Babett's story is similar to Happy Endings in its fragmented structure, the main blocks of story have definite divisions, and the fact that it's the story itself that matters, not the ending. As Babette says, "This is not a story about your disappointment at my silence. The theme of this story is my pain and my attempts to end it.", Jack's disappointment (the end result of her story) is, at least in her mind, unimportant when compared to the details in her story. In Happy Endings, the end of all the story possibilities is always the same, so the actual content of the story is what is of importance.
Atwood is especially interested a "how and why", or the relevant (but not always) details of a story, the events leading up to the story, the small details, the motives of the people in it, the possibly random or 'lucky' occurrences that facilitate the plot and of course the turning point(s) (if applicable). Babette is interested in the details of her story, not Jack's feelings that resulted from it, or her "condition" that led her to seek the medical trial.
