happy endings margaret atwood publish date

Therefore, the build up of Mary’s experiences and feelings without any major transformation enhance the point of Atwood’s story.Īn interesting aspect of Mary is that she seems to reflect stereotypically feminine qualities one often encounters in fiction. Atwood’s main thesis, of course, is that death is the great equalizer and the best, most instructive parts of prose lie, not in the conclusion, but in the development of plot and, by extension, characters. Regardless of her actions, Mary is met with death at the close of passages A, B, and C. Indeed, the only information the reader is privy to is Mary’s actions, justifications, and emotions in the passages’ brief moments: “…she does the dishes so he won’t think she’s untidy…” (2011), “He has never complained about food before, Mary is hurt” (2011), “Mary, who is only 22, feels sorry for him…she sleeps with him even though she’s not in love with him” (2011), and “Mary finds it boring, but older men can keep it up longer so on the whole she has a fairly good time” (2011). Atwood merely gives the reader a look into a small portion of Mary’s life without providing Mary’s history. Mary experiences substantial personal crises in two scenarios but remains static because the reader does not see her experience a change of heart, mind, or personality or switch her motivations for her actions.

The major character Mary is reflective of the purpose of “Happy Endings” because of her static nature in the passages in which she is present, the stereotypical role of a female character which she occupies, and the simple transferability her character offers between various points of reference.Īll of the characters seem to be static characters in that none of them undergo any sort of huge transformation. The story’s choose-your-own-adventure style Atwood employs makes for an interesting exercise in character analysis because the characters are slightly different in each of the scenarios. Atwood includes two major protagonists, John and Mary, and three minor characters, Madge, James, and Fred. The author shows readers and budding writers how intrinsically linked character and plot development are to one another in order to enforce the main point of the story: every piece of writing which explores interpersonal relationships will end in death. Specifically, in this quintessential piece of metafiction, Atwood’s development of her characters is vital to a compelling, refined plot. While Margaret Atwood’s short story “Happy Endings” is primarily concerned with providing instruction regarding the formulation and importance of plot versus a story’s conclusion, the passage also offers insight regarding character development. The compelling parts of a story are the plot and, by extension, character development. The close of a story, therefore, is not intriguing. The primary goal of “Happy Endings” is to show that all stories dealing with the dynamics of interpersonal relationships will end in a similar fashion: the death of all the characters. With regard to “Happy Endings,” Atwood uses Mary to show a type of character (a static protagonist) and to highlight a stereotype (that of female characters) prevalent in various stories. A story in which the characters are diverse, dynamic, and interesting only work to enrich the plot. Atwood illustrates this in her use of several different characters in several different scenarios which escalate in detail. Further, the ways in which a character is described can certainly reflect the plot’s development. A major component of the development of a story is the creation and evolution of characters. This essay explores the purpose of the character development of Mary in Margaret Atwood’s short story “Happy Endings.” The story is a work of metafiction and provides commentary on traditional storycrafting methods.

Happy endings margaret atwood publish date