“Happy Endings” by Margaret Atwood is social commentary on domesticity and relationships but also the way in which we live our lives and our identity throughout.
In her short story, Atwood depicts multiple scenarios following a man named John and a woman named Mary. While most scenarios go through plots of passion, betrayal, and drama, all of them end the same: John and Mary die.
Victors and Victims

Margaret Atwood is fascinated by Canadian Identity. Growing up in Ottawa, Atwood has explored the idea of Canadian Identity in many of her works, and often depicts a victor and a victim. Whoever the fight is between, someone comes out on top.
Atwood is no different in “Happy Endings.” In the multiple scenarios, we see either John or Mary come out on top whether it’s regarding pure survival, or success in their love lives.
In scenario B, John uses Mary purely for physical reasons and cheats on her with a woman named Madge. This leads to Mary’s eventual suicide, and John continues a happy life with Madge.
We’ve all seen it, or at least heard about it. The girl falls for the wrong guy, thinking that he will change for her, only to finally accept that he never will, and become extremely upset. The girl becomes the victim, and the guy is the ruthless victor that has selfishly turned the woman into his prey.
The Stretch Between
Though Atwood intentionally places an emphasis on the end of each scenario – John and Mary die – each is tangled in crimes of passion and love, or what Atwood refers to as “the stretch in between.”
The endings are all the same, and beginnings are the most exciting part, so what do we do with the stretch in between? Atwood says that this stretch is that hardest to do anything with, and I think that we can all find ourselves guilty of looking back to the beginning or waiting for the end.
We are constantly saying when- when I graduate, when I’m in college, when I have a job, when I have kids- what are we doing with the now?
Rather than waiting for inevitable endings or trying to relive beginnings, we should focus on the time in between where we have the opportunity to create more paths for ourselves and make the most of the present before the end comes. Sure, it’s morbid to just say that we’re all going to die, but why avoid it? We are all going to die, but it’s what we do before this time comes that creates the best story.
How and Why
It’s true that plots are simple.
Something happens and because of this something else happens and so on, but how often do we ask ourselves why?
In “Happy Endings,” Atwood urges us to look into motivations, wants, and desires. This is the interesting part, she points out. Atwood says that plots are a what and a what and a what. What really makes the story interesting, however, is the how and the why.
Atwood’s fascination with identity and human behavior is shown through her desire to look into the motivations of characters. She emphasizes that the things that make the stretch in between the beginning and the end the most interesting are the things that make people do what they do.
Margaret Atwood vs. John and Mary
Margaret Atwood’s story is strikingly similar to John and Mary’s.

The stretch in between her beginning an end consists of prestigious education, awards, along with personal triumphs and struggles.
Atwood married fellow writer Jim Polk, who she met at Harvard, only to divorce him after five years of marriage. She went on to marry Graeme Gibson and have a daughter with him. Gibson recently passed after suffering from dementia for a number of years.
The victors and victims of Atwood’s own life are mirrored throughout the scenarios as John and Mary prosper in one situation and fall in another. Though it is a sort of tragic irony, it only supports Atwood’s theory of victors and victims, inevitable endings, and the drama of the stretch in between.
Margaret Atwood’s “Happy Endings” confronts us with the harsh reality of inevitable death. It’s something we hate to talk about, but for the sake of having a fulfilling life, we must learn to be the victors of our own story.
Hey Kyra, I have never heard of this short story before, but it sounds very interesting. I was intrigued when you said that Atwood was interested in analyzing human behavior and our motives behind doing things. I absolutely love sociology, so I have no doubt I would love the insight this would give me.
I am also guilty of the problem you mentioned– looking towards the endings instead of enjoying the moment. I need to work on being more present in my life, and reading this short story may give me the motivation to do so.
This sounds different than anything I have ever read before, and I can’t wait to pick it up!
I’ve never read this piece by Margaret Atwood before, but now I kind of do (which was one of the goals of the blog so hurrah, go you!). I’ve always been fascinated by the prospect of telling the story life and I was particularly interested in the idea of “the stretch between.” As you mentioned, Atwood’s take on the stretch is illustrative of how end-goal-oriented we are, but she seems to abide by the all-too-commonly-used saying, “It’s not the destination, it’s the journey.” Her analysis of human behavior and the reasoning behind our choices, albeit in a short story, is extremely interesting for me. The overarching ideas of victors and victims paints a rather dark picture of life, but as the be all end all of measuring what we’ve accomplished. You touched on the idea that the story has some freakishly close parallels to her own personal life, so do you think she’s in any way commenting on regret she has on parts of her own story?