Reading Responses 2 - Essay Example

15 July Response to “Happy Ending” The article contains several distinct stories all of which integrate into one another quite well. An in-depth analysis suggests that the individual stories depict different times of lives of the three primary characters i.e. John, Madge, and Mary. Of the three characters, John plays the character of a man that is essentially a flirt in several relationships in his life but is loyal to his wife. Madge plays the character of a married woman and Mary plays the character of girlfriend who is shown to have a sexual relationship with one or two men simultaneously.

Young boyfriends like young John and James are interested in her body. She is a toy to them. Men can play with Mary anyway they like without having to show slightest respect for her emotions. Old John, on the other hand, does love Mary but is not sincere enough to sacrifice his well-established married life for her sake. On the other hand, Mary is in continuous search of finding the right man to get married to and in her attempt to achieve this, she plays a toy to the men. Madge is the typical housewife who is immersed in the works for the wellbeing of her children and husband, though she is privileged in that she is recognized by John as his wife and is introduced in the society as such.

She has the status of a respectable woman who fulfills all the roles expected of a careful and responsible woman. John, in his youth flirts with Mary and marries Madge. In old age, he again flirts, this time, with a different Mary but almost the same age as the first one. Nevertheless, there is a difference between his sincerity towards the first Mary in his life and the second one. With the passage of time, John has become more emotionally involved in his extra-marital affairs despite having a satisfying married life.

In any case, the author believes that the ending is happy. In the Canadian society, the husband and wife may experience twists in their relationships at different points in time, but by the end of the day, the two settle together in a peaceful marital relationship. The article reflects, in part if not wholly, essence of the married life of a vast majority of the Canadian people. Some are looking for a stable marital relationship, some are already in a stable relationship but still need extra-marital affairs for emotional stability, and some just connect in order to accompany each other to live happily through the last years of life.

The article raises several questions with respect to women; Is it unethical for women to search for the right person to marry on their own? Why are women, married or single, always at the losing end? This is a very harsh reality, but it is fact that despite a lifetime of sacrifices and efforts of wives, many husbands feel the need of another woman to satiate their lust! In all cases, women have to overlook a lot of things in order to sustain a relationship, marital or otherwise. Works Cited: Atwood, Margaret.

“Happy Ending.” Scribd. 2011. Web. 15 July 2011. .