Moominvalley
Moominvalley (Swedish: Mumindalen, Finnish: Muumilaakso) is a fictional place, where the Moomins live in the tales by Finnish author Tove Jansson.
| Moominvalley | |
|---|---|
| Moomin location | |
 Map drawn by Tove Jansson for Finn Family Moomintroll. | |
| First appearance | The Moomins and the Great Flood (1945) |
| Created by | Tove Jansson |
| Genre | Juvenile fantasy |
| Information | |
| Type | Valley |
| Race(s) | Moomins, Fillyjonks, Hattifatteners, Hemulens, Mymbles, Snorks, Toffles, Whompers |
| Notable locations | Moominhouse |
| Notable characters | Moomintroll, The Groke, Little My, Sniff, Snorkmaiden, Snufkin |
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]
In Moominpappa at Sea, Moominvalley is depicted as a place of boredom.[3]
Moominvalley is also the former name for the Moomin Museum in Tampere, Finland.
References
- Björn Sundmark, “A Serious Game”: Mapping Moominland. doi:10.1353/uni.2014.0022
- Karjalainen, Tuula: Tove Jansson – Tee työtä ja rakasta, s. 94–96. Helsinki: Tammi, 2013. ISBN 978-951-31-6963-3.
- Westin 2007, pp. 21.
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.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)