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| Calealdarone |
In On Fairy Stories J.R.R. Tolkien states that eucatastrophe “does not
deny the existence of dyscatastrophe,
of sorrow and failure; the possibility of these are necessary” (OFS 153). Eucatastrophe, the “sudden joyous
turn”(OFS 153) in a good fairy story is
not only made possible by dyscatastrophe, but relies upon it. By turning away from sorrow and despair, the turn
towards joy is made all the more great; the moment becomes more than just a
happy ending and becomes eucatastrophe. In The
Silmarillion Beren and Lúthien face
seeming failure and doom many times but there is always an extraordinary turn
towards eucatastrophe.
Many of the dyscatastrophes that Beren face come as a
result of being separated from Lúthien. Thus the sudden turn to eucatastrophe
always occurs when Beren and Lúthien are reunited. For example, although Beren is
physically tormented and worn from his first journey to Doriath, it is only
after Lúthien inexplicably “vanishe[s] from his eyes” (165) where he first experiences
dyscatastrophe:
