Eucatastrophe
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Eucatastrophe is a term coined by J.R.R. Tolkien which refers to the sudden turn of events at the end of a story which result in the protagonist's well-being. He formed the word by affixing the Greek prefix eu, meaning good, to catastrophe, the word traditionally used in classically-inspired literary criticism to refer to the "unraveling" or conclusion of a drama's plot. For Tolkien, the term appears to have had a thematic meaning that went beyond its implied meaning in terms of form. In his definition as outlined in his 1947 essay On Fairy-Stories, eucatastrophe is a fundamental part of his conception of mythopoeia. Though Tolkien's interest is in myth, it is also connected to the gospels; Tolkien calls the Incarnation the eucatastrophe of "human history" and the Resurrection the eucatastrophe of the Incarnation.
[edit] Examples in Tolkien's work
It could be said that the ending of The Lord of the Rings is a eucatastrophe. Though victory seems assured for Sauron, the One Ring is destroyed beyond all hope. Essentially, a bad situation suddenly turned into a good situation.
[edit] Usage in modern storytelling
"'Eucatastrophe'" is often confused with deus ex machina, in that they both seem to pull the "good guys" out of the proverbial (or sometimes literal) fire. The key difference between the two is that eucatastrophes fit within the established framework of the story, whereas deus ex machina is the sudden and inexplicable introduction of some character, force, or event that has no pre-existing narrative reference.
The best example of eucatastrophe is Tolkien's work. Though the events that take place seem unlikely, even impossible, they remain consistent with the overall story. The One Ring holds all of Sauron's power. If the ring is destroyed, so is Sauron. His destruction will also bring about the destruction of his stronghold, which is only held together by his power. This will in turn panic his followers, who flee or are killed in the ensuing destruction. It is a sudden, massive change that totally alters the landscape of what happened previously in the story, yet it is consistent with what happened previously.
To illustrate deus ex machina, suppose Tolkien introduces a new character at the last minute. Let's say Frodo's fourth cousin twice removed. We'll name her Mary Sue. She comes along as Frodo declares, "The Ring is mine," snatches it from his hand, and tosses it into the fires of Mt. Doom, thus saving the day with Frodo's hand still intact. The same effect would have occured, but the reader would be left to wonder from where this new character (to whom the author had never once referred) came.
