The specifics of Lindgren's fairy-tale skill

The specificity of Lindgren's fairy tale skill lies in the fact that she created fairy tales where real modern boys and girls suddenly acquire fabulous properties, like the poor, abandoned girl Pippi, or live a double life in an ordinary city in Sweden of the 20th century. with a phone, going to school like a Kid; with poverty and misfortune, like Brother Lionheart; with orphanhood, like Mio; at the same time they have a second world - fabulous, fantastic.

Here they are either powerful and heroic themselves (Mio, brother Lionheart), or have assistants and friends endowed with supernatural powers, like the Kid, whose friend Carlson becomes. Fairy-tale heroes of the past flew on flying carpets, in flying chests, etc. Children of the XX century, familiar with the aircraft of our time, guess the motors, propellers, control buttons. Lindgren's fantasy itself is a world created by the imagination of a contemporary child. Carlson's undertakings, for example, are pranks that are possible for an ordinary child with a developed imagination. Lindgren never moralizes. She forces her young readers to see the bad in the examples available to them. The soft humor of the writer creates a special kind atmosphere, where there is no possibility for the triumph of the evil inclination.

The inevitability of the final victory of good is also inherent in Lindgren's stories for youth, and their heroes are the same dreamers as the heroes of fairy tales. Kalle Blomkvist imagines himself to be a famous investigator, plays with his friends in the war of the Red and White Roses. Rasmus the Tramp idealizes the life of homeless beggars. Lindgren in stories about real events also educates his readers: the war of the Red and White Roses is fought between friends according to the rules of highly interpreted chivalry, it is full of inexhaustible ingenuity of teenagers, it destroys obstacles; Rasmus understands the true nature of vagrants.

However, Lindgren has not given up on trolls, elves, brownies or spiritualizations of the forces of nature, mountains or objects, but she combines this traditionally fantastic with a change in reality by childish fantasy. In her fairy tales, Lindgren followed G.K. Andersen, who knew how to tell amazing stories about ordinary objects, for S. Lagerlöf, who combined in one work a textbook about the nature of Sweden, the real life of a little boy Niels and the story of a goose flock. However, she does not repeat her predecessors. Lindgren, introducing the reader into the circle of fantasies and emotions of the child, teaches adults to respect his inner world, to see him as a person.

The main characters of fairy tales by Astrid Lindgren

Lindgren's largest works are fairy tales: "Pippi Longstocking" ("Boken om Pippi Langs-trump", 1945-1946), "Mio, my Mio" (1954), "The Kid and Carlson, who lives on daxy" (" Lillebror och Karlsson pa Taket", 1955 - 1968), "Brothers Lionheart" ("Brodema Lejon-hjarta", 1973), as well as stories for children and youth "The Adventures of the famous investigator Kalle Blomqvist" ("Masterdetektiven Blomqvist lever farligt", 1946-1953), "Rasmus the Tramp" ("Rasmus pa Luffen", 1956) and the trilogy about Emil from Lenneberga ("Emil in Lonneberga", 1963-1970). Lindgren did not openly express her program, but she wanted to contribute to the democratization of social relations with her work, she wanted to see a world without war, where children would suffer. She wrote for children, and therefore his ideas take on a form accessible to children's understanding. So, in the fairy tale story “Mio, my Mio!” The hero opposes the evil knight Kato, and the Lionheart brothers fight against the tyrant Tengil. Lindgren’s works, which use medieval props, are not only about the eternal struggle between good and in all fairy tales of all times.In the features of the opponents of the positive heroes of the writer and in the descriptions of the countries they rule, the features of fascism clearly appear, and the characters themselves are similar to modern Swedes.

The specificity of Lindgren's fairy tale skill lies in the fact that she created fairy tale stories, fairy tale stories, where real modern boys and girls suddenly acquire fabulous properties, like the poor, abandoned girl Pippi, or live a double life in an ordinary city in Sweden in the 20th century. with the phone, going to school like the Kid, with poverty and deprivation like the Lionheart brothers; with orphanhood, like Mio; time they have another world - fabulous, fantastic. Here they are either powerful and heroic themselves (Mio, take the Lionheart), or they can have supernatural helpers and friends, like the Kid, whose friend Carlson becomes. Fairy-tale heroes of the past flew on flying carpets, near flying chests, etc. Children of the 20th century, familiar with the aircraft of our time, come up with engines, propellers, control buttons. Lindgren's fantasy itself is a world created by the imagination of a contemporary child. Carlson's tricks, for example, are pranks that an ordinary child with a developed imagination can fail. Lindgren never moralizes. She forces her young readers to see the bad in the examples available to them. The soft humor of the writer creates a special good atmosphere, where there is no possibility for the triumph of the evil beginning.

The inevitability of the final victory of good is also inherent in Lindgren's stories for youth, and their heroes are the same dreamers as the heroes of fairy tales. Kalle Blomkvist imagines himself to be a famous investigator, plays with his friends in the war of the Scarlet and White Roses. Rasmus the tramp idealizes the life of homeless beggars. Lindgren in stories about real events also educates his readers: the war of the Scarlet and White Roses is fought between friends according to the rules of highly interpreted chivalry, it is full of inexhaustible ingenuity of adolescents, destroys the state of the obstacle; Rasmus understands the true nature of vagrants. However, Lindgren has not abandoned trolls, elves, brownies or the spiritualization of the forces of nature, mountains or objects, but this traditionally fantastic is combined in her with a change in reality by children's fantasy. In her fairy tales, Lindgren followed G.K. Andersen, who knew how to tell amazing stories about the most prosaic subjects, for S. Lagerlöf, who combined in one work a textbook about the nature of Sweden, the real life of a little boy Niels and the story of a goose flock. However, she does not repeat her predecessors. Lindgren, introducing the reader into the circle of fantasies and emotions of the child, teaches adults to respect his inner world, to see him as a person.

Pippi Longstocking is the central character in a series of books by Swedish writer Astrid Lindgren.

Peppy is a little red-haired, freckled girl who lives alone in the Hen Villa in a small Swedish town with her pets, the monkey Mr. Nilsson, and a horse. Peppy is the daughter of Captain Ephraim Longstocking, who later became the leader of a black tribe. From her father, Pippi inherited fantastic physical strength, as well as a suitcase with gold, allowing her to live comfortably. Pippi's mother died when she was still a baby. Peppy is sure that she has become an angel and is looking at her from heaven (“My mother is an angel, and my father is a Negro king. Not every child has such noble parents”).

Pippi “adopts”, but rather, invents a variety of customs from different countries and parts of the world: when walking, back up, walk the streets upside down, “because it’s hot on your feet when you walk on a volcano, and you can put your hands in mittens.”

Pippi's best friends are Tommy and Annika Söttergren, children of ordinary Swedish inhabitants. In the company of Pippi, they often get into trouble and funny alterations, and sometimes real adventures. Attempts by friends or adults to influence the careless Pippi lead to nothing: she does not go to school, is illiterate, familiar and composes fables all the time. However, Pippi has a good heart and a good sense of humor.

Pippi Longstocking is one of Astrid Lindgren's most fantastic heroines. She is independent and does whatever she wants. For example, she sleeps with her legs on the pillow and her head under the covers, wears multi-colored stockings, returning home, moves backwards because she does not want to turn around, rolls out the dough right on the floor and keeps the horse on the veranda.

She is incredibly strong and agile, even though she is only nine years old. She carries her own horse in her arms, defeats the famous circus strongman, scatters a whole company of hooligans aside, breaks off the horns of a ferocious bull, deftly kicks out two policemen who came to her house to forcibly take her to an orphanage, and with lightning speed throws two smashed the thieves who decided to rob her. However, there is no cruelty in Peppy's reprisals. She is extremely generous to her defeated enemies. She treats disgraced police officers with freshly baked heart-shaped gingerbread. And the embarrassed thieves who worked out their invasion of someone else's house by dancing all night with Pippi twist, she generously rewards with gold coins, this time honestly earned.

Peppy is not only extremely strong, she is also incredibly rich. It costs her nothing to buy for all the children in the city "a hundred kilos of candies" and a whole toy store, but she herself lives in an old dilapidated house, wears the only dress sewn from multi-colored rags, and the only pair of shoes bought by her father "for growth" .

But the most amazing thing about Pippi is her bright and violent fantasy, which manifests itself in the games that she invents, and in amazing stories about different countries, where she visited with her dad-captain, and in endless pranks, the victims of which are klutzes. -adults. Pippi brings any of her stories to the point of absurdity: a mischievous maid bites guests on the legs, a long-eared Chinese hides under her ears in the rain, and a capricious child refuses to eat from May to October. Peppy gets very upset if someone says that she is lying, because lying is not good, she just sometimes forgets about it.

Peppy is a child's dream of strength and nobility, wealth and generosity, freedom and selflessness. But for some reason, adults don't understand Peppy. And the pharmacist, and the school teacher, and the director of the circus, and even the mother of Tommy and Annika are angry with her, teach, educate. Apparently, therefore, more than anything, Peppy does not want to grow up:

“Adults are never fun. They always have a lot of boring work, stupid dresses and cuminal taxes. And yet they are stuffed with prejudices and all sorts of nonsense. They think that a terrible misfortune will befall if you put a knife in your mouth while eating, and all that kind of stuff.

But “who said that you need to become an adult?” No one can force Peppy to do what she doesn't want!

Books about Pippi Longstocking are filled with optimism and unchanging faith in the very best.

And the last thing that needs to be said: about the influence of Astrid Lindgren on Russian children's literature. It must be admitted that the very existence of the Swedish writer's excellent books raised the quality bar in children's literature, changed the attitude towards children's books as second-rate literature, the creation of which does not require excessive efforts from the writer, as long as it is coherent and funny (and instructive). Of course, Astrid Lindgren was not alone in this struggle for a good children's book, but her authority and personal example largely contributed to the strengthening of high standards for literature for children.

Astrid Lindgren left an amazing legacy - a talented and diverse contemporary children's literature, which - and this is no exaggeration - came out of her books. Thank you for this wonderful magical gift to all of us.

Astrid Lindgren's books are also good because you want to return to them, you want to re-read them not only in childhood, but in adulthood. These are fairy tales and at the same time these are stories about children, such as those who live in a neighboring yard. There is nothing fantastic in them, they just know how to dream, fantasize, see what is inaccessible to adults.

Lindgren knows children well, knows how to tell them so that they like it, and knows well what a children's book should be like. Turning to a young author who wants to create for children, the writer advises him to write in such a way that only children would have fun, not adults, write in such a way that children and adults would have fun, but never write in such a way that only adults would have fun. She believes that writing for children is extremely fun, you just need to write freely and with all your heart. " If you ask me what a children's book should be, I will answer after much thought: it should be GOOD. I assure you, I have thought about this for a long time, but I do not find another answer.' and continues ' There is nothing more important in the world than freedom, and in children's literature too. Freedom is necessary for a writer so that he can write the kind of books he wants: non-fiction or nonsense poetry, short instructive stories or exciting adventure novels ... Fairy tales generated by irrepressible imagination, funny books and disturbing books ... - a variety of books where the authors, each in their own way, talk to the reader about the most intimate.

Let children's writers write about anything - at your own risk! Let children's writers feel for themselves what risk is. But just let them be free. We are free to write according to our own understanding, and not according to instructions and not according to ready-made recipes.(Braude, 1969: 108). And at the same time, Lindgren points to the personal responsibility of children's authors: If you want to write an amazing book for children about how difficult and impossible it is to be human in our world, you should have the right to do so; if you want to write about racial oppression and racial struggle, you should have the right to do so; if you want to write about a flowering island in the arms of Skerries, you should actually have the right to e then” (Lindgren, 1997: 4).

Lindgren herself writes about many things. Her books can be read by people of any age, starting from the minute they begin to love fairy tales. Lindgren always wants to write a book that she herself would like as a child, and she, in her own words, would like it if they spoke to her sincerely and seriously, and she does not hide from her little readers that there is poverty, grief in the world. , suffering and disease, people who struggle to make ends meet in contemporary Sweden, and what can upset a child. In 1978, Lindgren received one of the international awards given to the defenders of peace: " We live in a troubled, complex world, and as a mother I often wonder what awaits the millions of those whose parents are now cradles. Children are our future, the embodiment of our hopes. And it is the duty of us adults to protect their future, to provide them with a world free from fear and hatred.(Lindgren, 1997: 5).

Orientation to the little reader, Lindgren dictated the optimal genre form of her works: stories and fairy tales.

Usually in a children's story the natural course of a character's life is reproduced, several episodes stand out. Which give the most complete picture of the personality of the main character. The genre is attentive to details. Descriptions play a big role in it. It is important to show how the views and worldview of the hero change during a particular period (most often this is the period of growing up). The story describes the place and time of action as specifically and in detail as possible. There are a lot of secondary characters here. Quite often, the main theme of the story is the complex relationship between children and adults, the author focuses on the psychology of the child, the peculiarities of his perception of people and the world. In order to recreate the personality of the protagonist, the author often turns to children's folklore, introducing children's teasers, counting rhymes into the story, paying attention to certain features of children's speech. In addition, the story should tell readers not only about themselves, but also about the world in which they live.

In this case, it is important to educate certain values, a story about how to build relationships with adults, peers, how to behave in a given situation, what consequences rash actions can lead to. The story teaches the child to take life seriously and this is the main advantage of the works of this genre.

In the work of A. Lindgren, there are actually fairy tales, singled out by her in a separate collection: “Junker Niels from Eka”, “Knock-knock”, “Does my linden ring, does my nightingale sing”, “Sunny clearing”, “There are no robbers in Forest!”, “Beloved Sister”, “The Princess Who Didn't Want to Play with Dolls”, “One Night in May”, “Mirabelle”, “The Merry Cuckoo”, “Peter and Petra”, “In the Twilight Country”, “Baby Nils Carlson. All of these works are small in volume and fully convey the specifics of the genre. Let's highlight the most characteristic features of the writer's fairy tales:

1. Lindgren's fairy tales are based on the principle of duality, which is manifested by the dichotomies of the world of adults / the world of children, the real world / the ideal world. The principle of duality is observed in fairy tales not only at the content level, but also at the intentional one: the fantasy plot is addressed to the child, and the philosophical subtext is addressed to the adult.

2. Lindgren's fairy tales are a special layer of her work. They are mainly written for the poor, about poor children, whose life is gloomy and bleak, but there is always hope in it, because, as we said above, children do not have a tragic attitude; hope for a happy life with a loving mother and endless games, even if in another world. So in the fairy tale "Sunny Meadow" Matthias and Anna (brother and sister) find shelter on " magical sunny meadow, where there was eternal spring, where tender birch leaves were fragrant, where thousands of tiny birds sang and rejoiced on the trees, where birch bark boats floated in spring streams and ditches, and where mother stood in the meadow and shouted:

“Here, here, my children!”» (Lindgren, 1995:125)

3. A fairy tale performs a kind of healing function: children recover with the help of a fairy tale, the inhabitants of the other world support and amuse them during an illness. Such are the plots of the tales "Merry Cuckoo", in which the cuckoo from the wall clock entertains the sick Gunnar and Gunilla; "In the Twilight Land", in which Mr. Vecherin takes the boy Yoran, who cannot go to the fabulous Twilight Land, thereby making the boy's existence not without meaning; "Junker Niels from Eka", in which a fairy tale helps a seriously ill boy overcome his illness.

4. It is children who discover secrets in fairy tales, it is they who are able to work miracles. Children in fairy tales act as cultural heroes. Recall that the "cultural hero" in mythological systems fights monsters and brings various benefits to people. So, the main character of the fairy tale “Knock-knock”, little Stina-Maria, goes to the underground country, overcoming fear, in order to return the farm sheep, which were killed by a wolf. And she returns them.

5. There are also characters in fairy tales who are the keepers of the secrets of the other world, these are often old people - grandparents. They reveal secrets to those who can believe in them, and for whom another world - the world of a fairy tale - is as real as the usual one. And it's mostly kids. Such a guardian is, for example, the oldest inhabitant of the village of Kapela in the fairy tale "Knock-knock" - Stina-Maria's grandfather.

6. Mandatory characters in fairy tales are the inhabitants of the other world: fairies, trolls, talking cuckoos, animated dolls, dwarfs, little men, etc.

7. In many fairy tales there are so-called guides to the other world: Vecherin, a scarlet bird, an underground inhabitant, an old man, etc.

8. In Lindgren's fairy tales, fairy-tale canons are observed: a characteristic beginning, digital symbolism, overcoming obstacles and the hero's rebirth, an indefinite, distant time.

The beginning of fairy tales is typically fabulous: “once there was a princess ...” (“The princess who did not want to play”), “a long time ago, at a time of trouble and poverty, there once lived ...” (“Sunny meadow”), “a long time ago a long time ago, in times of poverty and famine…” (“Knock-knock”), “a long time ago, in the years of poverty and poverty…” (“Junker Niels from Eki”), “a long time ago, in a time of trouble and poverty…” (“Does my linden ring, does my nightingale sing”), etc.

Time for fairy tales: a long time ago, the birthday of the protagonist, before the New Year, a few years ago.

The rebirth of heroes: the sick boy Nils turns into a cadet Nils, bold and fearless; the sick boy Yoran turns into an absolutely healthy boy in a fairy-tale land, where he can do anything, even dance; poor and unhappy Mattis and Anna into happy and beloved children, and so on.

Here is an example of the fairy tale "Sunny meadow":

The sacred number 3 functions: it is said three times how hard it was for the children to live with the guardian:

« In the spring, Mattias and Anna did not build water wheels on streams and did not let birch bark boats in ditches. They milked cows, cleaned bullock stalls in the barn, ate potatoes dipped in herring brine, and often cried when no one saw it.»;

« And when summer came to the Peat Bog, Matthias and Anna did not pick strawberries and did not build huts on the hillsides. They milked cows, cleaned bullock stalls in the barn, ate potatoes dipped in herring brine, and often cried when no one saw it.»;

« And when autumn came to the Peat Bog, Matthias and Anna did not play hide-and-seek in the yard at dusk, did not sit under the kitchen table in the evenings, did not whisper fairy tales to each other. No, they milked cows, cleaned bullock stalls in the barn, ate potatoes dipped in herring brine, and often cried when no one saw it.(Lindgren, 1995: 110-111).

Children overcome the forest - fall into another world;

The guide to the other world is a bright scarlet bird;

On the way the children meet a cave - a prototype of death - and a clearing - a prototype of paradise.

In the clearing, their mother is waiting for them, who is the mother of all such children - the Mother of God.

Another genre variety of A. Lindgren's works is children's story- is built according to the classical scheme. The following characteristic features of the stories can be distinguished.

1. Most of the stories are focused on preschool and primary school age. An exception are the stories about Kalle Blumqvist, which are aimed at adolescence. Let's make a reservation that the style of presentation in teenage stories is very different from others: it becomes closer to the "adult" storytelling.

2. Everything is taken from Astrid's life. The heroes of the stories live and act in the ordinary real world and their activities reflect their daily activities and events.

3. Heroes are always children. Moreover, the images of children are typical of the society of the 20th century, and the author constantly emphasizes this. Naming her heroes in different stories the same way, she herself comments with slight irony on the generalizing nature of her works: “ This book is about Rasmus Person. Eleven years old." Therefore, there is not one iota of talk about either Rasmus Oscarsson, nine years old, or Rasmus Rasmusson, five years old ... There is absolutely nothing in common between these three Rasmusames. In addition to the name, which we have one of the most common. Is not it?(Lindgren, 2006: 172).

4. The duration of the stories usually fits either in a very short period of time (one day), or in several years.

5. The author is always present in the book and takes the position of the narrator. The author's position is either explicit or implicit, but always updated in the text of the work. This is indicated, for example, by such metalinguistic phrases as: I didn't read it(history) in the book and did not invent it, they told me it», «… I think she is touching and beautiful". Expressing his opinion, the author thereby forms the worldview of the young reader, his moral and aesthetic components, educates him. Lindgren often puts his thoughts about the upbringing of children and attitude towards them into the mouths of the children themselves, for example, the author's position is explicated in the dialogue of two girls who are nine years old - Lisa and Anna from Bullerby: “ Caring for children is not at all difficult. You just need to remember that you need to talk to them kindly. Then they will obey<…>- Of course, they must be treated with care and kindness, but how could it be otherwise! I agreed. “Yeah, you think there aren’t many people who growl at children?” Anna said. - And from this they become angry and stubborn and do not obey anyone at all(Lindgren, 1998: 130).

6. The main goal of the stories, in our opinion, is to reveal the child's psychology and reconstruct his inner world.

And, finally, the third genre in which A. Lindgren creates is a fairy tale story; a syncretic genre that combines elements of both considered genres. A distinctive feature of these works ("Pippi Longstocking", "Baby and Carlson", "Mio, my Mio!", "Brothers Lionheart") is the erasure of the boundaries of the real and fictional world.

Thematically, the works of A. Lindgren are subject to one main topic- theme of childhood, which consists of individual motives and typical situations that reveal the world of childhood.

V.E. Khalizev interprets the motive as an obligatory component of any work: “a component of a work with increased significance” (Khalizev, 2002: 301). The forms in which the motif is represented can be very different: it can be explicated in a work through various linguistic means, or it can be revealed implicitly through subtext.

After analyzing the stories and fairy tales of A. Lindgren, we were able to identify a number of main motives , functioning in her work:

1. Christian motives. The heroes of Lindgren, just like herself, are brought up in the Christian tradition: they listen to biblical stories and songs told by adults, read biblical stories themselves, tell them to their younger brothers and sisters, “play” in biblical stories, study the law of God at school. Christian motifs are especially clearly shown in the stories about Madiken, where the main character often plays out biblical stories with her younger sister in real life: Joseph in the well, baby Moses, baby Jesus, etc.

2. The motive of illness and death(“Something alive for Kalya-Kolchenozhka”, “Junker Niels from Eka”, “In the Twilight Country”, “Merry Cuckoo”, “Merit”, “Sunny Clearing”, “Does my linden ring. Is my nightingale sweating” ), and motif of suffering because of the death of a loved one (“We are on the island of Saltkrokka”).

3. The motive of loneliness. In many of Lindgren's works, this motif acts as a catalyst for children's fantasy, the main result of which is the opening of the door to the other world and the appearance of doubles: Tommy and Annika are alone in their games, they are bored - as a result, Pippi appears in their life ("Pippi Longstocking"); Lonely baby: Here you, mom, have a dad; and Bosse and Bethan are also always together. And I have - I have no one"(Lindgren, 1985: 194) - Carlson appears; little Bertil " sitting at home alone all day”, while the parents were at work - Tiny Nils Carlson appears; little Britta-Kaisa was a girl from a very poor family and her parents did not have money to buy her a doll - an old man appears who gives her a magic seed, from which Britta grows herself a living doll ("Mirabel"); little Barbara dreams of a dog, but for now she has no one, but she has a beloved twin sister Ulva-Lee, who lives in a magical land, plays with Barbara, but disappears as soon as Barbara has a puppy (“Beloved Sister”).

4. The motive of the continuity of generations, as a guarantee of education: « Old and small are always drawn to each other” (“Knock-knock”: Lindgren, 1995: 145); old house as a memory of predecessors ( Stolyarov's estate in "We are on the island of Saltkrokka"); special love and care of the little ones for the old ones (the grandfather loved by all the children in the story “We are all children from Bullerby”), etc.

5. The motive of solidarity and friendship within the family and with neighbors. Focusing on his own childhood, Lindgren displays in his works big family: everyone who lives in the house - both servants and neighbors - all family members: “We are on the island of Saltkrokka”, “Children from Buzoterov Street”, “We are all children from Bullerby”, “The Adventures of Emil from Lönneberga”. And even the semantics of the titles of the works, as we see, indicates the unity of people existing together, which is explicated by the personal pronoun in the plural We.

6. Motif of love. According to Lindgren, love should be the way her parents had it: simple, it grows between everyday affairs, then it is strong; idle love is not sincere and fleeting. " Love that does not rage, but grows and grows stronger calmly and intelligently, is better than the one that burns with fire."("Samuel August of Sevedsthorp and Khan of Hult": Lindgren, 1999: 401). Everything is laid down in childhood, and Astrid understood this well. The boundless love of her parents, warmth, joy, work, absence of reproaches made it possible for her to become grateful and have the opportunity to love and teach others to love. Love takes on different guises in her works: it is love between parents, mutual love of children and their parents, love-care of children for animals, love-friendship of older children for younger ones, love-pity for the poor and vagrants, love-help for grandmothers and grandfathers, love-reverence and at the same time to God.

7. Motive of poverty. Lindgren shows young readers how defenseless poverty is, it is so defenseless that a person in moments of despair can take extreme measures, for example, Aunt Nilsson from the story "Madiken" decides to sell her body for pennies after death, despite the fact that her only aspiration to receive a proper burial. The motive of poverty can be traced in the images of vagabonds and residents of almshouses, orphans of the same age, small children who do not even have the opportunity to buy a doll. But poverty is not only a concept associated with the material world, but also with the spiritual. Lindgren also equates the poor with the poor in spirit, allowing themselves to abuse and humiliate a child, for example, the aunts of little Eva, with whom the girl is forced to live while her mother is in the hospital (“Golden Maiden”), and the guardian of little Matthias and Anna from “Solnechnaya clearings", which actually kept them in order to exploit child labor, etc. Material poverty, according to Lindgren, gives rise to spiritual poverty, which as a result leads to spiritual callousness and inability to love, to self-humiliation, that is, a person loses its human form. So, for example, it happens with the parents of Abbe Nilson from the story "Madiken": material problems lead Abbe's father to alcohol and loss of his own dignity, when Abbe has to risk his life to save the life of a drunken father; parents try to find an outlet in meeting the minimum needs - in food and alcohol. At the same time, they become so stale that they even forget to buy a present for Abbe for Christmas, for them the son becomes not an object of love, but one who should please them.

8. The motive of kindness and compassion for other living beings: « It was Ulle who made it kind(dog). After all, Ulle himself Kind ” (“We are all from Bullerby”: Lindgren, 1998: 10); She's beautiful, Madiken thinks. There are beautiful words and beautiful music, but here - beautiful weather. For some reason, this kind of weather makes you kinder » (Lindgren, 2009: 63); " Kind people know how to get along with people"("Samuel August of Sevedsthorp and Khan of Hult": Lindgren, 1999: 398); "- For this we were born into the world, - continued the teacher. We live to make people good. I live only for this! she called. - And other people, I wonder what they live for? (Lindgren, 2003 145); " Well, I'm used to bulls, - Kalle explained. - Just a little bit kindness- and they can easily be taken"("Småland bullfighter": Lindgren, 1995: 222).

9. The motive of friendship between a child and an adult. Such friendship is based on mutual respect and complete equality between adults and children. Such a rare type of friendship is drawn by A. Lindgren in the stories "We are on the island of Saltkrokka" and "Rasmus the Tramp". It is interesting to note that such friendship is possible only when an “inner child” lives in an adult, when both roles of a child and an adult are balanced in him, and then an adult simply cannot but respect the child, this would contradict his essence: “ Melker and Cherven struck up that rare friendship that sometimes happens between a child and an adult. The friendship of two equal people who are frank with each other in everything and have the same right to speak frankly. There was a lot of childishness in Melker's character, and Cherven had a measure of something else, if not the maturity of an adult, but some kind of tangible inner strength, and this allowed them to stay on an equal or almost equal footing. Cherven, like no one else, treated Melker with bitter truths, from which he sometimes even cringed, and he was ready to give her a bite, but then cooled down, realizing that this would lead to nothing with Cherven. However, for the most part, she was sweet and devoted, as she loved Uncle Melker very much.(Lindgren, 2004: 375). In Rasmus the Tramp, the author goes further and, through the choice of a father by a child, reveals his point of view on the ideal parent: parents can have their shortcomings, like all people, but they must live in harmony with the world and themselves, must be sincere in their actions and judgments, they must sincerely love the child and be on an equal footing with him, that is, see him as a person.

10. The motive of mutual assistance and support. The development of this motif enables the author to reveal the essence of true human relationships. This is best represented in the story “We are on the island of Saltkrokka”: Merta Granquist, a neighbor of the Melkersons, thinking about how to help a family that has just arrived on the island, cooks and brings them dinner, helps them cope with the stove, the whole Granquist family supports the neighbors constantly, without demanding anything in return, and comes to the rescue in a difficult situation: “ Teddy and Freddie wanted to be close to friends in difficult times. What are friends for then? The girls had never seen Juhan and Niklas so gloomy and depressed. And Pelle! He sat at the table pale as a sheet. Malin sat next to him. She was hugging Pelle and was as pale as he was. All this was terrible and unbearable. And then there's this girl-imagined mumbling about some kind of bungalow. No wonder Teddy and Freddy went berserk(Lindgren, 2004: 505).

11. The motive of gratitude. A kind attitude towards children, sincere love for them naturally causes a feeling of gratitude in children, and children are ready to forgive their parents for all failures, even if they themselves upset them, and do everything possible to console their parents: “– But you already did everything you wanted, dad, - Malin said calmly. - We got. All the most beautiful, most cheerful and most marvelous things in this life. And received from you, only from you! And you took care of us, and that's the most important thing. We have always felt your concern.

Then Melker began to cry, oh, this Malin, brought him to tears.

“Yes,” Melker sobbed. - I took care of you! If this means anything to you...

“That's all,” Malin said, “and I don't want to hear anymore that my father is a loser. And with the Stolyarova estate, come what may(ibid.: 512).

Typical situations , through which the psychology of the child is revealed in the works of Lindgren and his world is represented, can be reduced to the following:

1. The situation of temporary absence of parents. Despite the fact that children love their parents, they cannot fully allow them into their world, since parents tend to worry about their children, and therefore limit their freedom, and in addition, parents, due to their adulthood, lose the ability to fantasize and play , and therefore, with them becomes not so fun. So, Tommy and Annika are more happy to go to the fair with Pippi than with their mother; they rejoice in freedom when mom and dad leave for two days, and even send housekeeper Ella from home to visit her mom to enjoy complete freedom in Pippi's company.

2. Two children and a third (fourth) from an incomplete, dysfunctional family- as a contrast of the influence of the environment and the environment. Often Lindgren shows that these children are by nature no worse, only the lack of proper attention and love sometimes awakens bad qualities in them, but more often it brings up strength of mind and incredible responsiveness. An example is the image of Abbe Nilsson from the story "Madiken".

3. Relationship situation senior - junior found in almost all works. Older children are always teachers of life for the younger ones, even though they may tease the younger ones or play quite cruelly with them; they are always protectors of the younger ones; between the elders and the younger, complete mutual understanding does not always reign, but always, without fail, love. The younger ones always follow their example, whether in pious or mischievous deeds. So, almost everything that Malyavka can do, she was taught by her older sister Anna Stina: “ Anna Stina knew everything and knew how to do everything, and everything that Malyavka herself could do, she learned from Anna Stina. Only one thing she learned herself: to whistle through her front teeth. And Anna Stina taught her to count to twenty, recognize all the letters, read a prayer, somersault and climb a cherry.(Lindgren, 1995: 235). In the most touching form, these relations are presented in the story-tale “The Brothers Lionheart”: the elder brother comforts and brightens up the days of the sick younger brother, and then, without hesitation, saves him from certain death, throwing himself out of the burning house with him, instantly at the same time dying.

4. Game situation as an obligatory and permanent component of the children's world.

5. The situation of saving someone, in which all the fortitude and selflessness of the child is manifested, the clearest example of such a childish feat is the rescue of his friend Alfred by Emil (“The Adventures of Emil from Lönneberga”). In addition, similar examples can be given: the brothers save each other, as well as a rebel imprisoned in a dungeon in the story-tale “The Brothers of the Lionheart”; saving Abbe of his father in the story "Madiken"; saving the boy of a classmate of little Merit at the cost of her own life in the story of the same name, saving the sheep by little Stina-Maria, despite the fact that for this she has to visit the kingdom of the dead and remain forever marked (“Knock-knock”).

6. Situation of violence from non-native people: the guardian (the owner of the farm), aunts, foster parents.

7. Invasion situation different, sometimes hostile, sometimes just alien, for the children of the world in their happy world: the arrival of strangers from the city, people for whom the link between generations is broken, most often lonely people: aunt and Monika in "We are all children from Bullerby", uncle with a capricious daughter in “We are on the island of Saltkrokka” (in their opinion, it is beautiful here, but boring, or neglected and everything needs to be redone); the arrival of an important gentleman who wants to demolish the old house, cut down a tree and drive the children to Pippi Longstocking.

As has already been seen from the analysis of typical motives and situations, the world of the child in Lindgren's work is revealed through a system of antinomies. Here are the main ones: life (Christmas) - death (funeral); joy - sadness; healthy - cripples; children are angels; Children Adults; big small; reward - punishment; reality - fiction, dream; children's sacrifice - forgetfulness and misunderstanding of sacrifice by adults; immediacy - thoughtfulness; friendship -/= rivalry; wealth - poverty; well-being, satiety, home - poverty, hunger, snowstorm (homelessness).

Astrid Lindgren is probably the most famous Swedish writer in Russia.

Her heroes settle in their heads in childhood - the red-haired girl Pippi Longstocking, the daughter of the robber Roni, the detective Kalle Blumkvist, a plump man in the prime of life, the owner of a propeller on his back and the most common surname in Sweden, Carlson, who flies to the Kid when he gets sad.

They settle down and remain until the very gray hairs - as a jewel, which we, becoming parents, pass on to our children, reading her books at night. If you have already read everything, find a rather rare autobiographical “We are all from Bullerby”, in which the writer sketches her own childhood - not very rich, but filled with impressions and adventures.

November 14, 1907 in the south of Sweden, in the city of Vimmerby, Astrid Anna Emilia Eriksson was born. Her first publication was a school essay, because of which her classmates began to tease her with Selma Lagerlöf (Swedish novelist. - "Kommersant"). After that, Astrid swore off writing fairy tales and went to work for the local newspaper Wimmerby Tidningen.

“If I managed to brighten at least someone’s gloomy childhood, then I’m satisfied”

“Being the subject of gossip was like being in a pit full of snakes, and I decided to get out of that pit as soon as possible. It didn't happen at all the way some might think — I wasn't kicked out of the house like in the good old days. Not at all, I left on my own. No one could keep me at home"
After moving to Stockholm, Astrid completed a course in stenography, but could not find a job and gave her newborn son Lars to a foster family.

"I write for myself to amuse the child inside of me - I can only hope that other children will be amused too"
In 1928, Astrid got a secretary position at the Royal Automobile Club and three years later she married her boss, Sture Lindgren. Having married, Astrid Lindgren was able to pick up her son and gave birth to a daughter, Karin. After that, the writer broke her vow and began to compose fairy tales for home magazines.


“The worst thing is when a child does not know how to play. Such a child is like a little boring old man, from whom, over time, an adult old man grows up, deprived, however, of the main advantage of old age - wisdom.
In 1944, Astrid Lindgren won second place in the competition for the best book for girls, announced by the publishing house "Raben and Sjogren", and was able to publish the story "Britt-Marie pours out her soul"


"You will not find true peace on earth, perhaps it is just an unattainable goal"
Astrid Lindgren invented her most famous heroine, Pippi Longstocking, during the war and the illness of her daughter Karin. The writer gave the first home-made edition to her daughter for her birthday, and in 1945 Raben and Sjogren published the book Pippi Settles in Villa Chicken.


In 1954, Astrid Lindgren wrote the story "Mio, my mio", in 1955 - "The Kid and Carlson". In 1961, "Three stories about Malysh and Carlson" came out in the USSR: their lifetime circulation in Russian amounted to more than 5 million copies.

“I drink summer like wild bees drink honey. I am collecting a huge lump of summer so that it is enough for ... for the time when ... there will be another time ... Do you know what kind of lump it is? ...
- It has sunrises and blueberries, blue from berries, and freckles, like on your hands, and moonlight over the evening river, and the starry sky, and the forest in the midday heat, when the sunlight plays in the tops of the pines, and the evening rain, and everything around... and squirrels, and foxes, and elks, and all the wild horses that we know, and swimming in the river, and riding horses. Understand? The whole lump of dough from which summer is baked.

"Roni, the Robber's Daughter"

“Journalists are so stubborn. Just leave a blank space in the newspaper and write: “Something about Astrid Lindgren was supposed to come out here, but she did not want to participate in this” ”
From 1946 to 1970, Astrid Lindgren worked as an editor for children's literature at the publishing house Raben and Sjögren, which published all her books, and hosted quizzes on Swedish radio and television.

“There are so many dictators, tyrants, oppressors, tormentors in our world today… What kind of childhood did they have?”
In 1976, Astrid Lindgren published Pomperipossa of Monismania, an adult fairy tale about overly restrictive taxation, and in 1985 sent a tale about a loving cow against animal abuse to Stockholm newspapers. As a result, in 1988, the animal protection law Lex Lindgren (Lindgren Law) was passed in Sweden.
Photo: Constantin-Film/ullstein bild via Getty Images


God save me from the Nobel Prize! Nellie Zaks died from getting her, I'm sure the same thing will happen to me."
In 1958, Astrid Lindgren received the Hans Christian Andersen Medal (also known as the Nobel Prize for Children's Literature), and in 1969, the Swedish State Prize for Literature.

Astrid Lindgren is a cult Swedish writer who worked in the second half of the 20th century. She made an invaluable contribution to the development and popularization of children's literature, gave the world the immortal images of Pippi Longstocking, Carlson, detective Kalle Blomkvist and always worshiped only one religion - childhood. Everyone who knew Astrid Lindgren admired her amazing ability to make friends.

She easily won over people and struck up warm friendships with work colleagues, writers whose books she reviewed, celebrities, admirers, housekeepers, and even those whom she had never seen. Despite her workload, Astrid maintained a correspondence with a huge number of people, did not leave a single reader's letter unattended and always answered them personally.

But the most important thing is that Lindgren not only made friends, but also made friends. For some, thanks to Astrid, the cheerful kind Pippi became the best friend, someone doted on the traveler Katya, and someone with bated breath waited for Carlson's return and listened if the sound of their favorite propeller sounded in the distance.

Astrid Lindgren's childhood passed on the picturesque expanses of the Nes estate, which was located in the cozy Swedish town of Vimmerby (Kalmar County). The writer fondly recalls her close-knit family. Her parents, Samuel and Hannah, met at an early age. Samuel fell in love with the fourteen-year-old Hanna at first sight, but it took four long years to get the girl's hand. Cafes were a favorite meeting place, where the couple sat for long hours over cups of tea. And although neither one nor the other liked tea, at that time this drink was considered elite. Wanting to make a good impression on each other, Hannah and Samuel reveled in hateful tea and love. Years later, Astrid retold her parents' love story in Samuel August of Sevedsthorp and Hanna of Hult. The writer claimed that there was more love in their romance than in any of the romantic books she had read. Hannah and Samuel were amazing parents. They raised their four children - Gunnar, Astrid, Stina and Ingegerd - in love and freedom. Children were free to play in the vastness of the estate, they were never driven into the framework of authoritarian rules, and there was no question of physical punishment. Lindgren recalls childhood games with rapture. “Oh, how we knew how to play! - the writer exclaims years later - The four of us could tirelessly play from morning to night. A favorite pastime was the "Don't step on the floor" game described in Pippi Longstocking. It is in her that the red-haired Peppy teaches Tommy and Annika to play. Well remembers Astrid and the period of growing up. According to the writer, one day the guys and I realized that we could no longer play. It was scary, because we had no idea what else to do. But soon the children's amusements were replaced by other hobbies - lessons, music and, of course, books! The democratic model of education, which the Ericsson family adhered to, did not spoil the children at all. All of them received education and worthy professions. Gunnar became famous as the author of political satire, Stina achieved success in the field of translator, Ingegerd became a sought-after journalist, and Astrid became a world-famous writer, an outstanding publisher and theorist of children's literature. Samuel Eriksson liked to repeat: “I have extraordinary children! And they are all busy with words.

vicissitudes of fate: single mother

Leaving the cozy parental home, young Astrid faced harsh reality. The first steps in adult life were very difficult. It all started with the fact that at the age of 18, Astrid became pregnant. The baby's father was Aksel Blumberg, the editor of the newspaper where Miss Ericsson worked. Rejecting Bloomberg's offer, Astrid chose the difficult path of a single mother. She did not shift the care of the newborn Lars onto the shoulders of her parents, but entrusted her little son to a foster family from Denmark. She herself moved to Stockholm, completed courses in cursive writing on a typewriter and got a job as a secretary. It was the most difficult period in Astrid's life. For a whole week she worked in the service, and on weekends she rushed to visit little Lars. Everything changed when Astrid met the manager of the Royal Automobile Club, Sture Lindgren. Soon he became her husband and father of two children - Lars and the younger Karin. Astrid repaid her lover and savior - she glorified his name for all time.

After getting married, Astrid was able to leave the service and, finally, take care of the house and children. Every day she read fairy tales to her little Karin, and soon she began to invent them herself. So, under the honey light of a night lamp in the children's room, the image of a cheerful girl with red pigtails, fantastic strength, a suitcase of gold and high multi-colored stockings was born. "Pippi Longstocking!" said little Karin. “Okay, let it be Pippi Longstocking,” my mother agreed. After writing down Pippi's story, Astrid submitted the book to several publishers and was rejected. Lindgren did not despair, she again took up the pen and took part in a literary competition from the leading Swedish publishing house Raben and Sjögren. Brit Marie Pours Out Her Soul won the second prize, and its author received publishing rights. In 1945, the green light was given to the book about Pippi. The first part of the trilogy "Pippi Settles in the Chicken Villa" was a resounding success. Thus began the glorious procession of Astrid Lindgren through the world of children's literature.

Astrid Lindgren's contribution to children's literature is truly invaluable. Since the 40s, Lindgren has published regularly, giving enthusiastic readers new stories and images: 1945-1948 - the Pippi Longstocking trilogy is released (plus two short stories in 1979 and 2000); 1946-1953 - a trilogy about the adventures of detective Kalle Blomkvist; 1947-1852 - stories about the inhabitants of Bullerby in three parts; 1950-1954 - three books about the adventures of young Katya (in America, in Italy, in Paris); 1955-1968 - a trilogy about the funny little man Carlson, who lives on the roof; 1958-1961 - a dilogy about children from Gorlastaya Street; 1960-1993 - stories about the girl Madiken (four books); 1963-1997 - a series of short stories about the misadventures of Emil from Lenneberga. Lindgren's most famous heroine was Pippi Longstocking. To date, books about Pippi have been translated into 70 languages ​​​​of the world and continue to be reprinted. Along with the army of fans in different years, Deanstockings also had opponents. Peppy was called selfish, narcissistic, spoiled and even “mentally ill”, and her upbringing (or rather, its complete absence) is absolutely not indicative of the younger generation. Lindgren each time stood up for her beloved heroine, boldly discussed with eminent accusers and repeated: “Give children as much love as possible ... and common sense will come to them by itself.” But the domestic reader most of all liked another popular hero of Astrid Lindgren's books - "a moderately well-fed man in the prime of life" mischievous Carlson, who lives on the roof. An important role in popularizing the image was played by the cult Soviet cartoon directed by Boris Stepantsev. Capricious and kind, playful and noble, Carlson, who spoke in the voice of Vasily Livanov, is no longer perceived as a European. Since then it has become ours. The heroes of Astrid Lindgren continue to inspire modern writers, sometimes allusions to the works of the famous Swede pop up in the most unexpected variations. For example, the protagonist of Stieg Larsson's Millennium detective trilogy Mikael Blomkvist is jokingly called Kalle Blomkvist. The hateful nickname stuck to Mikael due to the fact that he began his career with investigative journalism. And the prototype of the main character Lisbeth Salander was Pippi Longstocking. The image of Lisbeth is essentially a literary experiment - the Stig imagined what a grown-up Pippi would look like in the modern world.

Publisher "Raben and Shegren"

In addition to her literary activities, Astrid Lindgren became famous as a first-class publisher. After the successful publication of a book about Pippi Lindgren, she was invited to the Raben and Sjogren publishing house, which once opened her way to the literary world. Here Astrid worked all her life until her retirement. Colleagues have always been amazed at Lindgren's efficiency. In the morning she wrote novels, in the afternoon she reviewed other people's works, in the evenings she attended presentations and exhibitions. At the same time, Astrid managed to pay attention to the family, was an active public figure and always maintained a cheerful mood.

Honored authority

Lindgren's opinion was trusted. She had an amazing aesthetic taste and knew how to feel worthwhile works. Astrid opened the world to many talented children's writers, including Lennart Helsing, Oke Holmberg, Viola Wahlstedt, Hans Peterson and others.

For achievements in the field of children's literature in 1967, the native publishing house established the Astrid Lindgren Prize. Its first laureate was the open Astrid Oke Holmberg. The brilliant Swede lived a long life and died at the age of 95 in her Stockholm home. Lindgren was buried on March 8. The streets of Stockholm were crowded, everyone saw off the great storyteller, who gave millions of people childhood, on her last journey.

Children in the works of Astrid Lindgren (on the example of the works "Three stories about the Kid and Carlson" and "Pippi Longstocking")

Books by the famous Swedish writer A. Lindgren about Carlson and Pippi Longstocking can be safely called pedagogical. Why? In particular, because their plot is very close to the ordinary reality in which children-readers live. Recognizing in books the features of his life, the similarity of his desires, qualities of character and actions with the motives and actions of the characters, the reader feels a tendency to think about his daily life, to comprehend it more deeply.
In "Baby and Carlson" "Pippi Longstocking" there are no adventures with dragons, wizards, feats. On the contrary, the main characters are the most ordinary children, or very similar to them. Of course, Carlson has outstanding qualities - he can fly and lives on the roof. But after all, in his actions, he is no different from an ordinary elementary school child - he loves to play pranks, eat sweets, quickly moves from one emotion to another.
Pippi is also an ordinary red-haired girl, although she has fantastic physical strength. Like many children, she does not like to study at school, she breaks many school rules. Like Carlson, she communicates with typical children who do not have such abilities.
Next, we will talk about two types of children's characters A. Lindgren. These are unusual children (Carlson and Peppy), and ordinary (their friends).
Indeed, although Carleson's age is uncertain (he calls himself "a man in the prime of life"), he can be considered a child - in character, behavior and antics. It is interesting that Carlson's shortcomings are shown in a hypertrophied form, they seem to be deliberately stuck out in him, exaggerated. The writer obviously wanted to express a pedagogical idea: shortcomings are ridiculous, they must be eliminated. Someone may object: what if the readers (children, of course), having read the stories of A. Lindgren, themselves begin to imitate the characters? Will they throw flower pots out of windows, cut sheets to play ghosts, etc.? But let's figure out who Pippi and Carlson are.
So, who is Carlson? Despite all his unusualness, he is the embodiment of a child with all the features of childhood. He personifies both typically childish shortcomings and virtues. Yes, he lies, is capricious, takes offense over trifles, boasts, overeats. But at the same time - shows energy, gaiety, responsiveness, disinterestedness. Carlson is controversial, and this brings him closer to the real world.
How do readers perceive the history of Carlson's adventures? Of course, children rather laugh at his actions, they just like to read about his pranks and pranks. But growing up, readers are already beginning to laugh at Carlson's qualities - at his boasting, lies, gluttony. There is an understanding that all these are the weaknesses of a person, his limitations. Laughing at Carlson, growing up children, in a sense, laugh at themselves, at their own weaknesses and shortcomings. It becomes their "mirror", helps to realize themselves as a person.
And this is very important, because it develops the ability to look at yourself critically, from the outside. Thus, fairy tales about Carlson are brought up through laughter and humor. And in the comical situations described by A. Lindgren, an invisible, but important pedagogical meaning is laid at first glance. In addition, what you read in childhood has an impact on the rest of your life. After all, childhood impressions are the most vivid, memorable. Thus, A. Lindgren's books educate not only children, but also adults.
What can be said about Pippi Longstocking? Like Carlson, she has a cheerful and cheerful character, and symbolizes certain childhood traits. Like Carlson, she comes up with fun games and punishes crooks. By the way, the victories over swindlers and crooks that are described in the books also carry an important pedagogical idea - the idea of ​​justice. Although in a grotesque form, the victory of good over evil is shown.
Pippi does not attend school (attempts to force her to study fail), she is illiterate and familiar to adults. However, Pippi has a kind nature, she is responsive and willing to help others.
The images of Carlsone and Pippi embody the dream of freedom. After all, a person, including in childhood, tends to strive for liberation from various restrictions - social, domestic, personal. This dream has to do with the philosophy of freedom and the difficult questions that it raises. For example, with the question of the boundaries between personal freedom and the freedom of another person, whether absolute freedom is possible and what restrictions are useful in order to get along with other people, etc.
A. Lindgren raises all these problems in the form of fairy tales. And thus encourages readers already in childhood to begin to comprehend those topics with which he will inevitably deal in later, adult life. This was especially pronounced in the theme of loneliness. Indeed, in fact, both Carlson and Peppy are lonely children. They lack communication, so Carlson meets the Kid, and Pippi meets Tommy and Anika. Despite the freedom that flying and physical strength give (more precisely, expand), "unusual children" also need communication, like all people. And friendships are connected with responsibility for friends.
Lindgren endowed Carlson and Pippi with unusual abilities that distinguish them from the rest, give them special advantages. She embodied in her books children's dreams of acquiring those qualities that would make it possible to fulfill many desires. But at the same time, Carlson's ability to fly and Pippi's superpower put them in special conditions, raised the question of how to dispose of these outstanding qualities. It would seem that "unusual children" could become "absolutely free" egoists, indifferent to the desires of other people. However, both Carlson and Peppy use their special abilities not only for themselves, but also to help ordinary children. Thus, in this literary device, the writer expressed a very important, humanistic idea - the idea of ​​altruism.
It is noteworthy that both Carlson and Peppy do not go to school. Meanwhile, their lack of elementary school knowledge (for example, unfamiliarity with arithmetic) is specifically emphasized in several episodes. For example, in the third fairy tale about Carlson, the Kid makes an attempt to teach him addition using the problem about apples as an example. Carlson's self-satisfied reaction and his lack of understanding looks so ridiculous that it causes a clear understanding of the need for mathematics. And the description of such situations is also a kind of pedagogical technique ...
According to the independence of thinking and decisiveness of action in critical situations, Carlson and Pippi Longstocking can be called heroes. But these are not fantasy or science fiction heroes. These are children's heroes, not just related to the world of children, but part of it. This is especially true for Carlson. You can remember with what ingenuity and courage he successfully confronted the crooks Rule and Phil (when they were about to commit a robbery) several times, or the story of the confrontation with Miss Bock. Pippi Longstocking also found herself forced to fight burglars Carl and Blom the Brute when they broke into her house. It can be assumed that A. Lindgren did not accidentally decide to describe these stories in children's books. Stories about the fight against crime were supposed to have an educational impact on children's consciousness, to orient the child to the need to fight the criminal world.
Lindgren also expressed certain psychological ideas in her books. Let us recall, for example, Carlson's favorite expressions: "This is nothing, a matter of life" or "Calm, only calm!". Such a detached attitude to troubles is very useful from the point of view of psychology. A calm attitude to problems that a person can develop in himself will help him in a difficult situation to gather strength and find the right solution. And also do not waste your time and energy, pitying yourself and scolding others. For example, Kid's worries about a broken steam engine contrast sharply with Carlson's indifference - but also encourage reflection on the value of things. Do things have value in themselves, or is it we ourselves who give them this or that meaning? And if the reason is in our own attitude, then we can control our reactions and not waste our nerves.
In Pippi's desire to maintain her old way of life, despite the attempts of adults to "socialize" her, one can also find a hidden meaning. Although adults (for example, school teachers) try to influence her, make her an ordinary student, she refuses to obey. Although in an exaggerated form, the child's right to his own unique individuality, the desire to be different from others, is expressed here.
Now let's talk about the second category of children in A. Lindgren's fairy tales. These are “ordinary children”, whose presence as characters is necessary both in the plot and in the pedagogical plan.
Carlson's best friend is Kid (real name Svante), who dreams of getting a dog. The kid lives in the most ordinary Swedish family, with his parents, older brother Bosse and sister Betan. This is a well-mannered and polite boy, although sometimes he shows stubbornness. Thanks to participation in the adventures of Carlson, the Kid learns about the life of a big city. He realizes that in a world that previously seemed cheerful and joyful, there are children left unattended and criminals. And if so, then it is necessary to develop a certain attitude towards all these non-standard phenomena for his life. And in this choice, the Kid is in solidarity with his friend - they decide to help the child and resist the scammers.
Like his friends (Gunilla and Christer), the Kid embodies the average child, the children of ordinary inhabitants. And along with Tommy and Anika (Pippi's best friends) they are a necessary contrast. As they say, everything is known in comparison - and the story of the communication of very different characters helps to set off the outstanding qualities of each, his individuality.
Contrasts between "ordinary" and "unusual" children are found in those situations that are closely related to the laws of society. With their "subversive activities" Carlson and Peppy blow up the orderly adult world. These are individualists who do not recognize the authority and dictate of the collective. So, Pippi ridicules the “charity” of Miss Rosenblum, her caramels for the rich and warm stockings for the poor, the school system of rewards and punishments, Carlson does not recognize the “rules of decency”, refers to Uncle Julius and Miss Bock with “you”, etc. .
At the same time, secondary characters (Baby, Tommy and Annika) comprehend the world and themselves. When Carlson and Peppy are preparing to do something unusual (or doing it), they ask questions about the meaning, try to find a justification for social prohibitions. For example, the Kid firmly declares to Carlson that theft is unacceptable, while at the same time strengthening his beliefs in this regard.
How do "ordinary children" relate to the superpowers of "extraordinary"? They are happy to use them. For example, the Kid willingly and repeatedly moves to the roof with the help of Carlson's propeller, and Tommy and Anika swim with Pippi on a boat. These details express the cherished childhood dream: to be able to do more than what is considered the limit of the possible - to fly, to easily lift huge weights, to have wealth ... But it is noteworthy that "ordinary children" do not idealize their friends. On the contrary, they are trying to have an educational influence - the Kid explains to Carlson how to handle household appliances, Tommy and Anika persuade Peppy to go to school. Thus, A. Lindgren shows not the one-sided influence of some heroes on others, but their mutual influence. Of course, these attempts to influence do not always end in success. However, the process of communication itself is important, during which, for example, Carlson's boasting and complacency, and Pippi Longstocking's thirst for freedom are revealed. And knowing the motivation of the characters' behavior, the reader gets the opportunity to better understand the reasons for their actions, objectively evaluate them - and also think about their own lives...
In addition, thanks to the company of Carlson and Pippi, ordinary children often find themselves in funny situations and participate in various adventures. At the same time, they show the features of an ordinary law-abiding inhabitant: fear of breaking the rules, social taboos, and a penchant for conservatism. And at the same time, they gradually change under the influence of their individualistic friends. For example, the Kid ceases to obey Miss Bok when Carlson demonstrates the possibility of disobedience to him, and gradually becomes involved in pranks. Tommy and Anika do the same, agreeing to participate in sea adventures with Peppy.
So, in the fairy tales of A. Lindgren, children act as carriers of different behaviors, and express the most common features of a child's character. At the same time, thanks to the humor of the writer, negative qualities and actions look unattractive, and positive ones look worthy of imitation. That is why A. Lindgren's stories can be called not just entertaining, but entertaining and educational.