Response to “Happy Endings” by Margaret Atwood

‘Happy Endings’ is written by Margaret Atwood. There are six different scenes in this story. We assume that most stories have happy endings or sad endings. But, this short story has both happy and sad endings. After reading this story, we gain sympathy for the many problems people face in relationships.
Happy Endings arouse the reader’s curiosity. As you can see in the beginning part of this short story, Margaret Atwood is asking you, “What happens next?” Through this question, Atwood recreates each scene with a different plot. Some plots can satisfy reader’s curiosity, while others repel them. Each scene in Happy Endings has same ending, where both John and Mary die whether they end up loving each other or not. Atwood is not delicate when describing each scene, sometimes using coarse language and vulgar behaviour. Atwood also leaves some scenes to the reader’s imagination. But I do not agree with the title. All endings are sad ending since both John and Mary die, but why does Atwood title the short story as ‘Happy Endings’? If the lives of John and Mary’s were happy, the title would make sense, but excluding plot A, the lives of John and Mary were not happy ones. This suggests a sarcastic title.