In "Happy Endings," what is the author's message?

One of the main messages that the author, Margaret Atwood, is trying to send, is that every story ultimately ends the same way, with death. John and Mary go through a variety of different versions of their relationship together, but ultimately, they all end the same exact way. This piece is very experimental in that it tries out different plot lines, with the same beginning and ending but different "middles." It also sends the message that a fictional story is just a telling of events that an author made up. It is a hard thing to write a work that is realistic and authentic, and Atwood explains at the end that the ending of a relationship is not achieving marital bliss or love, but the couple's death. She writes, "The only authentic ending is the one provided here, ‘John and Mary die. John and Mary die. John and Mary die.’ "

What is Atwood's message in "Happy Endings" and its significance to the reader?

In her story, "Happy Endings," Margaret Atwood explains to writers that there aren't many different plots--most of them end up the same way (people die). She shows through her different stories that beginnings are more interested than endings, and says after that, writers have to deal with the how and why. This means that once writers have the beginning and end of a story, they need to figure out the middle--the motivation, the details, dialogue, etc.

She also makes commentary for the readers and their expectations. Readers must parse meaning from these plots. In this story, Atwood explains the responsibilities of writers to create stories and how they must understand what readers expect. By giving multiple plot lines and then saying that there is the matter of the how and the why, it puts the responsibility on both the writer (to expand the plot) and the reader (to make meaning of the details the writer gives).