International Journal of Philology

Pippi Longstocking as a literary phenomenon in the work of Astrid Lindgren

Hristo Kamenov
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Abstract

The article aimed to describe the psychoanalytic structure of the character as a model of child self-regulation, realised through narrative interaction with norms, organisation of everyday life and a system of representations. The research methodology combined a close reading of the text, a procedural narrative analysis involving the coding of episodes according to the following scheme: source of the norm, form of control, action of the heroine, consequence, a comparative analysis of translations and a visual-narrative comparison. Six codes of self-regulation were identified during the analysis: inversion of authority; play as a way of cognition; comic redefinition; control of the environment through space and objects; everyday choice through food and sweets; and visual consolidation of autonomy. The analysis involved procedural coding of episodes, followed by a comparison of the translated variants and visual markers, and the generalisations are presented in analytical tables. The analysis distinguished six codes of self-regulation: inversion of authority; play as a method of cognition; comic redefinition; control of the environment through space and objects; everyday choice through food and sweets; and visual consolidation of autonomy. It was established that the “institution-child” conflict functions as a transfer of the rule from the sanctioned sphere to the testing sphere, while laughter creates a cognitive distance that reduces dependence on external evaluation. Five spatial scenarios of interaction with norms and four levels of representation (text, image, stage or screen, and critical description) were described. The stability of reference to the character was explained through a three-level model of identification conditions (core, attributes, and context). A comparison of translations showed that although lexical mitigation may alter the intensity with which rebellion is interpreted, it does not destroy the procedural core. The practical significance lies in the potential application of the proposed codes as an analytical framework for interpreting children’s narratives, comparing translations and describing adaptations within educational and editorial practices 

Keywords

child subjectivity; cognitive distance; space of play; visual representation; social etiquette

Suggested citation
Kamenov, H. (2026). Pippi Longstocking as a literary phenomenon in the work of Astrid Lindgren. International Journal of Philology, 17(1), 28-48. https://doi.org/10.31548/philolog/1.2026.28
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