: The way I see it: It's not about whether the the protagonist(s) are happy or unhappy at the end; it's about whether they've succeeded or failed. Most stories involve the protagonist(s) having

@Gloria285

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The way I see it:

It's not about whether the the protagonist(s) are happy or unhappy at the end; it's about whether they've succeeded or failed.

Most stories involve the protagonist(s) having difficulties to overcome, problems to solve, situations to deal with, goals to be achieved (whether those are becoming king, becoming wiser and more mature, staying alive, or whatever).

If they manage to overcome the difficulties, solve the problems, deal with the situations, or achieve their goals, then the story has been worthwhile (for them): their struggle has left them better-off than if they'd failed (or hadn't tried).

They may not be ecstatically happy at the end, but they're at least likely to be more happy than they otherwise would.

At the end of The Lord Of The Rings, while the Shire has been scoured, Frodo has deep scars, Boromir is dead, and things are in many ways worse than at the start, things are far better than they would have been had Sauron won the War Of The Ring: the peoples of Middle Earth are not enslaved and (mostly) still alive, whole lands haven't been devastated, etc.  So there's a relative happiness.

Of course, sometimes protagonists have multiple goals between them, and they don't (perhaps even can't) all succeed.  So there may be partial success, and partial failure — which may be considered a ‘bittersweet’ ending.

For example, in Casablanca, Rick doesn't end up with Ilsa; but he does achieve some degree of closure to that relationship, and discovers himself to be a little nobler than he thought.  Ilsa and Victor do make the plane to Lisbon (presumably to continue their work with the Resistance), though the war would continue for several more years.  So partial success, and some satisfaction to counter the immediate sadness.

(Conversely, had Ilsa stayed with Rick, they'd have been happy at the time, but it wouldn't have been as satisfying an ending, as we — and, sooner or later, they — would know that it was at the cost of supporting the greater struggle, hence a greater failure.)

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