Happy Endings Characters

The main female character in the story, Mary is introduced along with John in scenario A, and reappears several times throughout the story. In scenario A, she marries John and gets to participate in the… read analysis of Mary

Like Mary, John is one of the first characters introduced in the story, and serves as a stand-in for a typical male character throughout the various plot iterations. In scenario A, John and Mary… read analysis of John

First introduced in scenario B, Madge is the woman John is seeing on the side instead of Mary. While ostensibly a different character than Mary, Atwood implies that the two characters are so similar… read analysis of Madge

In scenario C, James is Mary’s young, independent, and often unavailable lover. James, who owns a motorcycle and an impressive record collection, is adventurous and desirable, in contrast with Mary’s other lover, John… read analysis of James