Happy Endings by Margaret Atwood

In Loving Memory of John and Mary —

Margaret Atwood’s Happy Endings isn’t your typical romantic short story. Rather, it’s a clever, self-aware take on the art of storytelling itself. Instead of giving us just one version of a “boy meets girl” romance, she lays out multiple variations (A through F), each tweaking the details but all leading to the same inevitable conclusion found in part A: "Eventually they die. This is the end of the story."

This is where the meta-fictional magic happens. Atwood isn’t interested in the what of the story but the how. She breaks the illusion of fiction, reminding readers that all stories follow specific narrative conventions: love, conflict, resolution, and then death. By listing out different scenarios (the happy marriage, the affair, the tragedy, the mid-life crisis), she exposes how predictable these romantic tropes can be, poking fun at the way we, as readers, consume them.

Hence, the title is ironic. Atwood urges us to focus less on “happy endings” and more on how we get there. The meat and potatoes of the story isn’t in John and Mary’s fates but in why their story matters. She’s essentially winking at the reader, saying something like, “You want a good story? Then don’t just settle for the ending. Instead, dig into the messy, unpredictable middle.”

It’s a fun, slightly cynical, but deeply insightful take on storytelling. If you’ve ever rolled your eyes at a cliché romance plot or wondered why so many stories feel the same, Happy Endings is the perfect, tongue-in-cheek response.

You can read this story HERE.