Eucatastrophe

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.

Examples in Tolkien's work

It could be said that the climax 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.

Distinction between Eucatastrophe and deus ex machina

"'Eucatastrophe'" is often confused with deus ex machina, in that they both serve to pull the protagonist out of the proverbial (or sometimes literal) fire. The key difference is that the eucatastrophe fits within the established framework of the story, whereas the deus ex machina, the "God from the machine", suddenly and inexplicably introduces a character, force, or event that has no pre-existing narrative reference.

The best example of eucatastrophe is in Tolkien's masterpiece The Lord of the Rings. Though some of the events that take place seem unlikely or even impossible, they remain consistent with the overall story. The One Ring holds almost all of Sauron's power. If the ring is destroyed, so is Sauron, for the most part. 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 had introduced a new character at the last minute, Mary Sue, who 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. The same result, the destruction of Sauron and his works, would have come about, but the effect would be very different, since the new character had no previous existence and was not supported (or even implied) by the events of the narrative.

See also

• Happy ending
• Deus ex machina
• Peripeteia
• Felix culpa