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Overview
Margaret Atwood’s “Happy Endings” is metafiction—a short story about the writing of stories that was first published in Atwood’s 1983 collection, Murder in the Dark
. Written to an audience identified as “you,” the story directs readers through a series of distinct yet interlocking variations to explore the paradoxical nature of storytelling. Variations on the basic “happily ever after” plotline may be many, but “Happy Endings” suggests that all variations end in the characters’ deaths. “Happy Endings” is one of Atwood’s many explorations of the uses and limits of narrative, and despite its casually gloomy assessment of story structure, it suggests that readers often find the “How and Why” of stories irresistible.Read a full story summary, a full story analysis, and explanations of important quotes from “Happy Endings.”
