Wild Nature and Space Sharing: Ecohorror in Moominpappa at Sea by Tove Jansson

DOI: 10.18173/2354-1067.2023-0034

Abstract

Moominpappa at Sea is the eighth book in a series of famous children's books written by Finnish author Tove Jansson. In this article, we read Jansson's Moominpappa at Sea in the dialogue between this work and a concept of ecocriticism: ecohorror. Ecological horrors relate to friction between humans and the ecosystem they try to control. Any attempt to control the natural\ other results in destruction. Through Moominpappa at Sea, Jansson can provide both interpretations and additions to the concept of ecohorror. The writer describes nature as being alive and being frightening, presents the friction between the need to control nature and the uncontrollable nature, and shows the way to resolve ecosystemic frictions to live in a chaotic wilderness of surroundings.