On not being there

In "Shiloh", my major concern was regarding the death of Norma's baby and the involvement of her mother in her personal life. The idea of birth being directly associated with femininity would when compared to Norma Jean's death of her baby shows where a great deal of this story's conflict comes from. The idea that Norma was not able to keep her baby alive or that it was somehow even remotely her fault is presented when her mother says "did you hear about the datsun dog killed the baby" (10). Her mother is accusing her of neglect in someway. Her husband, Leroy, does not really respond and almost defends the mother. This behavior also mirrors Leroy's absence due to his career. He was not there to offer comfort to his wife then and cannot make up for it now. I think that it is interesting that Mabel's way of truly trying to get to Norma is through her "failure" in maternity and what this shows in regards to her relationship with Leroy.