This paper focuses on a poststructuralist psychoanalytic interpretation of one of Tove

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1 A little distractedly, Snufkin ate his meager soup while he rested his eyes on the green moss by the birches. The tune was quite near at hand, easy to catch by the tail. But there was time enough to wait: it was hedged in and couldn t get away. No, better to wash the dishes first, then light a pipe -- and afterwards, when the campfire was burning down and the night creatures started calling for each other, then he d have it. Snufkin was washing his saucepan in the brook when he caught sight of the Creep. It was sitting on the far side below a tree root, looking at him. Its eyes were scared but very interested, following Snufkin s every movement. Two shy eyes under a mop of hair. Just the look people have who are never noticed. -- Jansson, 2001, p. 6-7 This paper focuses on a poststructuralist psychoanalytic interpretation of one of Tove Jansson s Moomin short stories, The Spring Tune, from Tales from Moominvalley, originally published in Finland in 1962 and in the U.S. in 1964 (Jansson, 2001). Tove Jansson is a key player in Finnish children s literature, as evidenced by her presence on Finland s online literary journal, Books from Finland ( published by the Finnish Literature Society in association with the Finnish Literature Exchange and the Finnish Ministry of Education. Jansson s work is widely available throughout the world, as the Moomin books have been translated into over thirty languages (Jansson, 2001). But, the hippopotamus-like Moomin characters have not received the same level of attention in popular culture in the United States as they have in Scandinavia, Great Britain, and Japan (e.g., Jendis, 2001; Rehal- Johansson, 2006). In the field of literacy in the U.S., and in light of themes of culture, knowledge, language, and power, Jansson s Moomin stories may serve as an important exchange of exceptional literary technique. The Moomin characters have distinct personalities that are revealed through the stories to give the reader an understanding of the many facets of each character. Jansson s special use of

2 language has a way of bringing readers awareness to issues of social justice, Freudian psychology, gender, and subjectivity through semantics and story structure. Through repeated readings, I selected a Freudian dream analysis (Eagleton, 2008; Freud, 1900; Freud, 2001) to deconstruct Snufkin s strange encounter with a wood Creep, as I came to identify this tale as wrought with dream imagery, ambivalent details, and non-sequitur conversations. The artwork on the opening page of The Spring Tune supports the conception of the story that follows as a dream. The illustration shows Snufkin lying in the grass with his arms folded behind his head, eyes closed (Jansson, 2010, p. 3). At times the events in the story seem strange or to happen for no logical reason. Jansson uses dream imagery with phrasing like rested his eyes (p. 6), characters talk about dreaming (p. 9), and the story closes with Snufkin lying in the grass, looking at the clear, dark blue straight above him... (Jansson, 2001, p. 16). Dream-work The first job of dream-work is condensation, whereby some elements of thought are omitted from representation altogether, fragments of complex thoughts manifest, and elements of thought combine into a single unit (Freud, 2001). The second action in dream-work is displacement. Displacement might replace a thought with an allusion or shift an idea so that it appears differently centered and strange (Freud, 2001, p. 27). This displacement often makes it impossible to trace a suggestion back to its notion. Thirdly, dream-work must transform condensed and displaced thoughts into sensory images, mostly visual. Dream distortion has some freedom in representation as the meaning of thoughts and images can often mean the reverse (e.g., Climbing up a staircase can mean the same thing as coming down) (Freud, 2001).

3 In an excerpt from Freud s The Dream Work, he states that there are four relations between elements of dreams and the things they stand for: the relation of a part to a whole, approximation or allusion, the symbolic relation and the plastic representation of words (Freud, 2001, 24). Eagleton, citing Freud, refers to dreams as the royal road to the unconscious (Eagleton, 2008, p. 137). Freud offers some caution in interpreting dreams: In general one must avoid seeking to explain one part of the manifest dream by another, as though the dream had been coherently conceived and was a logically arranged narrative (Freud, 2001, p. 31). He also warns against overestimating the dream-work by attributing too much to it. I proceeded in my analysis with this in mind. Approaching the Text I deconstructed The Spring Tune through the lenses of poststructuralist thought (Eagleton, 2008; Rice & Waugh, 2001) and Freudian psychoanalytic dream interpretation (Dimitriadis & Kamberelis, 2006; Eagleton, 2008; Freud, 1900; Rice & Waugh, 2001). A poststructuralist framework allowed me to look at the text with less immediacy, through an openended process of reading and rereading the text and illustrations for literal and figurative meanings (Eagleton, 2008). This reading framework allowed me to develop an understanding of the text over time. Snufkin s dream-like state led me to see the forest as a place of dreams, and look at Snufkin s experience through Freud s dream-work. I came to interpret Snufkin s Spring Tune as a metaphor that exists between reality and a dream. In a subsequent rereading of the text, I attended to Freud s psychoanalytic dream-work. This enabled me to explore the text as possibly

4 condensed, displaced, and visualized, to try to understand the story through manifest meaning of latent content (Dimitriadis & Kamberelis, 2006; Freud, 1900; Eagleton, 2008). Techniques Eagleton (p. 155) describes four kinds of literary criticism in psychoanalysis: attention to the author of the work, attention to the contents of the work, attention to its formal construction, or attention to the reader. In my initial readings of The Spring Tune, I focused my attention on the contents of the work, looking at what is said rather than how it is said (Eagleton, 2008, p. 153). In subsequent readings I focused on Saussure s notion of language as a system of differences (Rice & Waugh, 2001) through the formal construction of the tale and Barthes doubled sign (Eagleton, 2008, p. 118), attending to the text s formal construction. In each reading, I read with Freud s levels of consciousness in mind (Dimitriadis & Kamberelis, 2006; Rice & Waugh, 2001). I focused on themes, form, and narrative point of view (Eagleton, 2008). I developed a subtext in the margins, including my observations, questions, and connections as I read, attending to my own processes as a reader. Each time I reread the text, I marked in different colored ink, so as to distinguish my thoughts after each iteration. I analyzed Jansson s black and white line illustrations in the story for insights as to the characters emotional and physical portrayal, attending to Jansson as the author of the text as well as the illustrator. After many readings over time, noting details of the plot, character development, socio-cultural structures, humor, and enchantment of The Spring Tune, I came to understand Snufkin s encounter with the Creep as a dream.

5 I recognize that this process of text deconstruction is never finished, however, after I identified a sense of Snufkin s encounter with the Creep in the woods as a dream, I reread the text again with this in mind. I continued to go back to the text as questions arose and clarification was needed. Interpretations Snufkin, the protagonist, a vagabond, and a musician, walks through the woods in a dream-like state just before twilight, with a new song just "under his hat" (Jansson, p. 4). Snufkin s thoughts are just out of reach of his conscious mind, and he seems to acknowledge that the task of catching this tune can not be forced or rushed. This song may be seen as a part of Snufkin s preconscious, or thoughts that are capable of becoming conscious (i.e., not in the present conscious mind, but are not wholly repressed in the unconscious mind (Freud, 1900)), as Snufkin expects he will "... [simply] put his lips to the mouth-organ, and all the notes would jump instantly into their places" (Jansson, 2010, p. 4). Snufkin encounters an admirer in the woods, and he is dismissive and irritated at the interruption to his thoughts. The admirer is a Creep, described as small, thin and miserable, with eyes that are shy, scared, and very interested. As The Creep stands, staring at Snufkin from behind a tree root, Snufkin feels the Creep s eyes admiring him, but pretends not to see the onlooker. The Creep walks across the icy creek, falling several times to get to Snufkin, while Snufkin watches with an uneasy feeling, unable to move, as in a dream. Snufkin, feeling that his evening is ruined, gives in to conversation with the Creep after the Creep shares his intense interest in Snufkin's wood-famous musical talents. The Creep has

6 never heard music before. In his series of questions, the Creep requests that Snufkin give him a name, as he is too small to have one yet. Snufkin dubs him 'Teety-Woo' because it has a "light beginning, sort of, and a little sadness to round it off" (Jansson, 2010, p. 11), focusing his energy on the way sounds relate to emotion in the name he creates. This Creep s keen interest in Snufkin quickly wanes and the newly-named Teety-Woo almost immediately exits the scene. The next day, as Snufkin continues on this travels, he can not think of anything but the conversation he had with Teety-Woo, and eventually turns back to find him again. After calling Teety-Woo's name repeatedly, the Creep appears, only to be dismissive of Snufkin s attempts to initiate conversation. Teety-Woo has found an individual identity (or Freud may say, his ego (Eagleton, p. 136)) and hurries off saying, "I'll have to live as fast as I can, because I've lost a lot of time already!" (Jansson, 2010, p. 16). The naming of Teety-Woo is possibly the moment when a Tune would emerge for Snufkin, but once the Tune (or the Creep) is named, it is gone and Snufkin is left searching again. When Snufkin gives Teety-Woo his name, the Creep is also given power. Conclusion Snufkin, his elusive Tune, and the Creep share some universal symbolism in their identities, an ambiguity that could contribute to the perception of this short story as a dream. Freudian theory may lead a reader to believe that Snufkin s oral fixation in his music hints at a young age for this character (Dimitriadias & Kamberelis, 2006), while Snufkin s nomadic lifestyle implies that he is old enough to live on his own, another ambivalent detail of Snufkin s life and thoughts. The Tune s identity moves between idea and animal, kept under Snufkin s hat

7 for days but described as easy to catch by the tail (Jansson, 2001, p. 6-7). Teety-Woo s characterization seems to sway between animal and human. As such, Snufkin s first attempts to rid himself of the unwelcome guest by clapping his paws together and shouting, blurs the line between Snufkin as person or animal and evokes images of shooing the Creep, as one might shoo birds or flying insects. Later in the story, once Teety-Woo has been named, he is characterized as a person:... Before I had a name I just used to hop around, and perhaps feel this or that about this or that, and everything was simply happening around me... Now I m a person, and everything that happens means something. Because it doesn t only happen, it happens to me, Teety-Woo (Jansson, 2001, p. 15). Rand and Torok (1993) discuss Freud s interpretation of dreams as personal free association and, on the other hand, a world of fixed and universal meanings (p. 575). If Snufkin s exchange with Teety-Woo is assumed a dream, then the Tune he has been trying to catch to no avail may be associated with and embodied in Teety-Woo. In the beginning of The Spring Tune, Snufkin awaits a new tune one part expectation, two parts spring sadness, and the rest just the great delight of walking alone and liking it (Jansson, 2001, p. 4). When Snufkin met The Creep, he was described as small, thin and miserable, with eyes that are shy, scared, and interested. This depiction of Teety-Woo is similar to Snufkin s description of the Tune he awaits with anticipation. Though it may be a lesser known topic of Freud s work, songs, like dreams, are often associated with repressed thoughts (Diaz de Chumacerio, 1990). Snufkin s thoughts seem to be linked with song in waking moments and a curious wood creature, a Creep, in Snufkin s dreamlike state. As soon as Snufkin gives the Creep a name, he is gone, much like Snufkin s

8 experience with his tunes or stories of his wanderings, that seem to escape him as soon as they come to being. Similarly, Snufkin thinks about his music in waking hours as ideas that will just come to him, instead of ideas that can be called to consciousness at will. He has the same trouble with Teety-Woo when he tries to find him once again in the woods. In this instance, Teety-Woo came into being, instead of his Tune. Snufkin misses the opportunity to capture his song and the Tune is forever lost, perhaps slipping completely into his unconscious. It seems as though a lost travel story could cause another lost Tune, and the cycle repeats itself. In the end of the story, Teety-Woo moves to the foreground of the story while Snufkin recedes, perhaps playing with Freud's levels of consciousness and drawing the reader s attention to the dream that has become a reality, or the preconscious thought that moves to awareness. Through the work of dreams and through the examination of the text on a material level (Freud, 1900; Freud, 2001), the Tune and Teety-Woo, may be one in the same. Snufkin and Teety-Woo do not get around to sharing a Tune during this encounter, further supporting that the Tune and Teety-Woo exist in similar states in Snufkin s consciousness. Snufkin seems to wait for the Tune to come to him in the lucid state of dreams.

9 References Diaz de Chumacerio, C.L. (1990). Songs of the countertransference in psychotherapy dyads. The American Journal of Psychoanalysis, 50 (1), Dimitriadis, G. & Kamberelis, G. (2006). Sigmund Freud. Theory for education. New York, NY: Routledge. Eagleton, T. (2008). Literary Theory: An Introduction. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press. Freud, S. (1900). The interpretation of dreams. Available online at Freud/Dreams/dreams.pdf. Freud, S. (2001). Sigmund Freud. In Rice, P., & Waugh, P. (Eds.). Modern literary theory. New York, NY: Bloomsbury. Jansson, T. (2010). The Spring Tune. In Tales of Moominvalley (pp. 3-16). (T. Warburton, Trans.) New York, NY: Square Fish. (Original work published 1962) Jendis, M. (2001). Mumins wundersame Deutschlandabenteuer: Zur Rezeption von Tove Janssons Muminbuechern. Abstract retrieved from ProQuest Digital Dissertations. (C805991). Rand, N., & Torok, M. (1993). Questions to Freudian psychoanalysis: Dream interpretation, reality, fantasy. Critical Inquiry, 19 (3), Rehal-Johansson, A. (2006). Den lomska barnboksforfattaren: Tove Jansson och muminverkets metamorfoser. Abstract retrieved from ProQuest Digital Dissertations. (C827746). Rice, P., & Waugh, P. (Eds.). (2001). Modern literary theory. New York, NY: Bloomsbury.