Children around the world love the Moomins. They watch the series, read the books and comics, buy Moomin merchandise, and attend theater performances based on Tove Jansson's stories. They are unaware that the author of the book series "hid" aspects of her life she couldn’t openly discuss. Most parents are also usually unaware of this.
The author wove in love themes in the Moomins
The creator of the children's book and comic series about the Moomins is Tove Jansson (1914-2001), a Finnish writer and illustrator of Swedish descent. Her books have been translated into over 30 languages, and in 1990, an animated series was released depicting the adventures of these unique characters. Tove’s great love and life partner was Tuulikki Pietilä, a graphic artist whom she met in 1955. Until 1971, homosexuality was not legal in Finland, so for decades, the women kept their relationship a secret. Though they didn’t live together, they managed to secure apartments that they connected with a shared workspace. Tove nonetheless embedded many elements of her personal life into the Moomins, though the average reader rarely has any idea of their hidden meanings.
Her beloved behind the veil of Too-ticky
Tuulikki Pietilä was the inspiration for one of the characters in the Moomins - Too-ticky, who appeared in Moominland Midwinter and Tales from Moominvalley. Too-ticky is friends with the Moomins, lives in their bathhouse, and doesn’t hibernate in winter. She has short blonde hair, wears a red-and-white striped shirt and a blue cap with a pompom. "It’s hard to determine her age—it was never suggested, so we don’t know if she was an adult or not," said Zuza Różańska in an interview with eDziecko. Zuza, who goes by Mell Falls on TikTok, is a huge fan and expert on the Moomins and discusses what isn't immediately apparent in these stories.
Who are Thingumy and Bob?
Other characters with ambiguous gender and an unclear relationship are Thingumy and Bob. They are mysterious, somewhat nosy creatures who speak their own, incomprehensible language. They don’t share their secrets with just anyone and care more for each other than for others. They carry a stolen ruby in their suitcase.
Thingumy and Bob represent another relationship from Tove Jansson’s life, her relationship with theater director Vivica Bandler, whom Tove was involved with before meeting Tuulikki. "In letters to each other, the women used the names of these characters. The author avoided specifying their gender to prevent controversy, but one could assume that they are female. In various dubbed versions of the TV series, the characters were assigned genders; for example, in the English version, both characters have male voices, while in the Polish version, they are a boy and a girl," explained Różańska in an interview with eDziecko.
It is often the case that when someone is in love, they want to shout it from the rooftops. Tove Jansson couldn't, so she found a way to safely share her happiness, albeit "in code," with millions of people.
The author of the article is Ewa Rąbek, a journalist at Gazeta.pl.
