What does "Happily Ever After" Mean?
"Happily ever after" is a phrase that seems to be thrown around in almost every children's story or fairy tale. In fact, I had known this phrase way before I became fluent in English, simply from hearing it so many times. For my whole life, I had a general sense of its meaning: The characters involved end their story at the same time that I see them end it, and they continue some sort of pseudo-existence in a happy state, doing whatever they were doing at the very end of their story. However, I am now tasked with defining "happily ever after" as I see it, so let's break it down.
Of course, in a fantastical world, characters may truly be able to achieve a state of never-ending happiness. As I wrote about previously, happiness derives from having purpose in life, rather than a single experience or action. I believe that even in a fairy tale, this principle still holds. For example, if the plot of a fairy tale involves two characters falling in love, the "happily ever after" scenario that occurs after the end of the story could be that both characters derive their purpose from taking care of their partner, or making them happy. The happiness one character derives from finally winning the love of another character is separate from the happiness they experience after a story ends, in this case. From my perspective, "happily ever after" is more of a beginning of another chapter of the lives of the characters of a story, rather than a substantive ending.
Hi Edison! I find it particularly interesting that you say that happiness is derived from having purpose in life. That follows the ethical codes of many religious philosophers, who believe that happiness comes from doing _____ actions for the purpose or glory or honor of _____. In contrast, many other philosophers believe that it our experiences and actions can individually add up to produce a happy life— I took an ethics class in high school, and learned about this concept of hedonistic calculus, which is to say each action gives us a certain amount of pleasure. I personally adhere to some of the philosophies posed by Epicurus, who says that happiness can be found in choosing things that give us pleasure— and also the avoidance of pain.
ReplyDeleteI'm really curious, Edison, about your comment that you had known the phrase "happily ever after" "way before you become fluent in English, simply from hearing it so many times." What was your first language? And where did you hear the phrase? Does it transcend cultural barriers -- that is, we associate it with European fairy tales, but is there a similar/analogous phrase in stories from other cultures?
ReplyDelete(I am in absolute awe of people who speak multiple languages; I think its so important on so many levels, and something I'm trying to pass on to my own children.)
I think its really interesting that you associated happiness with actions taken by people. Like how instead of the happily every after being that the people are together, its how can you care for or make your partner happy. I think a lot of people's definitions of happiness can be very self-centered, like what can MAKE me happy instead of what can I do to be happy. Its an interesting concept, and I often forget other people have different definitions of happiness.
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