Tristran Thorn

Infobox character
name = Tristan Thorn
species = half human, half fairy
first = Stardust
born = February 1840
age = 18
gender = Male
title = Lord of Stormhold
occupation = ruler of Stormhold
family = Dunstan Thorn (father)
Una (mother)
spouse = Yvaine
children = none (in novel)
relatives = King of Stormhold (grandfather)
Septimus (uncle)
Primus (uncle)
Tertius (uncle)
Secundus (uncle)
Quartus (uncle)
Quintus (uncle)
Sextus (uncle)
portrayer = Charlie Cox
creator = Neil Gaiman

Tristran Thorn is the hero of Neil Gaiman's novel "Stardust".He finds a fallen star, which becomes a beautiful young woman named Yvaine, and together they have an amazing adventure in the magical realm of Faerie. Three wicked witches try to cut out and eat Yvaine's heart so that they can regain their youth and beauty. The sons of the king of Stormhold also pursue her.

In the Novel

Background

Tristran is the son of Dunstan Thorn and the slave girl of a witch (although he initially believes himself to be the son of his father's wife, Daisy). Tristran is a resident of Wall, a village named for the wall which borders it to the East. There is a small gap in this wall, through which can be seen a meadow and beyond it a forest. This gap is in fact a portal to the magical world of Faerie, and is at all times guarded by two men from the village, except for one day once every nine years, when a faery market takes place in the meadow. It was at one such market that Tristran was conceived: Dunstan had been searching for a gift for Daisy, and in the process fell in love with the slave girl, with whom he shared a brief sexual encounter. Tristran is described as being "painfully shy", with dark brown hair, moderate acne, and a fascination with the stars. Because of his half-human, half-faery nature, his right ear is round, while his left one is pointed. He also reacts strangely to the influence of the East wind, which blows from Faerie: Whenever the wind blows from this direction, he either assumes a manner much manlier than that in which he usually behaves, or indulges in strange, fairy tale-like daydreams. He frequently makes rather ridiculous remarks (including claiming that the clouds which can be seen on the horizon at sunset are sheep) for which his sister Louisa frequently teases him.

As the novel progresses, it is revealed that Tristran can locate any place in Faerie which he seeks. This skill generally manifests itself as a spontaneous and accurate response to the queries of another character with regard to the direction in which various places lie. He also demonstrates the ability to locate and track the fallen star, something of a contradiction to the apparent limitations of his power, as it had previously been established that he can only locate places and not people.

Role

At the age of seventeen, Tristran becomes infatuated with the beautiful Victoria Forester, with whom almost every other man in the village is also besotted. In exchange for her hand in marriage, he promises to retrieve for her a star which they see fall from the sky. Although he had not actually been in earnest Victoria takes him at his word, and he reluctantly decides to cross the wall to search for the star. Using a magical candle gifted two him by a friend made on the road, Tristran is magically transported to the star's side, but finds that the star is not at all what he expected: It is a beautiful young woman, whose leg has been broken in her fall from the sky, and who is absolutely furious at the thought of being given as a gift to Victoria. The candle burns out before Tristran can use it to return to Wall, and they are forced to make the journey on foot, despite the fact that the village is six months' travel from their current location. They are soon joined on their travels by a unicorn which Tristran rescues from a lion.

When Tristran returns from purchasing food, he finds that the star has fled on the unicorn. He tries to follow, but the unicorn is moving too fast for him to keep up, and he decides to lie down for the night. While he sleeps, the moon whispers to him, begging him to protect her child (the star). Upon waking, he is informed by a talking tree that the star is in grave danger from various malign forces. The tree provides him with a leaf which contains information that he must only listen to when he needs it most, and tells him to stop a coach coming along the road. Tristran hitches a ride with the driver (Lord Primus of Stormhold), and eventually, they arrive at the inn where the star has sought lodging. However, unknown to any of the travelers, the inn is actually a trap set by a witch-queen who wishes to cut out and consume the star's heart. The witch (who is posing as the wife of the innkeeper) is furious when Tristran and Primus interrupt her, and sends one of her servants to bring Tristran a tankard of poisoned wine.The unicorn saves Tristran, who then realizes the malevolent intentions of the innkeeper's wife. Tristran attempts to warn Primus about this, but the witch slits Primus' throat before he can do anything to harm her. The unicorn attempts to defend Tristran and the star from the witch, while Tristran, following the advice of the tree, uses a lace from his jerkin as a wick for the candle-stub. The witch kills the unicorn, but Tristran and the star escape the using the candle. However, it burns out during the journey, leaving them stranded on the clouds.

The star informs Tristran that since he has saved her life, she must now follow wherever he goes. This enrages her, because she still hates him, but after he apologizes for his behaviour toward her, she relents, and tells him that her name is Yvaine. He tells her that he will try to find a way to send her back up into the sky, but she replies that this is impossible. In this gesture of compassion, Tristran shows that he is beginning to care more for the star. They are rescued by a passing sky-ship, on which Tristran's hand is treated and bandaged. The captain of the ship reveals that he is a member of an organization which is later referred to as the "Fellowship of the Castle", whose agents have been working to ensure Tristran's safe return to Wall. The man who gave Tristran the candle was also a member of this fellowship. The ship sets them down on the road to Wall, and over the course of the ensuing journey, Tristran's face is sunburned to a "nut-brown colour". Further on, they encounter Madame Semele, a witch bound for the market at Wall. Tristran asks that they be allowed to ride in her caravan, offering in exchange the glass flower which his father had given him (and which Dunstan had bought from Semele's stall seventeen years previously). The witch accepts, but turns Tristran into a dormouse out of spite. Tristran passes the journey to Wall in this form, in the company of Yvaine, whom the witch has not harmed or transmogrified, being prevented from seeing the star by a curse placed upon her (Semele) by the oldest of the Lilim.

Upon returning to Wall, the restored Tristran discovers that Victoria had already accepted the proposal of his own former employer, Robert Monday, on the day they saw the falling star. He gives her his blessing to marry Robert Monday, and puts the matter behind him. He then meets his father, who tells him the truth about his origins. Tristran returns to Yvaine in the meadow, and informs her that, having said his goodbyes to his family, he does not intend to return to Wall. He also tells her that he will not be marrying Victoria, and that he is no longer infatuated with her. Yvaine reveals that she has fallen in love with Tristran herself, and the two share their first kiss.

Tristran meets his birth mother, the now-liberated slave of Madame Semele, who tells him to ask Yvaine to give him the topaz which she has carried since it knocked her from the sky. The woman tells Tristran that she is the Lady Una of Stormhold, and that this makes him the rightful heir to the throne of Stormhold, the previous Lord's sons all being dead. Tristran protests that he does not wish to be a “Lord of anything”, but his mother insists that he try his hand at ruling, telling him that he need not retain the post if he does not wish to. He agrees, and Una begins to plan an extravagant return to Stormhold, including a palanquin and an elephant, but Tristran tells her that, although she may return as she wishes, he and Yvaine will make their own way. An argument ensues, which is not described, but Tristran apparently wins, and promises his mother that they will join her in Stormhold eventually.

Tristran and Yvaine spend eight years exploring Faerie, after which Tristran assumes his position as Lord, with Yvaine as his queen. He proves to be a valiant fighter and "cunning strategist", some of his exploits as ruler including defeating the Northern Goblins and creating peace with the Eagles of the High Crags. After his death, it is rumoured that he was a member of the Fellowship of the Castle, and instrumental in breaking the power of the Unseelie Court. As Yvaine had previously assumed, the physiological differences between herself and Tristran prevent the two from being able to conceive a child together, but this does not seem to have discouraged them from remaining with each other. They lead a long and happy life together, until eventually Tristran dies peacefully in his sleep, of old age, leaving Yvaine to rule as Lady of Stormhold.

In the movie

Tristan Thorne (Charlie Cox) (name changed from 'Tristran') is the son of Dunstan Thorne and Una (a captive princess). The couple met only once but fell in love instantly. When Tristan was born Una was not allowed to keep him so she sent the infant to his father. She put in his basket a magical silver chain (that grows in length and cannot be severed - the same kind as the one used to imprison Una), a snowdrop flower Dunstan bought for a kiss from Una years ago, a black candle (later revealed to be a 'Babylon candle'), and a letter to Tristan explaining everything.

The narrator tells the viewers that the story of how the baby became a boy is not very interesting, and so this is the story of how the boy became a man.

Tristan is now eighteen, having grown up apparently alone with his father, and is working as a shop-boy. He is in love with the prettiest girl in town, Victoria, and promises to bring her a newly fallen star for her birthday. He uses the candle to fly to where the star landed but discovers that the star is a beautiful, young and spirited woman named Yvaine (Claire Danes). Despite this, Tristan is still determined to marry Victoria and uses the silver chain to force Yvaine to come with him, promising to use the last of the magic candle to take her back to the sky afterwards.

However, Tristan is not the only one seeking the star. Yvaine is in terrible danger because the two living sons of the King (Peter O'Toole) are looking for her because only the jewel that she carries can secure the throne for one of them. Septimus, the most dangerous and ambitious of the two princes later finds out that a star's heart grants immortality so also plans to devour her heart so that he can rule the kingdom forever. The three witches known as "The Lilim"—Mormo, Empusa and the eldest and the most powerful, Lamia (Michelle Pfeiffer)— also want Yvaine because by consuming her heart, they shall be granted centuries of youth.

Tristan sets out to protect Yvaine and bring her back to his beloved at the other side of the wall, and his journey brings encounters with the pirate Captain Shakespeare (Robert De Niro) and a shady trader (Ricky Gervais) among others. Captain Shakespeare gives Tristan new clothes and a new hairstyle as well as teaching him to fence and waltz.

Tristan falls in love with Yvaine but only confesses this after Yvaine confesses her feelings for him while he has been transformed into a mouse, and he fools her into thinking he no longer understands her. After Tristan is changed back into a human he and Yvaine stop at an inn. While Yvaine sleeps Tristan cuts a piece of her hair and goes back to England to tell Victoria that he no longer loves her. When he tries to give Victoria the hair she finds that it has turned into "stardust". He realizes that Yvaine cannot enter England and stay in human form and hurries back to the other side of the wall to find her.

Before he arrives Yvaine and Una are both captured by Lamia and taken back to The Lilim's castle, Yvaine to be killed and Una to be a servant. Despite being afraid, Tristan defeats Mormo and Empusa with the help of Septimus. However, Lamia kills Septimus and Tristan is forced to fight the prince's animated corpse. Lamia nearly kills Tristan but Yvaine, now armed with the knowledge that Tristan loves her, is able to unleash a powerful wave of light that destroys Lamia.

Tristan picks up the magic jewel and becomes the next king of the land (Una being the king's daughter, making Tristan the last male heir). He is crowned with Yvaine at his side as queen. The two live forever because Yvaine "gave Tristan her heart" when she fell in love with him, but after eighty years (and after their children and grandchildren have grown up) Tristan and Yvaine use a new Babylon candle (that Una gave them) to return to the sky, where they become twin stars.