Tove Jansson quotes: wise famous quotes, sayings and quotations by Tove Jansson

Tove Jansson Famous Quotes & Sayings

Discover top inspirational quotes from Tove Jansson on Wise Famous Quotes.

And if one doesn't dare to do something immediately then one never does it.

Commonplace things can be fascinating.

She counted out five sweets and put them on a saucer. Then she went and put them on the ledge in the cliff to cheer him up.

Moominpappa: "Tell us all that's happening out in the world!"
Snufkin: "Fuss and misery."
- from "Moomin and Family Life" comic strip

Is that they come up with so many ideas and then they manage to carry them out and believe so strongly in what they do.

You can't depend on people who just let things happen

Oh, Anna Aemelin, the only thing you care about is your own conscience. That's what you cherish. You're a charming little liar.

My bag was as light as my happy-go-lucky heart.

You can't always be friendly. It's impossible, there isn't the time.

You're an idiot," Snufkin said. "Or still worse, you're a story spoiler.

The promises made by a guilty conscience acknowledge and settle no debts...

There was so much to talk about that nothing was said. It was warm sitting there on the steps. Everything seemed to be so right.

Listen," said the Hemulen. "I was born bald on top and really I get along very well.

Such things happen," said Too-ticky

There ought to be a big fuss when people move up in the world.

Those damn Moomins. I don't want to hear about them any more. I could vomit on the Moomintrolls.

Someone who eats pancakes and jam can't be so awfully dangerous. You can talk to him.

One can't be too dangerous, if they like to eat pancakes. Especially with jam on it.

One has to discover everything for oneself. And get over it all alone.

Nothing is as peaceful as when Christmas is over, when one has been forgiven for everything and can be normal again.

Smell is important. It reminds a person of all the things he's been through; it is a sheath of memories and security.

No one can depict desolation who hasn't inhabited desolation and observed it very closely. Things condemned have a terrible beauty.

All things are so very uncertain, and that's exactly what makes me feel reassured.

I'll have to calm down a bit. Or else I'll burst with happiness

I need to write down my observations. Even the tiniest ones; they're the most important.

But he thought all the strange words were beautiful, and he had never had a book of his own before.

I am fond of lovely old words like 'locomotive'.

Everyone must imagine his own snakes because no one else's snakes can ever be as awful.

It's risky to talk about one's most secret dreams a bit too early.

Alexander was in the grip of a passion for perfection. He was not aware of how closely, how perilously, perfectionism and fanaticism are related.

I wonder if the nursery and the chamber of horrors are as far apart as people think?

Even potted plants got to be a responsibility, like everything else you took care of that couldn't make decisions for itself.

You must go on a long journey before you can really find out how wonderful home is.

Dogs are mute and obedient, but they have watched us and know us and can smell how pitiful we are.

Life is an isle of sorrow, you live today and die tomorrow!

Storms probably exist only because after them we can have a sunrise.

It can be sad having a friend you've admired too much and seen too rarely and told too many things that you should have kept to yourself.

She was tired and in no mood for anyone's similes but her own.

Tell them it's a secret. Tell them they don't need to know.

How nice it feels to be good, she thought quietly.

It's nice to have beautiful things that really belong to you.

Do you know the difference between the first love and the last? It's this: you always think the first love is the last and the last the first...

A person can also find solitude with others, though it is more difficult

Sometimes it's better to look at things than own them ... owning means anxiety and lots of bags to carry around.

Maybe my passion is nothing special, but at least it's mine.

My dear child," said Grandmother impatiently, "every human being has to make his own mistakes." She was very tired, and wanted to get home.

You can't ever be really free if you admire somebody too much.

If you're not afraid, how can you be really brave?

The main thing in life is to know your own mind.

Isn't it fun when one's friends get exactly what suits them?

The thing about God, she thought, is that He usually does help, but not until you've made an effort on your own.

It was definitely finished, and for one moment the sadness of completion overtook the Hemulen.

Everything's much too big here,' thought Moominmamma. 'Or perhaps I'm too small.

He didn't remember, he didn't worry, he just was.

The spirit of adventure sped through his soul on mighty wings.

You're too small to be told everything.

Why do you smile all the time?" he said. "Because I am looking at you," she said

They retained their wooden souls, and the curve of their backs had the enigmatic shape of growth itself and remained a part of the decaying forest

It looks rather ordinary," said the Snork. "Unless you consider that a top hat is always somewhat extraordinary, of course.

It takes a long time sometimes," she said, "It can take a terrible long time before things sort themselves out.

Before she left, she said, Just remember one thing: Going along with something doesn't mean you give in to it.[ ... ]

Sniff looked at them and noticed that they were much smaller than he was, so he felt kinder and said, condescendingly. Hullo. Nice to see you.

How easy it is to love.

Making a whole is very important. Most people paint things and forget the whole.

The hemulen woke up slowly and recognised himself and wished he had been someone he didn't know.

What is right and what is wrong is a very sensitive matter.

I only want to live in peace, plant potatoes and dream!

It'd be awful if the world exploded, it's so wonderfully splendid

For a while she considered being ill, but she changed her mind ...

He read the classics, the French and the German among others, but primarily the Russian, which enchanted him with their heavy patience.

He did not confuse what he longed for with his gratitude for what he had. Extreme desires have their own sanctuary.

One ought to have the right to have a secret and to spring it as a surprise. But if you live inside a family you have neither.

Now and then a giggling trail of mermaids appeared in our wake. We fed them oatmeal.

One must use the night.

A very long time ago, Grandmother had wanted to tell about all the things they did, but no one had bothered to ask. And now she had lost the urge.

Of course, Moomintrolls don't wear clothes, except sometimes in bed.

Irrational terror is so hard to deal with.

People carry their loved ones with them. They are forever present.

We'll always keep our bangles in brown pond water in the future. They're so much more beautiful that way

I mean, anyone can let Danger out but the really clever thing is finding somewhere for it to go afterwards.

Making a journey by night is more wonderful than anything in the world.

There's no need to imagine that you're a wondrous beauty, because that's what you are.

Most of the people are homesick anyway, and a little lonely, and they hide themselves in their hair and are turned into flowers.

Because we're going to stay here a little while and calm down until I've learned your names. Light my pipe, someone!

It was a particularly good evening to begin a book.