Of Happily Ever Afters Without Princes

The Giver is supposed to be a dystopian novel. When I first read it as a kid, I remember thinking the part of the fictional society where children's jobs and futures were assigned to them seemed more like a utopia to me. Figuring out where my life is headed has never been easy for me.

At Wellesley, my all-women's alma mater, there is a tradition called hoop rolling. It's a race in which graduating seniors attempt to be the first to cross the finish line while propelling a wooden hoop with their hands. It's harder than it sounds, I promise. The winner then gets picked up and thrown into Lake Waban.

In the beginning of the tradition, the winner of the hoop rolling race was supposedly the first to get married or start a family. Sometime in the 1970s, the winner was destined to be the first to become CEO. And now, the winner is destined to find success however she defines it.

 

As far as endings go, hoop rolling and then graduation was a very satisfying ending to four years at college. There was plenty of pomp and circumstance followed by the promise of a bright future. But what future? If success is however you define, what in the world does that mean? I'm still trying to figure that one out for myself.

 

As a writer, I think a lot about satisfying endings because I'm not very good at them in life or on paper. And as a woman writing about female characters, I feel a lot of responsibility to write endings for my characters that are both satisfying and inspiring to the reader. Never before in history have there been so many women writing so much about the female experience. Therefore, in my perpetual quest to be a better writer, I thought I'd look into what kinds of endings other female writers have written for their female characters. What do their characters wish for when they win the hoop-rolling race of life? If it's not marrying a prince, what is it? Specifically, in fiction, where anything is possible, what kinds of endings are we writing for ourselves as women?

 

I could go through my favorite books as a kid, but were my reading habits really representative of the complete canon of literature? Definitely not. I need to learn from the best. And I need cold, hard facts. So I turned to the All-Time Bestselling Children's Book list from Publisher's Weekly released in 2000. It doesn't get much more fact-driven than that. Prepare yourself to be hit with some knowledge.

 

Here's the first interesting fact: of the top five hardback books on the list, four were written by women. None have a female main character. To be fair, number 5 is Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and Hermione is a major character. She ends up with a good career, marries Ron and has two kids. Not exactly an out-of-the-box ending for an awesome female character though. 

 

Of the top five paperback books on the list, one was written by a woman. None have a female main character. Make of that what you will. But I'm not here to debate gender equality in literature right now. I just want to get a sense of the landscape.

 

The first book on the paperback list (#8) by a female author with a female main character is Are You There God, It's Me Margaret? by Judy Blume. Margaret struggles with religion and coming of age throughout the book, but finds some peace with God at the end when she finally gets her period. I should stop my search right here. Could there be a more appropriate ending for a girl book than menstruation?

 

Next on the list at #11 is A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle. I must confess, I picked this book up a long time ago but never finished it. Now, I'm regretting it. The main character Meg goes on a journey through space and time involving centaurs, aliens, and an evil disembodied brain. In the end, she rescues her missing father, discovers the power of love, and reunites her family.

 

At #12 and #13 are two of the Little House on the Prairie Books by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Because these books are semi-biographical and don't really have a "plot," the ending of the series with Laura's marriage and happy domestic life isn't fictional, so I'm not sure how that fits in.

 

Coming in at #18 is Go Ask Alice by Anonymous. "Anonymous" is actually Beatrice Sparks, and although the book claims to be the diary of a teenage girl, it is generally believed to be mostly fictional. The unnamed diarist gets hooked on drugs and descends into a downward spiral. At the end, she is hopeful she will turn her life around and stay clean, but an epilogue reveals she dies of an overdose at home shortly after writing her last diary entry. So, don't do drugs, kids. Because you'll DIE.

 

In between more Judy Blume and Laura Ingalls Wilder books at #22 is The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare. This historical novel set in 17th-century New England starts with plucky Kit on board a ship running away from having to get married in Barbados. She convinces people in her new home that she's not a witch, teaches them to read, and does her best to be a feminist. At the end, she gets engaged to the son of the captain of the ship she arrived on.

 

After even more Judy Blume and Laura Ingalls Wilder books at #41 is From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg. Claudia and her younger brother run away from home to live in the Met Museum. They solve the mystery of a statue and return home where Claudia feels more content because she has a secret of her own.

 

And last in the top 50 at #45 is Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan. Sarah is a mail-order bride from Maine who must decide if she wants to remain in the prairie and become a family with her potential husband and his two children. She stays.

 

Honestly, I wasn't sure what to expect from examining the endings of these books. It's heartening to see proof that the most popular books by women authors don't fall into stereotypes. There isn't one outcome that equals a good ending in a bestselling book, but finding a sense of belonging or contentment in a complete family is a theme. Except in Go Ask Alice. That one is the opposite of happily ever after. Who is buying this book for their kids?

 

It shouldn't be surprising that ending up with a complete family or promise of a happy marriage is a satisfying ending in a children's book because finding your place in the world is what these books are really about. If I learned anything from this exercise, it's that maybe finding contentment is success. Whether you're getting your period, rescuing your father from aliens, or finding the love of your life, we should keep pushing the boundaries of what it means to be a successful woman because contentment can come in many forms. Unless you do drugs. Because then you will DIE.