Sans Fig Leaf
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"Cue violins"
15 May, 2003
I'm a sucker for a happy ending.
I went through a phase where I was afraid to admit that. Some people think that liking happy endings betrays a great shallowness. The real world isn't like that, they say. The real world is full of sickness, hunger, and injustice. In some circles it is chic to be so cynical that one assumes that happy endings are a tool to distract us from the drudgery of our meaningless lives.
That may be true for people whose lives are meaningless, but for the rest of us, that's utter poppycock.
Bad things do happen in life, but that's not what life's about. While there is a big difference between fiction and real life, lessons learned in one can apply to the other.
Because I edit a literary publication, I am often having to explain to aspiring authors why this or that thing they are doing in a story isn't working, or at least won't go over well with my readers. One of the most common problems is a misunderstanding of what stories are about. Many aspring writers assume that a story or movie or play is "about" the things that happen during the course of the play. That's not right. What a story is about, is how someone feels about what happens. How does the hero respond? Does she give up or keep fighting? Does he run or face the music?
I'm also a sucker for a tragic ending where the hero fails despite his best efforts, but he or she goes down finding, holding on to hope to the very last.
The important thing in any kind of story for me isn't necessarily whether the hero wins or losses. It's whether the hero surrenders or fights.
It doesn't take much strength of will to be happy when everything is coming up roses. Similarly, being all cynical and depressed because some bad things have happened to you doesn't speak highly of your character, either.
I've often quoted the line that the difference between real life and fiction is that fiction has to make sense. But that's not true. The difference between real life and fiction is that fiction has a definite beginning and a definite ending. While an individual person's life has a beginning and ending, the rest of the world doesn't. We live our life influenced in many subtle ways by the actions and decisions of people who came before us. How we live our lives will affect those who come after.
I understand that happy endings are somewhat artificial. But most people who scoff at them do so for the wrong reason. It's the ending part that's illusionary, not the happiness.
Sterling:
You know, Darius once said you were the saddest person he knew.
Jeffrey: Why did he say that?
Sterling: Because he was sick. He had a fatal disease.
And he was a million times happier than you.
--Paul Rudnick from his play and screenplay, Jeffrey