Storm in Moomin Valley

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Storm in the Moomin Valley (original title: Farlig midsommar ) is the fifth of the Moomin books by the Finnish-Swedish writer Tove Jansson . It was published in 1954.

action

A tidal wave triggered by a volcanic eruption puts the Moomin Valley under water. The Moomins first escape to the roof, then to a building that is floating by. They wonder about the strange house: it has no kitchen and only three walls, instead a large curtain, a rotating floor and chambers full of clothes. After a while they realize that someone else lives in the house: Emma, ​​who explains to them that it is a theater. The Moomins have never heard of theater, but are fascinated by the idea of ​​putting on a play. The Moominfather immediately starts writing.

In the meantime Moomin and the Snorkmaid have been separated from the family and are hiking alone through the Moomin Valley. The Schnupferich travels back into the Mumintal from a different direction. He meets little Mü, who has also got lost. The two of them sneak into the park of the park guard, who has long been a thorn in the side of the snuff with its many prohibition signs. They tear down the signs and free twenty-four children from the strict custody of the park guard and his wife. Due to a misunderstanding, Moomin and the snorkel girl are arrested for this and are sent to prison. You can free yourself with a trick and go in search of the theater. Moomin, the Snorkfräulein and the Schnupferich with Mü and the children arrive just in time for the premiere. Their arrival and escape from the police is seen by the audience as part of the play, and reality and theater mix.

characters

In addition to Moomin and his parents, Mümmla, little Mü and Snorkfräulein belong to the extended Moomin family in this novel. The Schnupferich also joins them again towards the end of the book. In addition, the Moomins in this book temporarily take two people into their household: Misa, a girl with initially low self-confidence who discovers her passion for tragic roles, and a young Homsa, who with his conscientious manner sometimes takes on the role of snorker. which does not appear in this book. Emma, ​​who brings the Moomins closer to theater, also teaches children the basic concepts of the theater world in a humorous way.

subjects

After the previous Moomin book, Moominfather's wildly moved youth , was a parody of memoir literature, Tove Jansson continued the parodies of literary genres: this time she devoted herself to the theater and let a play planned as a classic tragedy get out of hand and become a comedy. Jansson also processed her own experiences with her theater debut Mumintrollet och kometen , a stage version of her book Komet im Mumintal . Humorous and aimed more at an adult audience, she describes the Moomin father's difficulties during his writing process. He makes his job especially difficult for himself by trying to write the piece in hexameters - a popular meter in Finnish-Swedish poetry. The book is dedicated to the theater director Vivica Bandler , who advised Jansson on all theater issues and who directed the first Moomin plays.

The play written by Moominfather refers to William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream : the confusing plot full of complex family relationships and the role of the lion are borrowed from the play, as is the blurring between tragedy and comedy and the intervention of the audience. Also, the original title Farlig midsommar ( Dangerous Midsummer ) played on A Midsummer Night's Dream (original: A Midsummer Night's Dream ) to what is lost in the English translation. By later adapting the book to a play herself, Jansson also adopted the motif of the “ play within the play ” from Shakespeare's Midsummer Night 's Dream . The title of Moominfather's play, Die Löwenbräute or Die Bande des Blutes , is based on the ballad Löwenbraut by Adelbert von Chamisso . While working on Sturm im Mumintal, Tove Jansson painted an altarpiece for a church in Övermark in Österbotten . Her exploration of biblical motifs was incorporated into the book: the Schnupferich finds little Mü like Moses in a basket in the reeds, Moomin returns as a prodigal son , and the theater forms a saving ark for the creatures of the Mumintal during a great flood.

Publication history

In Germany the book was published in 1955 as the second book in a row The Moomins. A funny company in a translation by Vivica and Kurt Bandler . As with The Moomins. A funny company , their translation was greatly changed by the Benziger publishing house . In this way, the story became more childlike, less critical of authority and was shaped by a more traditional family image. The Bandler couple found the interventions so distorting that they ended their collaboration with the publisher after the following book, Komet im Mumintal . In 1962 a new, more faithful translation was published. In 1990 another new edition was published by Arena Verlag ; Birgitta Kicherer's new translation was published there in 2002 .

In 2007 the Sauerländer publishing house published an audio book version read by Dirk Bach .

Adaptations

Along with Comet im Moomin, Sturm im Moomin is one of the most widely adapted Moomin books. Elements of the story also flowed into the Moomin opera written by Tove Jansson , which is, however, not a faithful adaptation of the book.

theatre

Tove Jansson and Vivica Bandler processed Sturm im Moumintal into a play entitled Troll i kulisserna ( Troll in the Scenes ). It premiered at the Lilla Teatern in Helsinki in late 1958 under Vivica Bandler's direction. Tove Jansson designed the set and costumes. Erna Tauro composed several songs to texts by Tove Jansson for later performances of the piece from 1960. The Finnish actor Lasse Pöysti , who was particularly successful in the 1970s and 80s, played the role of Moomin.

Movie and TV

The puppet show The Moomin Family - Storm in the Moomin Valley , staged by the Augsburger Puppenkiste as a sequel to The Moomin Family , was first broadcast in 1960. In it the Moomins do not perform their own play, but rather the fairy tale Little Red Riding Hood .

Parts of the plot flowed into Tove Jansson's script for the television play Moomintrolls , which was broadcast on Swedish television in 1969.

Sturm im Moumintal served as a template for the 13th to 16th episodes of the Polish-Austrian stop-motion series The Moomins . The 2008 film Verrückte Sommertage im Mumintal by Maria Lindberg is based on this series .

In the Japanese animation series Moomins , the 28th to 30th episodes are based on the book.

radio play

A radio play adaptation by HG Francis , directed by Heikedine Körting , was published on the Europa label .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Anne E. Duggan, Donald Haase, Helen Callow: Folktales and Fairy Tales. Traditions and Texts From Around the World. Greenwood, Santa Barbara 2016, ISBN 978-1610692533 , p. 518.
  2. ↑ George C. Schoolfield (Ed.): A History of Finland's Literature, University of Nebraska Press , Lincoln 1998, ISBN 0-8032-4189-5 , p. 573.
  3. ^ A b c d Boel Westin: Tove Jansson. Life, Art, Words. The Authorized Biography. From the Swedish of Silvester Mazzarella. Sort Of, London 2014, ISBN 978-1-908745-45-3 , pp. 263-272.
  4. ^ Mareike Jendis: Moomin's miraculous adventures in Germany. To the reception of Tove Janson's Moomin books. Dissertation 2001, p. 137.
  5. ^ Mareike Jendis: Moomin's miraculous adventures in Germany. To the reception of Tove Janson's Moomin books. Dissertation 2001, pp. 61. 74-81.
  6. ↑ Moomins at the theater: Lilla Teatern 1958 - Troll i kulisserna on the official website moomin.com, accessed October 17, 2016.