View Single Post
Old 08-18-2002, 05:59 AM   #20
The Squatter of Amon Rûdh
Spectre of Decay
 
The Squatter of Amon Rûdh's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Bar-en-Danwedh
Posts: 2,206
The Squatter of Amon Rûdh is a guest at the Prancing Pony.The Squatter of Amon Rûdh is a guest at the Prancing Pony.
Send a message via AIM to The Squatter of Amon Rûdh
Sting

Quote:
But if it happens more than once is it still a eucatastrophe?
Since two similar events can be catastrophes, I would say 'yes'. Some eucatastrophic events can be greater and more decisive than others, but that doesn't make the more minor ones any less deserving of the description.

Quote:
How is eucatastastrophe different from catharsis?
I obtained the following definition from dictionary.com:
Quote:
ca·thar·sis Pronunciation Key (k-thärss)
n. pl. ca·thar·ses (-sz)
Medicine. Purgation, especially for the digestive system.
A purifying or figurative cleansing of the emotions, especially pity and fear, described by Aristotle as an effect of tragic drama on its audience.
A release of emotional tension, as after an overwhelming experience, that restores or refreshes the spirit.
Psychology.
A technique used to relieve tension and anxiety by bringing repressed feelings and fears to consciousness.
The therapeutic result of this process; abreaction.

[New Latin, from Greek katharsis, from kathairein, to purge, from katharos, pure.]
I would say that a eucatastrophe is an event, whereas a catharsis is an effect. A eucatastrophe may bring about a catharsis, but it doesn't constitute one.
__________________
Man kenuva métim' andúne?
The Squatter of Amon Rûdh is offline