Moominvalley

This article is about the fictional place. For the animated series, see Moominvalley (TV series).
Moominvalley
Moomin location
Map drawn by Tove Jansson for Finn Family Moomintroll.
First appearanceThe Moomins and the Great Flood (1945)
Created byTove Jansson
GenreChildren's fantasy
In-universe information
TypeValley
Race(s)Moomins, Fillyjonks, Hattifatteners, Hemulens, Mymbles, Snorks, Toffles, Whompers
LocationsMoominhouse
CharactersMoomintroll, The Groke, Little My, Sniff, Snorkmaiden, Snufkin

Moominvalley (Swedish: Mumindalen, Finnish: Muumilaakso) is a fictional place, where the Moomins live in the tales by Finnish author Tove Jansson.

Especially in the early books Moominvalley is depicted as a beautiful place with green slopes, rivers, fruit trees, flowers and a place for calm and peaceful life as in the tradition of pastoral poetry, and yet it is still threatened by natural forces such as flooding and volcanoes. The valley is surrounded by Lonely Mountains in the east and by other mountains in the south, while the west faces the sea. Thus, travel on land is often preceded by mountain climbing in the stories. It was inspired by Ängsmarn, a family retreat in Sweden, which is also situated on a grassy field facing the sea and surrounded by rocky outcrops.[1] The Moominvalley is also a manifestation of Jansson's escapism; she often fantasized about establishing a colony in Morocco or moving to The Basque Country or Tonga.[2]

Moominvalley, leading down to the sea at Moominworld

In Moominpappa at Sea, Moominvalley is depicted as a place of boredom.[3]

Moominvalley appears to be above the Arctic Circle, based on the description in Moominland Midwinter of the sun not rising in winter.[4]

Moominvalley is also the former name for the Moomin Museum in Tampere, Finland.

References

  1. ^ Björn Sundmark, “A Serious Game”: Mapping Moominland. doi:10.1353/uni.2014.0022
  2. ^ Karjalainen, Tuula: Tove Jansson – Tee työtä ja rakasta, s. 94–96. Helsinki: Tammi, 2013. ISBN 978-951-31-6963-3.
  3. ^ Westin, Boel (2007). Tove Jansson: ord, bild, liv. Stockholm: Bonniers, page 21. ISBN 978-91-0-011325-4
  4. ^ Jansson, Tove (2019). Moominland midwinter. Thomas Warburton. London. ISBN 978-0-241-34450-7. OCLC 1089827166.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

Bibliography

  • Rehal-Johansson, Agneta (2007). "Tove Jansson: The Trickster Children's Author". In McLoughlin, Kate; Brock, Malin Lidström (eds.). Tove Jansson Rediscovered. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84718-269-2.