Aeucatastrophe is a sudden turn of events in a story which ensures that theprotagonist does not meet some terrible, impending, and plausible and probable doom.[1] The concept was created by the philologist and fantasy authorJ. R. R. Tolkien in his essay "On Fairy-Stories", based on a 1939 lecture. The term has since been taken up by other authors, and by scholars.
The philologist and fantasy authorJ. R. R. Tolkien coined the word by affixing the Greek prefixeu, meaninggood, tocatastrophe, the word traditionally used in classically inspired literary criticism to refer to the "unravelling" or conclusion of a drama's plot. For Tolkien, the term appears to have had a thematic meaning that went beyond its literal etymological meaning in terms of form.[2] As he defines it in his essay "On Fairy-Stories", based on a lecture he gave in 1939,[3] eucatastrophe is a fundamental part of his conception ofmythopoeia. Though Tolkien's interest is in myth, it is connected to thegospel; Tolkien, a devout Catholic, calls theIncarnation of Christ the eucatastrophe of "humanhistory" and theResurrection the eucatastrophe of the Incarnation.[4]
Eucatastrophe in fiction has been labelled by some as a form ofdeus ex machina, due to both sharing an impossible problem being suddenly resolved.[5][6] However, differences between the two have been noted, such as eucatastrophe's inherent connection to an optimistic view on the unfolding of events in the narrative of the world.[7] In Tolkien's view, eucatastrophe can occur without the use of adeus ex machina.[8]
The best-known and most fully realized eucatastrophe in Tolkien's work occurs in the climax ofThe Lord of the Rings. Though victory seems assured forSauron, theOne Ring is permanently destroyed as a result ofGollum's waylaying of Frodo atMount Doom.[9]
Another example of eucatastrophe is the recurring role of theeagles as unexpected rescuers throughout Tolkien's writing. While their role has been described as that of adeus ex machina,[10] Tolkien described Bilbo's "eucatastrophic emotion" at the eagles' appearance inThe Hobbit as one of the key moments of the book.[11]
In work by other authors, the explosion of the Death Star inStar Wars, or the kiss that savesSnow White, have been characterized as eucatastrophes.Longtermists such as Owen Cotton-Barratt andToby Ord have adopted the word to refer to any hypothetical future transition that would provideexistential hope of not only avertinghuman extinction, but also hope of an "efflorescence" of future abundance.[12]
