Pippi Longstocking is a nine-year-old girl.[2] 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 (Little Old Man) in the movies.[3] Pippi soon befriends the two children living next door, Tommy and Annika Settergren.[4][5] 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.[6][7] 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.[8][9] 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."[9] Pippi also has a penchant for storytelling, which often takes the form of tall tales.[10]
When discussing Pippi, Astrid Lindgren explained that "Pippi represents my own childish longing for a person who has power but does not abuse it."[11] Although she is the self-proclaimed "strongest girl in the world", Pippi often uses nonviolence to solve conflicts or protect other children from bullying.[12][13] Pippi has been variously described by literary critics as "warm-hearted",[8] compassionate,[14] kind,[15] clever,[7] generous,[8][16] playful,[17] and witty to the point of besting adult characters in conversation.[8] 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."[18]
