Part II, Chapters 7–8: "Happy Endings" by Margaret Atwood

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. remunerative
    for which money is paid
    They both have worthwhile and remunerative jobs which they find stimulating and challenging.
  2. stimulate
    stir feelings in
    They both have hobbies which they find stimulating and challenging.
  3. gratification
    the act or an instance of satisfying
    He merely uses her for...ego gratification of a tepid kind.
  4. tepid
    feeling or showing little interest or enthusiasm
    He merely uses her for...ego gratification of a tepid kind.
  5. repent
    feel sorry for; be contrite about
    She hopes he'll discover her and get her to the hospital in time and repent and then they can get married, but this fails to happen and she dies.
  6. respectable
    deserving of esteem
    John has a steady, respectable job and is getting ahead in his field, but Mary isn't impressed by him, she's impressed by James, who has a motorcycle and a fabulous record collection.
  7. mourning
    state of sorrow over the death or departure of a loved one
    Madge, after a suitable period of mourning, marries an understanding man called Fred and everything continues as in A, but under different names.
  8. virtuous
    morally excellent
    They do, though thousands drown, but Fred and Madge are virtuous and lucky.
  9. bourgeois
    conforming to the conventions of the middle class
    If you think this is all too bourgeois, make John a revolutionary and Mary a counterespionage agent and see how far that gets you.
  10. delude
    be dishonest with
    Don't be deluded by any other endings, they're all fake, either deliberately fake, with malicious intent to deceive, or just motivated by excessive optimism if not by downright sentimentality.
  11. malicious
    having the nature of threatening evil
    Don't be deluded by any other endings, they're all fake, either deliberately fake, with malicious intent to deceive, or just motivated by excessive optimism if not by downright sentimentality.
  12. sentimentality
    the quality of being falsely emotional in a maudlin way
    Don't be deluded by any other endings, they're all fake, either deliberately fake, with malicious intent to deceive, or just motivated by excessive optimism if not by downright sentimentality.
  13. authentic
    conforming to fact and therefore worthy of belief
    The only authentic ending is the one provided here: John and Mary die.
  14. connoisseur
    an expert able to appreciate a field
    True connoisseurs, however, are known to favor the stretch in between, since it's the hardest to do anything with.
Created on Wed May 26 14:31:34 EDT 2021 (updated Fri Jun 04 12:42:32 EDT 2021)

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