Like the best folk tales, the Moomin stories hint at darker themes in their exploration of the supernatural and the cataclysmic, and Moominpappa’s angst gives this theme a psychological dimension – which finds full expression in Moominpappa at Sea. Ardagh, Philip (1 November 2003). "Who Will Comfort Toffle?". The Guardian. London . Retrieved 25 November 2012. Moomin. (2020c, July 14). #OURSEA. Under the Surface with Tove Jansson. Accessed March 15, 2021 from https://www.moomin.com/en/blog/oursea-under-the-surface-with-tove-jansson/#fcf05d05.

One of Jansson's illustrations from the book, depicting (from left to right), Mymble, Grandpa-Grumble, Toft, Snufkin and the Hemulen watching the Fillyjonk's shadow puppet show. All of the Moomintroll books explore deep themes with a subtle charm. This book in particular is an exploration of the meaning and purpose of life and has a slightly melancholy tone. The events in the book are precipitated when Moominpappa who no longer has any purpose in Moominvalley abruptly moves the family to live in a remote abandoned lighthouse on an island. He then tries to find purpose by becoming the lighthouse keeper and then later by understanding the sea. Moominmomma has lost her old purpose as a mother in Moominvalley and tries varies ways to recreate it. Moomintroll is seaking independence and maturity and is trying to forge his own purpose which he accidentally stumbles into by reaching out to the Groke who is the very embodiment of fear and lonliness and which even the trees and the sand are afraid of. Meanwhile, Little My has no need for these kinds of existential meanderings as she is perfectly happy doing whatever it is she feels like at that moment. In 1945, a children’s book was published in Finland and Sweden. The Moomins and the Great Flood, written and illustrated by a Finnish woman in her mid-20s called Tove Jansson, attracted little attention and sold few copies.Once upon a time, rather long ago, it so happened that Moominpappa went away from home without the least explanation and without even himself understanding why he had to go.’

But Moominpappa didn't look into it right away. First he looked at his grimy paws, trying to collect all his vague, scattered, and troubled thoughts. When he was feeling as sad as he possibly could, he looked into the crystal ball for consolation. Every evening of that long, warm, beautiful, and melancholy summer he had done the same thing. Moominpappa aimlessly puttered about in his garden, his tail dragging along the ground in a melancholy way. Here, down in the valley, the heat was scorching; everything was still and silent, and not a little dusty. It was the month when there could be great forest fires, the month for taking great care." Moominpappa dug his nose in the moss and was aware of the sour smell of smoke. The ground wasn't even warm any longer. He emptied his pipe into the hole and blew on the sparks. They glowed for a moment or two and then went out. He stamped on the fatal spot and then walked slowly down the garden to have a look in his crystal ball. Don't imagine," said Moominpappa at last, very slowly, "that a spot like this isn't dangerous. Far from it. It can go on burning under the moss, you see. In the ground. Hours and perhaps even days may go by, and then suddenly, whoof! The fire breaks out somewhere quite different. Do you see what I mean?"urn:lcp:moominpappaatsea00jans_0:epub:2c0006bc-00f3-435c-b8bd-e6b7edf30ec2 Extramarc OhioLINK Library Catalog Foldoutcount 0 Identifier moominpappaatsea00jans_0 Identifier-ark ark:/13960/t1kh4nz1x Invoice 1213 Isbn 9780374453060 Suddenly Fillyjonk shouted: 'You musn't touch old leaves! They're dangerous! They're full of putrefaction!' She dashed to the front of the veranda with the blankets trailing behind her. 'Bacteria!' she screamed. 'Worms! Maggots! Creepy-crawlies! Don't touch them!' The Hemulen went on raking. He screwed up his stubborn, innocent face and repeated loudly: 'I'm making the place look nice, for Moominpappa.' [7]

De Saint-Exupéry, Antoine. (2017/1943). The Little Prince. Transl. Katherine Woods. London: Egmont. We put it out!" Moomintroll shouted. "We put it out right away. There's nothing for you to worry about!"

Fillyjonks are…

This book contains more beauty than my words can describe. Its magical melancholy and nostalgia is something that only Northern writers manage to capture. So much is hidden in that text that it turns into a completely different magic each time you read it. The book is based primarily around the character of Moominpappa, who was heavily inspired by Jansson's father, Viktor Jansson. [2] The book's original title is a loose reference to Ernest Hemingway novel The Old Man and the Sea, though this is not reflected in the translation. I am never going to get tired of Moominpappa at Sea. I knew it when I was 10, I knew it when I was 18 and I'm still as sure now, at 24, after eagerly devouring the book in almost one go, yet again. I've read all Moomin books multiple times but Moominpappa at Sea remains my personal favourite and I can't even begin to tell you how happy I was to finally get my own copy which I was desperately trying to get hold of for years. And then the whole series got rereleased this year for the 100th anniversary of Tove Jansson's birth.

The family stopped what they were doing and said: "Yes. Of course. Yes, yes." Then they took no more notice of him and got on with what they were doing. Jansson was a genius of a very subtle kind. These simple stories resonate with profound and complex emotions that are like nothing else in literature for children or adults: intensely Nordic, and completely universal.” — Philip PullmanThe book also highlights the enormous power of the autumn sea, by which one perhaps feels smaller, and thus even thoughts shift from their ordinary paths to something larger: “It was just the right way to live if one liked big waves. Sitting in the middle of the breakers, watching the waves as high as mountains coming and going and listening to the sea thundering on the roof.” Being a little bit older, and hopefully a little bit wiser, I was genuinely astounded by the degree to which this story resonated with me on an intellectual level. (Forgive me in advance for being over-analytical—my college English courses were not so long ago.) For me, Moominpappa at Sea felt like an incredibly timely account of a father grappling with his sense of self worth and yearning for a more traditional “Dad brings home the bacon” family dynamic. The island proves to be a magical place with aloof seahorses, trees that move, a friendly groke and a mystery of a deserted lighthouse. Moominmama longs for home and creates a magical mural, Little My enjoys the solitude, Moominpapa puts off fixing the lighthouse lamps and they meet a reclusive fisherman.