Pippi Longstocking

Pippi Longstocking is the fictional main character in a series of children's books by Swedish author Astrid Lindgren. Pippi was named by Lindgren's daughter Karin, who asked her mother for a get-well story when she was off school.
Pippi is red-haired, freckled, unconventional and superhumanly strong – able to lift her horse one-handed. She is playful and unpredictable. She often makes fun of unreasonable adults, especially if they are pompous and condescending. Her anger comes out in extreme cases, such as when a man mistreats his horse. Pippi, like Peter Pan, does not want to grow up. She is the daughter of a buccaneer captain and has adventure stories to tell about that, too. Her four best friends are her horse and monkey, and the neighbours' children, Tommy and Annika.
After being rejected by Bonnier Publishers in 1944, Lindgren's first manuscript was accepted by Rabén and Sjögren. The three Pippi chapter books were published from 1945 to 1948, followed by three short stories and a number of picture book adaptations. They have been translated into 80 languages as of 2025 and made into several films and television series.

Character

Pippi Longstocking is a nine-year-old girl. At the start of the first novel, she moves into Villa Villekulla: the house she shares with her monkey, named Mr. Nilsson, and her horse that is not named in the novels but called Lilla Gubben in the movies. Pippi soon befriends the two children living next door, Tommy and Annika Settergren. With her suitcase of gold coins, Pippi maintains an independent lifestyle without her parents: her mother died soon after her birth; her father, Captain Ephraim Longstocking, goes missing at sea, ultimately turning up as king of a South Sea island. Despite periodic attempts by village authorities to make her conform to cultural expectations of what a child's life should be, Pippi happily lives free from social conventions. According to Eva-Maria Metcalf, Pippi "loves her freckles and her tattered clothes; she makes not the slightest attempt to suppress her wild imagination, or to adopt good manners." Pippi is literate and has a penchant for storytelling, which often takes the form of tall tales.
When discussing Pippi, Astrid Lindgren explained that "Pippi represents my own childish longing for a person who has power but does not abuse it." Although she is the self-proclaimed "strongest girl in the world", Pippi often uses nonviolence to solve conflicts, via guile, creativity with facts, and misdirection, such as to protect other children from bullying or excuse her chronic truancy. Pippi has been variously described by literary critics as "warm-hearted", compassionate, kind, clever, generous, playful, and witty to the point of besting adult characters in conversation. Laura Hoffeld wrote that while Pippi's "naturalness entails selfishness, ignorance, and a marked propensity to lie", the character "is simultaneously generous, quick and wise, and true to herself and others."
The inspiration for her father, Captain Ephraim Longstocking, came from the real life Carl Emil Pettersson, a Swedish sailor who became king of Tabar Island in Papua New Guinea after he was shipwrecked in 1904. He married the local king's daughter, and they had nine children.
One famous albeit incorrectly assigned quote by Pippi, summing up her character, is “I have never tried that before, so I think I should definitely be able to do that”.

Development

Biographer Jens Andersen locates a range of influences and inspiration for Pippi not only within educational theories of the 1930s, such as those of A. S. Neill and Bertrand Russell, but also contemporary films and comics that featured "preternaturally strong characters". Literary inspiration for the character can be found in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, E. T. A. Hoffmann's The Strange Child, Anne of Green Gables, and Daddy Long Legs in addition to myths, fairytales, and legends. Andersen argues that the "misanthropic, emotionally stunted age" of the Second World War, during which Lindgren was developing the character, provided the most influence: the original version of Pippi, according to Andersen, "was a cheerful pacifist whose answer to the brutality and evil of war was goodness, generosity, and good humor."
Pippi originates from bedside stories told for Lindgren's daughter, Karin. In the winter of 1941, Karin had come down with an illness and was confined to her sickbed; inspired by Karin's request to tell her stories about Pippi Longstocking—a name Karin had created on the spot—Lindgren improvised stories about an "anything-but-pious" girl with "boundless energy." As a child, Karin related more to Annika and Tommy, rather than Pippi, who she felt was very different from her personality. Pippi became a staple within the household, with Karin's friends and cousins also enjoying her adventures. In April 1944, while recovering from a twisted ankle, Lindgren wrote her stories about Pippi in shorthand, a method she used throughout her writing career; a copy of the clean manuscript was turned into a homemade book for Karin and given to her on May 21, while another was posted to publisher Bonnier Förlag, where it was rejected in September on the grounds of being "too advanced."
After her critical success with her debut children's novel The Confidences of Britt-Mari, Lindgren sent the manuscript for Pippi Longstocking to her editor at Rabén and Sjögren, the children's librarian and critic Elsa Olenius, in May 1945. Olenius advised her to revise some of the "graphic" elements, such as a full chamber pot being used as a fire extinguisher, and then to enter it into the upcoming competition at Rabén and Sjögren, which was for books targeted at children between the ages of six and ten. Critic Ulla Lundqvist estimates that a third of the manuscript was altered, with some changes made to improve its prose and readability, and others done to the character of Pippi, who according to Lundqvist "acquire a new modesty and tenderness, and also a slight touch of melancholy," as well as "less intricate" dialogue. Pippi Longstocking placed first and was subsequently published in November 1945 with illustrations by Ingrid Vang Nyman. Two more books followed: Pippi Goes on Board and Pippi in the South Seas. Three picture books were also produced: Pippi's After Christmas Party, Pippi on the Run, and Pippi Longstocking in the Park.

Name

Pippi in the original Swedish language books says her full name is Pippilotta Viktualia Rullgardina Krusmynta Efraimsdotter Långstrump. Although her surname Långstrump – literally long stocking – translates easily into other languages, her personal names are less easily translated, and one of them is a patronymic, Efraimsdotter, which is unfamiliar to many cultures. English language books and films about Pippi have given her name in the following forms:

Pippilotta Rollgardinia Victualia Peppermint Longstocking
Pippilotta Delicatessa Windowshade Mackrelmint Efraim's Daughter Longstocking
Pippilotta Delicatessa Windowshade Mackrelmint Efraimsdotter Longstocking
Pippilotta Provisionia Gaberdina Dandeliona Ephraimsdaughter Longstocking
Pippilotta Victoriaria Tea-Cosy Appleminta Ephraim's Daughter Longstocking

In 2005, UNESCO published lists of the most widely translated books. In regard to children's literature, Pippi Longstocking was listed as the fifth most widely translated work with versions in 70 different languages. As of 2017, Lindgren's works had been translated into 100 languages. Here are the character's names in some languages other than English.

In Afrikaans Pippi Langkous
In Albanian Pipi Çorapegjata
In Arabic جنان ذات الجورب الطويل
In Armenian Երկարագուլպա Պիպին
In Azerbaijani Pippi Uzuncorablı
In Basque Pippi Kaltzaluze
In Belarusian Піпі Доўгаяпанчоха
In Bosnian, Montenegrin and Serbian Pipi Duga Čarapa / Пипи Дуга Чарапа
In Bulgarian Пипи Дългото чорапче
In Breton Pippi hir he loeroù
In Catalan Pippi Calcesllargues
In Chinese 长袜子皮皮
In Croatian Pipi Duga Čarapa
In Czech Pipilota Citrónie Cimprlína Mucholapka Dlouhá punčocha
In Danish Pippi Langstrømpe
In Dutch Pippi Langkous
In Esperanto Pipi Ŝtrumpolonga
In Estonian Pipi Pikksukk
In Faroese Pippi Langsokkur
In Filipino Potpot Habangmedyas
In Finnish Peppi Pitkätossu
In French Fifi Brindacier
In Galician Pippi Mediaslongas
In Georgian პეპი გრძელიწინდა or პეპი მაღალიწინდა
In German Pippilotta Viktualia Rollgardina Pfefferminz or Schokominza Efraimstochter Langstrumpf
In Greek Πίπη η Φακιδομύτη =
In Hebrew בילבי בת-גרב or גילגי or the phonetic matching בילבי לא-כלום bílbi ló khlum, literally "Bilby Nothing" in old translations
In Hungarian Harisnyás Pippi
In Icelandic Lína Langsokkur
In Indonesian Pippilotta Viktualia Gorden Tirai Permen Efraimputri Langstrump
In Irish Pippi Longstocking
In Italian Pippi Calzelunghe
In Japanese 長くつ下のピッピ
In Karelian Peppi Pitküsukku
In Khmer ពីពីស្រោមជើងវែង
In Korean 말괄량이 소녀 삐삐
In Kurdish
In Latvian Pepija Garzeķe
In Lithuanian Pepė Ilgakojinė
In Macedonian Пипи долгиот чорап
In Mongolian Урт Оймст Пиппи
In Norwegian Pippi Langstrømpe
In Persian پیپی جوراببلنده
In Polish Pippi Pończoszanka or Fizia Pończoszanka
In Portuguese Píppi Meialonga, Pipi das Meias Altas
In Romanian Pippi Șosețica, Pepi Ciorap-Lung
In Russian Пеппи Длинный Чулок or Пеппи Длинныйчулок
In Scottish Gaelic Pippi Fhad-stocainneach
In Scots Pippi Langstoking
In Slovak full Pipilota Viktuália Roleta Zlatka Efraimová Dlhá Pančucha or short Pipi Dlhá Pančucha
In Slovene Pika Nogavička
In Spanish Pipi Calzaslargas, Pippi Mediaslargas or Pippa Mediaslargas
In
In Thai ปิ๊ปปี้ ถุงเท้ายาว
In Turkish Pippi Uzunçorap
In Ukrainian Пеппі Довгапанчоха
In Urdu
In Vietnamese Pippi Tất Dài
In Welsh Pippi Hosan-hir
In Yiddish פּיפּפּי לאָנגסטאָקקינג