All the Women, Independent

First, let's talk about the function of the sisters (or in the case of The Robber Bridegroom, the older woman).

For most of the stories, the sister is a way to prolong and repeat the story thus creating suspense. In Perrault's Bluebeard, Sister Anne though mentioned, does not come into play until Bluebeard's wife is in danger. Sister Anne is the one whose sole job is to call and say that help is on the way. Bluebeard's wife calls several times, each time in more and more dire straits until finally Anne brings the relief in form of their brothers. Without this repeat, the tension of the story would be unable to build. In the Grimm's Fitcher's Bird, the two previous sisters do the wrong thing and get brutalized by the wizard. The suspense comes in when the third sister goes to the wizard's home. Will she end up like her sisters? What will happen when she discover her sisters? The repetitive nature of the story once again driven by sisters causes suspense which is the greatest tool of horror. In the Grimms' The Robber Bridgegroom, once again the other woman causes the suspense felt by the reader. The other woman is in control of whether or not the miller's daughter will be found by the marauders. The old woman warns her of the danger, and would or would not give away where the girl is hidden. The old woman takes care of things, but everything hinges on her actions. In Jacob's Mr. Fox, there is no other woman, which is interesting in and of itself, the story is short, so there is not much suspense to be had, and all of it is provided by writing on the walls. Finally, in Atwood's Bluebeard's Egg, the other woman, Marylynn functions as a mode of suspense, and perhaps more of a suspension of belief, as everything Sally believes about Ed, Marylynn erases at the end of the story, which then gives its own version of suspense, because we will never know whether there was an affair or not.