eucatastrophe: piercing joy that brings tears - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

***Mister Underhill*** · 08-22-2002, 07:40 PM

I have to confess that I came into this most splendid thread having a conception of “eucatastrophe” as meaning something more akin to “revelation”, but after reading some of the posts I went back to check the primary sources – the letter and the essay. It seems to me that the prof uses the word as a substitute for “happy ending” – that is, as a more meaningful, resonant, and mature alternative to the cleaned up happy endings for which Disney has become so famous. So, “...and they lived happily ever after” becomes, “...and they caught a brief glimpse of divine grace, and kept on living.” The joy of the moment of eucatastrophe is all the more poignant because it’s only a glimpse, a preview, not a guarantee of happily ever after, and the characters must carry on in the field of the imperfect world afterwards.

Just breaking the word down a bit –

“euc” suggests “Eucharist”, which in its simplest form implies communion with God. Its etymological roots all seem to suggest gratitude, grace, rejoicing.

“catastrophe” has one meaning I’d never quite come across before: “the final event of the dramatic action especially of a tragedy”.

Tolkien contrasts “eucatastrophe” with “dyscatastrophe” (“dys” – bad). So, happy ending – though suggesting more than simply “happy”, suggesting happy in a sense of having the joyous revelatory quality of ultimate divine grace and victory – versus an unhappy, tragic ending.

Of course, the caveat here is that “eucatastrophe”, also unlike “happily ever after”, isn’t a true ending. But it does seem that its application does require an ending of sorts, a climax which may or may not lead to a new beginning somewhere down the line.

08-22-2002, 07:40 PM	#1
*Mister Underhill* Dread Horseman Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: Behind you! Posts: 2,744	I have to confess that I came into this most splendid thread having a conception of “eucatastrophe” as meaning something more akin to “revelation”, but after reading some of the posts I went back to check the primary sources – the letter and the essay. It seems to me that the prof uses the word as a substitute for “happy ending” – that is, as a more meaningful, resonant, and mature alternative to the cleaned up happy endings for which Disney has become so famous. So, “...and they lived happily ever after” becomes, “...and they caught a brief glimpse of divine grace, and kept on living.” The joy of the moment of eucatastrophe is all the more poignant because it’s only a glimpse, a preview, not a guarantee of happily ever after, and the characters must carry on in the field of the imperfect world afterwards. Just breaking the word down a bit – “euc” suggests “Eucharist”, which in its simplest form implies communion with God. Its etymological roots all seem to suggest gratitude, grace, rejoicing. “catastrophe” has one meaning I’d never quite come across before: “the final event of the dramatic action especially of a tragedy”. Tolkien contrasts “eucatastrophe” with “dyscatastrophe” (“dys” – bad). So, happy ending – though suggesting more than simply “happy”, suggesting happy in a sense of having the joyous revelatory quality of ultimate divine grace and victory – versus an unhappy, tragic ending. Of course, the caveat here is that “eucatastrophe”, also unlike “happily ever after”, isn’t a true ending. But it does seem that its application does require an ending of sorts, a climax which may or may not lead to a new beginning somewhere down the line.