Astrid Lindgren is, without doubt, Sweden’s most
famous and influential author of children’s literature. Astrid Lindgren lived a
very happy childhood in the small town of Vimmerby in the province of Smalland. She loved to play and to live adventures around the house in which she lived
with her family. These games were only interrupted by daily routine and the farm work. Her
childhood was a happy one. Precisely, this childhood is the origin of her
novels. They usually tell stories about the relationship between parents and
children and they also contain deep reflections about the acceptation of our
own fears and death. Their main characters live adventures, learn to solve
situations and they all enjoy with funny moments (just as Astrid’s childhood).
Lindgren’s books were made and inspired by her
children and, specially, her daughter. Precisely, the most famous book written
by the author from which she gained the international admiration of the whole
world was ``Pippi Longstocking´. Thanks to this book, Astrid Lindgren began to
gain literature awards all over the world. She received the Hans Christian
Andersen Medal, that it is considered as the Nobel Prize for children’s literature.
However, her most important recognition was the creation of ALMA (Astrid
Lindgren Memorial Award) by Swedish government to keep and inspire her work.
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| The famous Swedish writer Astrid Lindgren |
Pippi Longstocking
All the main characters chosen by Lindgren have a lot
of imagination and this fact allows them to play.I had a previous
knowledge about Pippi Longstocking because I used to watch the famous T.V. series in Spain
when I was a child. The Spanish name for the character is ``Pippi
Calzaslargas´´ and I enjoyed a lot with her adventures.
The story was invented in 1941 when Lindgren’s
daughter was sick and told her mother to tell a fairytale. Lindgren wrote the
story which, later on, won the first place in an important award in 1945. From
this moment, the book became famous and was translated into 70 languages all
over the world. Many people (and especially in Europe) know about this little
red-haired girl who is only nine years old and that lives alone in a big house
with her monkey Mr. Nelson and her horse.
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| Pippi Longstocking, the book. |
Pippi Longstocking is 9 years old and a red-haired girl who live alone in Villekulla Cottage in a small and traditional Swedish town of 1940. She has a mother who is an angel (she is dead) and a father who is a very important captain and the King of some cannibal people.
Pippi is crazy. According to the author, she is the richest, strongest and brightest girl in the world. Pippi Longstocking breaks with all the ideals of how a girl should be and act in Sweden during that time. In addition, she has a very modern point of view of the family. She hopes for the arrival of her beloved father and, and in the meantime, she has to live alone just as many children are living in the world today. The author is very contemporary.
Pippi is also the example of girl for the feminist
movement during the XX century. She tries to free children of the oppression of
adult’s norms, many times considered as male chauvinists. She is always for the
weakest in society. Pippi also laughs at conditioned roles given by sexual
reasons. There is no game ``typical for boys or for girls´´ according to Pippi.
Pippi Longstocking loves playing. It could be said
that the game is the centre of her life. She loves playing when she has to
clean, when she is having a tea, when someone wants to steal her, when she is
at the circus… And she always gets what she purpose. This philosophy is very
important for modern education in comparison to traditional one. On the one
hand, the traditional education in the middle of XX century was focused on teacher’s
authority and theorical knowledge. Students had to respect the norms and be
quiet while the teacher was lecturing. On the other hand, Pippi breaks the
rules in a very radical way. She barely respects the norms, she loves learning
by playing and all the knowledge she acquires is thanks to practice. I still
remember when Pippi visited school for her first time… She was always making
questions to the teacher and she was behaving in a very ``bad way´´. But what
is she supposed to do at school but making questions?
This last philosophy makes you think about children as
children and not as ``little adults´´ (as they were considered during that time).
Children needs to play, children needs to use imagination to create new worlds
in their little minds. This imagination is, probably, the answer of many
questions they have, and it is a way to forget about problems. Astrid Lindgren
knew it, that’s why she put as much imagination as she could in her novels.
This is, probably, the reason of her success. Pippi’s imagination is able to
create new things from nothing. And it allows Annika and Tommy (her bestfriends)
to discover other face of the world.
This thought is not too far away from modern
education. Nowadays, to discover, to research, to have your own opinion and
personality are the goals of modern education. This is what teachers fight for
in the XXI century. Pippi is a clear example of a modern child who wants to
learn by her own. As she always says ``If
you don`t know, don’t think I am going to work it out for you´´.
Who are Annika and Tommy?
Tommy and Annika are Pippi’s best friends. They are
the source of inspiration for many of the antics of Pippi. They belong to a
traditional family who respect the old way manners. But they were also quite
open as well, and let their children to play with Pippi (who was a bit
dangerous for them). Tommy and Annika are the example of children in Sweden
during the middle of XX century.
While you are reading the book, you realize that some
events happen. You are not able to understand these events if you don’t know
something about the Nordic culture. However, Astrid Lindgren didn't show a lot of ``Swedish typical culture´´ in Pippi's book but she did in the book she wrote after Pippi:
Mio and My son, Emil I Lönneberga, Världens bästa Karlsson, Kajsa Kavat or Noisy Village are a few examples.
They have all made films about these books and they have became very famous around the world.
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Det finns sagor och sägner som väl aldrig glöms bort
Om det goda mot onda, om de storslagna slott
Dom där spöklika platser känns så lockande så
Liksom faror som hotar just på lek men endå
Riddare och hjälte ja vad man än vill bli
Allting är så mjöligt med lite fantasi
Över kullerstenar, in i gränder
Vi smyger och vi strider
De hjältemodiga
Aldrig vet man vad som härnäst händer
Med planer som vi smider
De hjältemodiga
Äventyrarna,
Först en hjälte och sedan nu mästerdetektiv
Alltid kan man bli med en smula fantasi
Över kullerstenar, in i gränder
Vi smyger och vi strider
De hjältemodiga
Och planerna vi smider
De hjältemodiga
Äventyrarna,
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There are tales and legends,
that never will be forgotten,
With good against evil and with magnificent castles,
This spooky place can be so temping,
Like dangers that threatens, sure it is a game but still...
Knight or hero, yes whatever you want to be,
anything is possible with a little of imagination
Over cobblestones, into the streets, we sneak and we fight... the heroics.
You never know what will happen next, with the plans we forge... the heroics.... The adventurers.
First a hero then a master detective,
you can become everything with a little imagination
Over cobblestones, into the streets, we sneak and we fight... the heroics.
You never know what will happen next, with the plans we forge... the heroics.... The adventurers.
