Krista Smathers on "Happy Endings"

This story reads at first like some kind of formulaic, mocking commentary on the stagnancy of plot lines.  The structure lends itself to this interpretation, as it is grouped under letters that can be rearranged but still make sense as a whole story.  Atwood offers possible scenarios for plots, all of which have been demonstrated in various forms of storytelling media.  She offers various adaptations of the theory that all stories can be reduced to the plot: person A meets person B, add love, add something tragic happening to either person A or person B, end with person A and person B together and happy or separate and unhappy, or some generic variation of this basic theme.  The last section is what makes this story relevant at all: the questioning of following these limited plot structures.  Atwood prompts readers to reconsider the plot structure of "a what and a what and a what," which is illustrated in the preceding completely declarative paragraphs, and instead add a how and why, which brings depth and individuality to a story.  For me, reading this piece was initially like reading a story, but upon finishing, I found it to be a combination of demonstrative plot lines so that a critique of their generality could be made.