Margaret Atwood was born on November 18,1939, in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. At the same time, she challenges other writers to more closely examine typical literary convention. She defined the artist, in part, as “the guardian of the moral and ethical sense of the community.” In “Happy Endings,” Atwood fulfills this role with a challenge that she throws out to those writers who rely on the stereotypical characterization of men and women and to the reader who accepts such gender typing. In earlier works, including the novel Bodily Harm, as well as speeches, Atwood discusses the writer’s relationship to society. In several thumbnail sketches of different marriages, all of which achieve a traditional “happy ending,” Atwood references both the mechanics of writing, most particularly plot, and the effects of gender stereotyping. “Happy Endings,” which is essentially a self-referential story framework, falls into the third category. Subtitled “Short Fiction and Prose Poems,” Murder in the Dark featured four types of works: autobiographical sketches, travel notes, experimental pieces addressing the nature of writing, and short pieces dealing with typical Atwood themes, notably the relationship between the sexes. GradeSaver, 12 June 2023 Web.Margaret Atwood’s “Happy Endings” first appeared in the 1983 Canadian collection, Murder in the Dark, and it was published in 1994 for American audiences in Good Bones and Simple Murders.
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Next Section Quotes and Analysis Previous Section Glossary Buy Study Guide How To Cite in MLA Format GradeSaver "Happy Endings Themes". This assertion helps underscore the narrator's suggestion that, in fiction, plot is secondary to characterization, description, and explication because in reality, all plots end the exact same way. The author here showcases the inevitability of mortality, and declares this theme outright when the narrator says, "The only authentic ending is the one provided here: John and Mary die. No matter the sequence of events or the shifting personalities of characters, John, Mary, James, Madge, and Fred all die before the end of the story.
Readers will likely notice that every character in the story eventually dies. These different portraits of relationships highlight Atwood's interest in dramatizing power dynamics between men and women as they relate to factors like age and desire. In version C, Mary finds herself drawn not to the well-established and doting John, but to the younger and flighty James, who is never around. In version B, the narrator presents a gender normative relationship between John and Mary – one in which Mary's only goals are to please John, who notably takes advantage of her. Secondary to the theme of the writing process is one that appears frequently in Atwood's work: sex and gender. Plots can vary, but a story composed only of plot is boring a good writer will make the plot meaningful by communicating how the events unfold and why the reader should care. This structure is deliberate, as it highlights the narrator's concluding thoughts in part F. Readers will likely notice that each version of the characters' lives is dominated by a straightforward recounting of events there is little if any interiority for the characters and the tone of the narrator throughout every version is monotonous and deadpan. That the story is organized into six different versions showcases the author's interest in dramatizing how one creates memorable characters, compelling plot points, and ultimately a good story. The central theme of " Happy Endings" is the process of writing, specifically the process of writing fiction.
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