Elowen

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Lore & Background

Elowen is first introduced serving Benjamin his first pint of beer at The Pickled Crab. She falls instantly in love with him, and they begin a romance under the light of the moon. When each tells their parents about their love, their parents shun the romance. Disobeying their parents, they try to elope but fail to find each other, persuaded by each other's parents that the other has given up. They go their separate ways. During World War II, on 5 June 1944, Benjamin writes a message in a bottle to Elowen expressing how she will always have his heart and be his home, and casts it to the sea. The next night, at the Portsmouth Navy Ball, Benjamin unexpectedly sees Elowen. They discover both went looking for the other on the night they planned to elope. Expressing their re-found love, they kiss and spend the night together. As a result, Elowen becomes pregnant with Benjamin's child, Locryn. They later welcome a second child, a daughter named Lowen. After Lowen drowns, Elowen reveals she knows about Benjamin's concealment of his age and his lies. Benjamin leaves, but returns on 9 December 1963 to find Elowen dying of terminal anaplastic astrocytoma. She tells him all they can do is make the most of the time they have left together as a family. On 20 July 1969, Benjamin and Elowen watch Neil Armstrong walk on the moon on a television set in her hospital room; she dies in his arms soon after.

In Their Own Story

The wind carried the salt of the sea as Elowen wiped down the bar at The Pickled Crab. She looked up to see a man she'd never seen before, ordering his first pint of beer. She served him, and something in his eyes made her heart skip. 'When e're she looked at me,' he would later sing, and she felt the same. Under the moon and the sea, they fell in love. But their parents forbade it, and a failed elopement drove them apart. Years later, at a navy ball in Portsmouth, she saw him again, more youthful than before. 'I went looking for you,' she said. 'So did I,' he replied. They kissed and spent the night together. She bore his son, Locryn, and later a daughter, Lowen. But after Lowen drowned, she confronted him: 'I know about your lies.' He left. When he returned, she was dying. 'All we can do,' she told him, 'is make the most of the time we have left.' On 20 July 1969, watching the moon landing, she died in his arms.

Reader's Guide

Elowen's story is defined by love, loss, and forgiveness. She works as a barmaid at The Pickled Crab, where she meets Benjamin. Their romance blossoms under the moon and sea, but is thwarted by their parents. They reunite at the Portsmouth Navy Ball on 5 June 1944, spending the night together, which results in the birth of their son Locryn. They later have a daughter, Lowen. After Lowen's drowning, Elowen reveals she knows Benjamin's secret about aging in reverse. Benjamin leaves, but returns on 9 December 1963 to find Elowen dying of terminal anaplastic astrocytoma. She forgives him and they spend her remaining years together as a family. She dies in his arms on 20 July 1969 while watching the moon landing.

Did You Know?

• Elowen is the daughter of the midwife who helped deliver Benjamin Button at his birth.
• She served Benjamin his very first pint of beer at The Pickled Crab.
• She and Benjamin tried to elope but failed to find each other, each persuaded by the other's parents that the other had given up.
• She became pregnant with Benjamin's son Locryn after spending the night together at the Portsmouth Navy Ball on 5 June 1944.
• She died of terminal anaplastic astrocytoma on 20 July 1969 while watching the moon landing with Benjamin.