Houses (Symbol)
Atwood uses the houses to symbolize one element of a happy ending. For instance, in scenario A, Mary and Jon fall in love and they get married. One of the central components of happiness in their life is a house. In another scenario, Madge and her husband John buy a house before real estate prices go up. Buying a house ensures that the couple lives happily despite the anticipated hard economic times.
The Motorcycle (Symbol)
In scenario C, Mary loves James, but James is noncommittal and spends most of his time riding his motorcycle. James's motorcycle symbolizes the freedom associated with both youth and masculinity. While Mary thinks about the future, James perceives his relationship with Mary as casual and unserious, his motorcycle representing his lack of societal pressure to settle down.
Happy Endings (Symbol)
For Atwood, happy endings are both a real (albeit mundane) element of a story and a symbol of how writers and readers interact with the storytelling process. "Happy endings" presents the notion of a happy ending as something that is desirable in theory but lacking intrigue in practice. As such, the story dismantles the idea that happy endings are necessary or even interesting, instead rendering them a symbol of lackluster fiction.
