and the bathing hut, at
Moominworld The Moomin stories concern several eccentric and oddly-shaped characters, some of whom are related to each other. The central family consists of
Moominpappa,
Moominmamma and
Moomintroll. Other characters, such as the
Snork Maiden,
Hemulens,
Sniff,
Snufkin, and
Little My are accepted into or attach themselves to the family group from time to time, despite generally living separate lives in
Moominvalley, the setting of the series, where the Moomin family decides to live at the end of
The Moomins and the Great Flood.
Characters •
Moomintroll, also referred to as "Moomin" in some of the English translations: The main
protagonist and little boy of the family, interested in and excited about everything he sees and finds, always trying to be good, but sometimes getting into trouble while doing so; he always tries to be brave and find a way to make his friends happy. •
Moominpappa: Orphaned in his younger years, he is a somewhat restless soul who left the orphanage to venture out into the world in his youth but has now settled down, determined to be a responsible father to his family. •
Moominmamma: The calm mother, who takes care that Moominhouse is a safe place to be. She wants everyone to be happy, appreciates individuality, but settles things when someone is wronged. She always brings good food as well as whatever else may be necessary on a journey in her handbag. •
Little My: A mischievous little girl, who lives in the Moomin house and has a cynical spunky personality. She likes adventure and loves catastrophes; she sometimes does mean things on purpose. She finds messiness and untidiness exciting and is very down to earth, especially when others are not. •
Sniff: A creature who lives in the Moomin house. He likes to take part in everything, but is afraid to do anything dangerous. Sniff appreciates all valuables and makes many plans to get rich, but does not succeed. •
Snork Maiden: Moomin's friend. She is happy and energetic, but often suddenly changes her mind on things. She loves nice clothes and jewelry and is a little flirtatious. She thinks of herself as Moomin's girlfriend. •
Snufkin: Moomin's best friend. The lonesome philosophical traveller, who likes to play the harmonica and wander the world with only a few possessions, so as not to make his life complicated. He comes and goes as he pleases, is carefree and has many admirers in Moominvalley. He is also fearless and calm in even the most dire situations, which has proven to be a great help to Moomintroll and the others when in danger. • The
Mymble, also referred to as "'''the Mymble's daughter'''": Little My's amiable and helpful big sister, and half-sister of Snufkin. She often has romantic daydreams about the loves of her life, particularly policemen. • The
Snork: Snorkmaiden's brother. He is an introvert by nature and is always inventing things. The residents of Moominvalley often ask Snork for help solving tricky problems and building machines. Snorks are like moomintrolls, but change colour according to their mood. •
Too-Ticky: A wise woman, and good friend of the family. She has a boyish look, with a blue hat and a red-striped shirt. She dives straight into action to solve dilemmas in a practical way. Too-Ticky is one of the people in Moominvalley who does not hibernate, instead spending the winter in the small changing shed and storehouse over the water at the end of the Moomin's summer landing stage. •
Stinky: A small furry creature that always plays jokes on the family in the house, where he sometimes lives. He likes pinching things, is proud of his reputation as a crook, but always gets found out. He is simple and only thinks of himself.
Biographical interpretation with Moomin dolls Critics have interpreted various Moomin characters as being inspired by real people, especially members of the author's family, with Tove Jansson having spoken in interviews about the backgrounds of her characters and possible models for them. The first two books about the Moomins (
The Moomins and the Great Flood and
Comet in Moominland) were published in 1945 and 1946 respectively, and deal with natural disasters; they were influenced by the upheavals of war and Jansson's depression during the war years. The reception of the first two Moomin books was lukewarm at first; the second book received more attention than its predecessor, but sales figures were still poor. The third book,
Finn Family Moomintroll, which was the first Moomin book translated into English, became the first international bestseller. Tove Jansson's life partner was the graphic artist
Tuulikki Pietilä, whose personality inspired the character Too-Ticky in
Moominland Midwinter. Moomintroll and
Little My have been seen as psychological
self-portraits of the artist. Moominpappa and Moominmamma are often seen as portraits of Jansson's parents
Viktor Jansson and
Signe Hammarsten-Jansson. == List of books ==