While this would be the case for both John and Mary in this situation, later scenarios complicate the supposedly equal (and equally depressing) depiction of sex for each partner-suggesting that while neither is deeply satisfied, women in particular are unable to achieve or hold onto sexual fulfillment. Thus even when the relationship described is a relatively happy one, the only important thing about sex is, presumably, that they’re having it. Their jobs and hobbies are also described as “stimulating and challenging,” a phrase that evokes not so much intimacy and passion, but a kind of sterile, paternalistic view of sex as necessary for a “happy ending,” the details of which are unimportant. Listing sex with the litany of other accomplishments belies its importance and fraught nature. Even in scenario A, which is in some senses a “best-case” scenario, John and Mary’s “stimulating and challenging” sex life is ultimately presented as a minor hobby alongside other parts of their lives such as children, a house, vacations, and friends. In none of the scenarios is sex in and of itself the source of a genuinely happy ending for women. Ultimately, Atwood makes the claim that the gendered expectations surrounding sex often result in situations that benefit men and harm women. The story’s title itself, “Happy Endings,” obliquely refers to sexual acts, a tongue-in-cheek nod by Atwood that “happy endings,” in sex and real life, are largely the domain of men. In particular, women’s sexuality is often socially dependent upon men, whose needs are put first, over and above women’s. Throughout these iterations of character arcs and story stereotypes, Atwood presents sexuality as heavily conditioned by social and gender norms, most often to the detriment of women. In “Happy Endings,” Atwood describes a variety of scenarios involving stock characters she calls John and Mary in order to reflect upon gender and sexuality.
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