how I accidentally became a moominologist and why moominmamma's handbag is a special magical object
Go back 2.5 years ago when I was even worse with money and was about to finish corrections to my PhD thesis, I kept getting these ads for a subscription to build the Moominhouse.
Yeah, I am really bad with money. I'd never done miniatures crafting before and also not the biggest Moomin fan. I loved the stop motion version and the books but I wasn't a superfan.
Note: I don't even do relevant research, really. I study ancient magical objects from Roman Egypt. It's hardly 20th century mythical Finland.
Anyway, I worked on this Moominhouse for two years and it became this awesome way to learn new things about making things and crafting and gluing myself to various surfaces.
I graduated with this PhD in ancient magical objects and rituals in July 2023 so I've been trying to figure out what to do next and how to do it. Nothing is working out.
Except in October 2024 I found out this big arts group were teaming up with Moomin Characters (the Official Moomin People) to put on exhibits to challenge the horrible narratives about refugees in the UK right now. It's the 80th birthday of the publication of the first book in Finland, so a publisher released a new edition.
I made a big deal about going and getting the book and started reading it. I was doing some research on medicinal and personal bundles for a new research proposal at the same time and kind of saw a link between Moominmamma and her handbag in The Moomins and the Great Flood.
This is in November 2024 and I have hundreds of essays to mark and no income for the summer and I'm supposed to be writing a book proposal and sensible grown-up articles about ancient magic but then I started writing an article about how Moominmamma's handbag is the epitome of Ursula K Le Guin's Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction.
Because sometimes autistic hyper fixation is good, actually.
I mean, I sat and counted all the illustrations and all the ones with the handbag for this. Sat up late and gave myself migraines to get it finished and submitted to a small Eastern European cultural journal's once-a-year deadline for articles.
I spend all spring getting rejections for my sensible (well, sensible ish) stuff (except I got published in Strange Horizons yelling about how great The Expanse is for Old Age Women Rep—that was so cool).
Waiting to see what would happen about the Moominmamma article.
But then I get this email from The Conversation saying they've heard I study the Moomins and would I like to write an article for them and go be a panel expert at an event they're putting on for Moomins x Refugee Week.
HELL YES SIGN ME UP I WILL BE THERE.
I adapted the academic article for publication in April, taking out the more esoteric theory (not the Le Guin stuff. We must respect the Le Guin stuff). I go to this event and have an amazing time talking about the Moomins with other academics who love the Moomins.
Come back and the organisers say if we have more ideas, get in touch. So I ping an email about an idea for a project on the Moominhouse itself.
Then when I was on holiday, the Eastern European journal ACCEPTED MY ARTICLE ABOUT MOOMINMAMMA'S HANDBAG. I am real and legitimate and an actual academic. The reviewer's comments were so delightful and scary. Why is it hard to accept compliments? Answers on a postcard please.
And now the Moomin People have passed on my details and some of my idea to The Moomin People of Finland.
This is so exciting. Also scary. And exciting. So now I'm trying to figure out how I somehow pivot to being a Moominologist while also writing a piece for an exhibition catalogue coming to a museum near you (if you're in Austin, TX or Manchester, UK) and a chapter on how magical rituals are basically theatrical performances for the gods.
So now I'm a Moominologist. Super exciting thing is that there's almost no research on the Moominhouse itself. I have an idea and I think it'd make an awesome book.
That's enough for now. Got to get back to writing about how dodgy druggists in Roman Egypt meant people made their own medicines and exchanged recipes. It's due on Thursday.
