Episode 5: Tove Jansson

The Moomin Phenomenon

It’s now time for the fifth and final episode of the podcast series about the Moomin phenomenon. And it’s finally time to focus on the creator: Tove Jansson. In this series, we’ve been discussing the Moomin phenomenon. Fans have told us how the Moomin world has absorbed them to the extent that they can even imagine tattooing the characters onto their bodies. We’ve also examined if there is such a thing as Moomin philosophy, and we’ve met many people who have been inspired by both Moomin ethics and aesthetics. We’ve also inundated ourselves with Moomin paraphernalia and asked ourselves if Moomin has become too commercial. We’ve been to Helsinki, the Finnish archipelago, London, north and south of Sweden and last but not least, Japan! And wherever we’ve traveled, we’ve found a world filled with Moomins. But this episode is going to hone in on something else. We’re taking a look at the creator of the Moomins, Tove Jansson. Even if there have been prolific amounts of extensive academic text about her person, Tove never wanted to be a particularly public figure. She was at her happiest ensconced on her little island in the archipelago and in her tucked away studio in Helsinki during the colder months together with her life partner and love, Tuulikki Pietilä. Who was Tove Jansson, and what is her legacy? One of the places we will visit is her famous and mythical studio in Helsinki. In this episode we'll meet Sophia Jansson - the niece of Tove Jansson, publishers Mark Ellingham and Natania Jansz and actors and singers Emma Klingenberg and Kim Gustavsson among others.