Pippi Longstocking
Pippi
Longstocking is the fictional main
character in an eponymous series of children's books by Swedish
author Astrid Lindgren.
Pippi was named by Lindgren's daughter Karin, who asked her mother for a
get-well story when she was off school.
Pippi
is red-haired, freckled, unconventional and superhumanly strong – able to lift
her horse one-handed. She is playful and unpredictable. She often makes fun of
unreasonable adults, especially if they are pompous and condescending. Her
anger comes out in extreme cases, such as when a man ill-treats his horse.
Pippi, like Peter Pan,
does not want to grow up. She is the daughter of a buccaneer captain and has adventure stories to tell about that, too.
Her four best friends are her horse and monkey, and the neighbours' children,
Tommy and Annika.
After
being rejected by Bonnier Publishers
in 1944, Lindgren's first manuscript was accepted by Rabén and Sjögren.
The first three Pippi chapter
books were published from 1945 to 1948,
followed by three short stories and a number of picture book adaptations. They
have been translated into 76 languages as of 2018[1] and made into several films and television series.
Character
Pippi
Longstocking is a nine-year-old girl.[2] At the start of the first novel, she moves into Villa
Villekulla, the house she shares with her
monkey named Mr. Nilsson and her horse, and quickly befriends the two children
living next door, Tommy and Annika Settergren.[3][4] With her suitcase of gold coins, she maintains an
independent lifestyle without her parents: her mother died soon after her
birth, and her father, Captain Ephraim Longstocking, is first missing at sea,
and then, king of a South Sea
island.[5][6] Despite periodic attempts by village authorities to make
her conform to cultural expectations of what a child's life should be, Pippi
happily lives free from social conventions.[7][8] According to Eva-Maria Metcalf, Pippi "loves her
freckles and her tattered clothes and makes not the slightest attempt to
suppress her wild imagination or to adopt good manners."[8] She has a penchant for storytelling, which often takes the
form of tall tales.[9]
When
discussing Pippi, Astrid Lindgren explained that "Pippi represents my own
childish longing for a person who has power but does not abuse it."[10] Although she is the self-proclaimed "strongest girl in
the world," Pippi often uses nonviolence to solve conflicts or protect
other children from bullying.[11][12] Pippi has been variously described by literary critics as
"warm-hearted,"[7] compassionate,[13] kind,[14] clever,[6] generous,[7][15] playful,[16] and witty to the point of besting adult characters in
conversation.[7] Laura Hoffeld wrote that while Pippi's "naturalness entails
selfishness, ignorance, and a marked propensity to lie," the character
"is simultaneously generous, quick and wise, and true to herself and
others."[17]
Development
Biographer
Jens Andersen locates a range of influences and inspiration for Pippi not only
within educational theories of the 1930s, such as those of A.
S. Neill and Bertrand
Russell, but also contemporary films and
comics that featured "preternaturally strong characters" (e.g. Superman and Tarzan).[18] Literary inspiration for the character can be found in Alice's Adventures
in Wonderland, E.
T. A. Hoffmann's The Strange Child, Anne of Green Gables, and Daddy Long Legs in addition to myths, fairytales, and legends.[18] Andersen argues that the "misanthropic, emotionally
stunted age" of the Second World War, during which Lindgren was developing
the character, provided the most influence: the original version of Pippi,
according to Andersen, "was a cheerful pacifist whose answer to the
brutality and evil of war was goodness, generosity, and good humor."[19]
Pippi
originates from bedside stories told for Lindgren's daughter, Karin. In the
winter of 1941, Karin had come down with an illness and was confined to her
sickbed; inspired by Karin's request to tell her stories about Pippi
Longstocking—a name Karin had created on the spot[20]—Lindgren improvised stories about an
"anything-but-pious" girl with "boundless energy."[21] As a child, Karin related more to Annika and Tommy, rather
than Pippi, whom she felt was very different from her personality.[22] Pippi became a staple within the household, with Karin's
friends and cousins also enjoying her adventures.[21] In April 1944, while recovering from a twisted ankle,
Lindgren wrote her stories about Pippi in shorthand, a method she used throughout her writing career; a copy of
the clean manuscript was turned into a homemade book for Karin and gifted to
her on May 21, while another was posted to publisher Bonnier
Förlag, where it was rejected in September
on the grounds of being "too advanced."[23]
After
her critical success with her debut children's novel The Confidences of
Britt-Mari (1944),[24] Lindgren sent the manuscript for Pippi Longstocking
to her editor at Rabén and Sjögren, the children's librarian and critic Elsa
Olenius, in May 1945. Olenius advised her to revise some of the
"graphic" elements, such as a full chamber
pot being used as a fire extinguisher,
and then to enter it into the upcoming competition at Rabén and Sjögren, which
was for books targeted at children between the ages of six and ten.[25] Critic Ulla Lundqvist estimates that a third of the
manuscript was altered, with some changes made to improve its prose and
readability, and others done to the character of Pippi, who according to
Lundqvist "acquire[d] a new modesty and tenderness, and also a slight
touch of melancholy," as well as "less intricate" dialogue.[3] Pippi Longstocking placed first and was subsequently
published in November 1945 with illustrations by Ingrid
Vang Nyman.[26] Two more books followed: Pippi Goes on Board (1946) and Pippi in the South
Seas (1948).[27] Three picture
books were also produced: Pippi's
After Christmas Party (1950), Pippi on the Run (1971), and Pippi
Longstocking in the Park (2001).[28]
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