Eucatastrophe -- the denial of final defeat (Vindicator)

submitted ago by Vindicator

"Joy beyond the walls of the world, poignant as grief"

In 1942 J.R.R. Tolkien penned the essay, “On Faerie-stories.” The essay became the touchstone work of fantasy fiction, illuminating the genre. Tolkien ends the essay by discussing the “consolations of the happy ending,” what he calls the eucatastrophe.

A euchatastrophe is the opposite of a catastrophe. Whereas the catastrophe might be employed in tragedy, and is regarded as the down-turn of a story, Tolkien’s euchatastrophe is the shift in the faerie story for the good. It’s “the sudden joyous turn.”[1] The eucatastrophe says that just when all hope appears to be lost, just when circumstances cannot get much bleaker, hope emerges.

Tolkien said eucatastrophe does not deny a sudden failure by the protagonist (dyscatastrophe). Rather, “it denies universal final defeat and in so far is evangelium, giving a fleeting glimpse of Joy, Joy beyond the walls of the world, poignant as grief.”[2] Tolkien uses the Latin evangelium, meaning “good news” or in Old English “godspel,” fully aware of the Christian undertone.

https://apilgriminnarnia.com/2015/12/21/eucatastrophe/#_ednref1

Vindicator ago

Tolkien flickers between names in the text, as if torn. “He spoke about sub-creation,” McIlwaine says, “and I think this tied into his religious beliefs that all talents and gifts come from God. God is the one creator, and what we do is in imitation of that. Tolkien was a very humble man.” Advertisement

There is abundant evidence of his humility. He was uncertain of his skill as an artist, responsive to criticism, and went out of his way to seek feedback from his friends and children. He could also make the most absent-minded of mistakes – for instance, when he forgot to write his own name on the manuscript title page of The Hobbit.

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/may/31/drawn-into-tolkiens-world-exhibition

think- ago

Thank you for this post and congrats to your own sub! ;-) :-) I will look into this text.

One for the lulz: I read 'EU catastrophe - the denial of final defeat' - this tells you how bad the situation in the European Union currently is.... :-)

Vindicator ago

Tolkein wrote that in the darkest hours of WWII. :-) It's highly relevant to the current situation!