont. The island proves to be a magical place with aloof seahorses, trees that move, a friendly groke and a mystery of a deserted lighthouse. Moominmama longs for home and creates a magical mural, Little My enjoys the solitude, Moominpapa puts off fixing the lighthouse lamps and they meet a reclusive fisherman. When they all arrive, they discover that the Moomin family have left their house, and so they all settle in to wait for their return. Soon, their conflicting personalities begin to cause friction, with the Fillyjonk trying to tell the others what they should do: Each of the other three becomes increasingly isolated, discontented and misunderstood: Moominmamma stripped of her traditional domestic function, Moomintroll undergoing a rite of passage that sees him contemplate love (of two fantastical seahorses) and death (the dread threat of the Groke). Dusk was rising from the ground, as it usually did, gathering in under the trees. Round the crystal ball there was a little more light. There it stood, reflecting the whole garden, looking very beautiful on its coral pedestal. It was Moominpappa's very own crystal ball, his own magic ball of shining blue glass, the center of the garden, of the Valley, and of the whole world.Moominpappa at Sea marks the definitive point where Tove Jansson stopped writing for children and more for adults. The book is dedicated to her father Viktor Jansson and serves as portrayal of his complicated and destructive nature, but also as a heartfelt farewell. Don't imagine," said Moominpappa at last, very slowly, "that a spot like this isn't dangerous. Far from it. It can go on burning under the moss, you see. In the ground. Hours and perhaps even days may go by, and then suddenly, whoof! The fire breaks out somewhere quite different. Do you see what I mean?"