The season of forbidden love
Tove Jansson met Vivica Bandler in November 1946. It was to be her first great love affair with a woman, a profoundly transformative experience. “Some days I feel as strong and happy, as slender and vigorous as a tree,” writes Tove Jansson in one of her first letters to Vivica (December 29, 1946). She was 32 years old at the time, and budding theatre director Bandler was three years her junior. They had been introduced by their younger siblings, Tove’s brother Lasse and Vivica’s sister Erica, and after a tentative beginning, their passion became undeniable. In a letter to her friend Eva Konikoff at the end of December 1946 (undated), Tove describes the face of her beloved, a desire to portray her essence, and how they met:
“It was actually Lasse and Erica who had been saying for ages that Vi and I might get on well together, and one day they brought her to the studio. I saw a tall dark aristocratic girl with a prominent nose, thick straight eyebrows and a defiantly Jewish mouth. She is blind in one eye, but the other is clear, dark, penetrating. A mop of short hair and the loveliest hands I’ve seen. She’s such a gorgeously feminine creature, and one day I shall paint her as she is, chiefly as a profusion of fruit and blossom in full bloom”.
But their time together is brief. After three intense weeks, Vivica travels to Paris for an extended visit – to realize her dream of studying film – and their love is kept alive through regular letters and occasional phone calls. They make a plan for Tove Jansson to join Vivica in Paris, but it never comes to fruition. Their frequent correspondence tells a convoluted love story about longing, hope and, eventually, disappointment. “It’s as if you have created me anew,” writes Tove (16.1.1947), feeling transformed: “How can I explain how everything has changed since I met you! Every tone is more vivid, every colour cleaner, all my perceptions are sharper – my happiness is stronger, my despair more powerful.” (7.1.1947)
Vivica’s letters are similarly brimming with declarations of love, but hers are more succinct and restrained, urging caution. Nevertheless, they inspire in each other a “cheerful self-belief”, as Tove writes (21.12.1946).
However, they had to hide their happiness from the world. Censorship was still in effect after the war and homosexuality was a crime in Finland. The law was only repealed in 1971, and homosexuality was classified as an illness in Finland until 1981. Furthermore, Tove and Vivica were both already in relationships. Tove had been involved with philosopher Atos Wirtanen for several years, and Vivica had been married since 1943 to Kurt Bandler, who had fled to Finland from Austria. He was a volunteer in the Winter War.
Tove and Vivica in Pellinge Tove Jansson met Vivica Bandler in November 1946. It was to be her first great love affair with a woman, a profoundly transformative experience. “Some days I feel as strong and happy, as slender and vigorous as a tree,” writes Tove Jansson in one of her first letters to Vivica (December 29, 1946). She was 32 years old at the time, and budding theatre director Bandler was three years her junior. They had been introduced by their younger siblings, Tove’s brother Lasse and Vivica’s sister Erica, and after a tentative beginning, their passion became undeniable. In a letter to her friend Eva Konikoff at the end of December 1946 (undated), Tove describes the face of her beloved, a desire to portray her essence, and how they met:
“It was actually Lasse and Erica who had been saying for ages that Vi and I might get on well together, and one day they brought her to the studio. I saw a tall dark aristocratic girl with a prominent nose, thick straight eyebrows and a defiantly Jewish mouth. She is blind in one eye, but the other is clear, dark, penetrating. A mop of short hair and the loveliest hands I’ve seen. She’s such a gorgeously feminine creature, and one day I shall paint her as she is, chiefly as a profusion of fruit and blossom in full bloom”.
But their time together is brief. After three intense weeks, Vivica travels to Paris for an extended visit – to realize her dream of studying film – and their love is kept alive through regular letters and occasional phone calls. They make a plan for Tove Jansson to join Vivica in Paris, but it never comes to fruition. Their frequent correspondence tells a convoluted love story about longing, hope and, eventually, disappointment. “It’s as if you have created me anew,” writes Tove (16.1.1947), feeling transformed: “How can I explain how everything has changed since I met you! Every tone is more vivid, every colour cleaner, all my perceptions are sharper – my happiness is stronger, my despair more powerful.” (7.1.1947)
Vivica’s letters are similarly brimming with declarations of love, but hers are more succinct and restrained, urging caution. Nevertheless, they inspire in each other a “cheerful self-belief”, as Tove writes (21.12.1946).
However, they had to hide their happiness from the world. Censorship was still in effect after the war and homosexuality was a crime in Finland. The law was only repealed in 1971, and homosexuality was classified as an illness in Finland until 1981. Furthermore, Tove and Vivica were both already in relationships. Tove had been involved with philosopher Atos Wirtanen for several years, and Vivica had been married since 1943 to Kurt Bandler, who had fled to Finland from Austria. He was a volunteer in the Winter War.
Vivica Bandler, Lasse Pöysti and Tove Jansson in 1958 
Photograph to Tofslan (Thingumy) from Vifslan (Bob) 
Tove Jansson's illustration for the book Finn Family Moomintroll: Thingumy and Bob 
Tove's illustration of Vivica Bandler and the actors in Moomin costumes was published in Nya Pressen in 1949. 
