Tove Jansson quotes
1914 – 2001 · Finland, 20th century · writer, illustrator, painter and comic‑strip artist
About Tove Jansson
Born in Helsinki in 1914, Tove Jansson began as an illustrator and political cartoonist and published the first Moomin book in 1945. She also painted, drew the internationally syndicated Moomin comic strip and wrote acclaimed adult fiction such as The Summer Book (1972). She died in Helsinki in 2001.
Works: The Moomins and the Great Flood; Comet in Moominland; The Summer Book; The True Deceiver
Quotes
“It is simply this: do not tire, never lose interest, never grow indifferent—lose your invaluable curiosity and you let yourself die. It's as simple as that.”
Source: Fair Play (Rent spel), 1989 · Check the source
Verified attributionWhat we know
- What is documented
- The wording appears in Fair Play and is spoken in the novel by a character named Wladyslaw.
Jansson asserts that curiosity is a basic condition of being alive: losing interest or growing indifferent is a real kind of dying. The line appears in her novel Fair Play and reads as plain, intimate advice rather than abstract theory.