Ideal absence and situated readers : experiencing space through connection to Tove Jansson and her works

Abstract

Works of fiction have the power to draw visitors to locations associated with them and their authors. Members of the audience, however, are not simply ‘absorbing’ the narratives they encounter in a variety of media but are often actively (re)interpreting the texts and negotiating the meanings they attribute to spaces with ties to writers, narratives and adaptations. The present compilation dissertation examines how sites with connections to Tove Jansson (1914–2001) and her literary works, including her famous creations, the Moomins, can be experienced and (re)imagined by different readers. Looking at written descriptions of visits to such sites in Finland, including authored press articles and the researcher’s autoethnographic account, the study explores how places linked to Jansson and her works are experienced by readers-visitors in light of their personal histories of engagement with the texts and in a spatial and sociocultural context. Utilizing theories of situatedness and belonging, this study examines how readers’ past and present geographical and sociocultural experiences influence the interpretation of the texts and associated sites and affect the visitor experience. The findings demonstrate that both individual and collective factors shape the way media texts and spaces are envisioned: prior engagement with and personal importance of Jansson’s work play crucial roles in the visitor experience; furthermore, meanings attributed to spaces are constantly (re)negotiated, reflecting changing interpretations of the texts and the author’s biography. The findings also provide insights into how familiar places can be perceived through connections to literary works and writers, which is relevant considering the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and its aftereffects. The study sheds light on how readers-visitors address and engage with numerous absences – that of the author, of fictional characters, or, in some cases, of verifiable connections to writers and texts – and how they creatively fill in the empty spaces with their own experiences and histories, based on their own situated reading. Consequently, absences at the sites with ties to writers and artists, while often seen as a hindrance, can also act as an opportunity. The study invites further inquiries on how different readerships engage with Jansson’s works and how places with connections to fiction can be experienced by various audiences.