Autumn in the Moomin Valley

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Autumn in the Moomin Valley (original title: Sent i november ) is the ninth and last of the Moomin books by the Finnish-Swedish writer Tove Jansson . It was published in 1970. In contrast to all other books in the series, the Moomins do not appear in this book. The plot revolves around the secondary characters of the Moomin world in the absence of the Moomin family. The book concludes the series. After that, however, Jansson published two more picture books about the Moomins.

action

The plot begins parallel to that of the book Moomin's Wondrous Island Adventure , in which the Moomins have moved to a distant island. Several characters make their way to the Mumintal at the same time: A lonely young Homsa has longed for a trip to the Mumintal and decides to finally fulfill his dream. A Filifjonka survives a life-threatening situation and then decides to renew her contact with old acquaintances and to visit the Moomins first. A dissatisfied Hemul remembers happier days in Moomin Valley and wants to return there. Like every autumn, the Schnupferich has left the Mumintal, but turns back to finish composing a melody that he started there. An old man wakes up one day and has forgotten his name; he gives himself the new name "Onkelschrompel" and sets out on a journey to a valley that he can vaguely remember. Mymla wants to visit her sister, little Mü, who lives with the Moomin family.

They all meet at the Moomins' house and discover that the Moomins are not there. They move into the Moomin House together to wait for the Moomin to return. Conflicts quickly arise between the characters: Hemul tries to take on the role of Moominfather, but irritates the others with his dominant manner. He insists that the women do the housework. Filifjonka, who loves housework, refuses on principle and is now unhappy because she would actually like to slip into the role of Moominmother and run the household. Uncle Schrompel forgets everything that is uncomfortable for him and claims to be the center of attention. The Schnupferich wants to have some peace in his tent and feels disturbed by the others. Only Mymla has a distant view of the other's disputes and is amazed at their behavior, but does not let her mood spoil. Little Homsa Toft creates his own story, unnoticed by the others. Based on a book about fossils , he tells the story of a nummulite who, in his imagination, becomes a monster that haunts the Moomin Valley. Toft tells so vividly that the monster actually appears and he has to conquer it alone.

After a while, all the characters say goodbye and make their way home. The Homsa Toft is the last to stay. He finally sees the Moomins' boat on the horizon and prepares to greet them when they return.

characters

The core of the book is made up of six characters, only two of which - the Schnupferich and the Mymla - appeared in earlier Moomin books. But all the other characters also have a personal relationship with the Moomins: Hemul, Filifjonka and Uncleschrompel know them from earlier times, and Homsa Toft imagined them in his vivid imagination. Toft bears a striking resemblance to the main character in Tove Jansson's picture book Who Consoles Toffel? .

subjects

Autumn in the Mumintal has an extraordinarily narrow external plot. Instead, the changes take place inside the characters. As in Moomin's wondrous island adventures , the main child character slowly approaches the perspective of a more independent young person in autumn in Moomin Valley . At first Toft longs for the Moomin mother, who for him embodies the ideal image of a mother and who should unconditionally take care of him. Later he realizes that the Moominmother also has her own thoughts and feelings and can be angry or need her rest. In Toft's longing for the Moomin mother, Tove Jansson processed the farewell to her own mother Signe Hammarsten-Jansson , who died in 1970. The more humorous sides of growing old find their expression in the figure of the uncle chompel.

As in Moominfather's wild youth and in some of the stories from the Moomin Valley , the Homsa Toft focuses on a storyteller. The mixture of fiction and reality already played a role in Sturm im Moumintal .

With her last novel Herbst im Moumintal , Tove Jansson said goodbye to the Moomins. Toft is also interpreted as a representation of the author, for whom it had become impossible to tell the story of the Moomins. All other characters must realize that their attempts to hold onto the Moomin family have been in vain and that they must get on with their own lives instead of trying to replace the Moomin family. The ending leaves open whether the Moomin family appears on the horizon only in Toft's imagination or whether the Moomin family will actually return.

Publication history

With the exception of Moomin's long journey , which appeared much later in Germany, Herbst im Moomin was the end of the Moomin series both in the original version and in Germany. It was published in 1972 in a translation by Dorothea Bjelfvenstam . In 1983 the Benziger publishing house brought out the double volume Herbst und Winter im Mumintal . This wrongly suggested that winter in the Mumintal would be a continuation of autumn in the Mumintal and that the volumes should be read in that order. In 2003, Herbst was published again as a single volume in a new translation by Birgitta Kicherer .

In the German first edition, many of Tove Jansson's illustrations were deleted, especially those that show abstract moods instead of concrete figures - probably to simplify the book marketed as a children's book and to reduce the scope for interpretation. For the 2003 edition, the original illustrations have largely been used.

Awards

For autumn in the Mumintal , Tove Jansson received the Swedish children's and youth literature prize Expressens Heffaklump in 1970 , which she shared with Astrid Lindgren that year . Herbst im Mumintal was included in the shortlist of the German Youth Book Prize .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Philip Ardagh: A friend in need. In: The Guardian . November 1, 2003, accessed January 7, 2017 .
  2. ^ A b Mareike Jendis: Moomin's miraculous adventures in Germany. To the reception of Tove Janson's Moomin books. Dissertation 2001, pp. 115-117.
  3. ^ Mareike Jendis: Moomin's miraculous adventures in Germany. To the reception of Tove Janson's Moomin books. Dissertation 2001, pp. 126-127.
  4. ^ A b Tuula Karjalainen: Tove Jansson. The biography. From the Finnish by Anke Michler-Janhunen and Regine Pirschel. Urachhaus, Stuttgart 2014, ISBN 978-3-8251-7900-7 , pp. 227–282.
  5. ^ Boel Westin: A Painter's Reflection: The Self-Representational Art of Tove Jansson. In: Catherine Mary McLoughlin, Malin Lidström Brock (eds.): Tove Jansson Rediscovered. Cambridge Scholars Publishing, Newcastle 2007, ISBN 978-1-84718-269-2 , p. 12.
  6. ^ Janina Orlov: Creating the Eternal Farewell. Tove Jansson's Moomin Novels. In: Sandra L. Beckett, Maria Nikolajeva (ed.): Beyond Babar. The European Tradition in Children's Literature. Scarecrow Press, 2006, ISBN 0-8108-5415-5 , pp. 83. 96.
  7. ^ Mareike Jendis: Moomin's miraculous adventures in Germany. To the reception of Tove Janson's Moomin books. Dissertation 2001, p. 56.
  8. ↑ Prize winners of the Expressens Heffaklump on the website of the Swedish Children's Book Institute (Swedish), accessed on January 7, 2017.
  9. ^ Mareike Jendis: Moomin's miraculous adventures in Germany. To the reception of Tove Janson's Moomin books. Dissertation 2001, p. 179.