By most metrics, Undine’s story ends happily, since she gets everything she ever wanted. Yet just at the moment when Undine has everything, she comes up with something she wants but doesn’t have—in fact something that it’s impossible for her to ever have. Previously, Undine showed no interest in being an ambassador’s wife; now, she wants it precisely because she can’t have it (due to her history of divorce). What could have been a happy ending instead becomes a reminder about the consequences of being too materialistic and of seeking too much external validation.