One of the most important elements in short fiction is the authors' use of characters. They allow the story to exist and often provoke an emotional response from the reader. The most obvious character such as the protagonist and antagonist play very important roles in fiction, however secondary characters can also be extremely significant at times. In the short story "Shiloh", written by Bobbie Ann Mason for example, the minor character of Mabel is incredibly important and actually influences the main characters as well as the outcome of the story.
             When the reader is first introduced to Norma Jean's mother Mabel, it is learned early on how strict and criticizing she is. "When she visits, she inspects the closets and the plants, informing Norma Jean when a plant is droopy or yellow [...] she always notices if Norma Jean's laundry is piling up". She is very neat and proper which illustrates her high expectations of how things should be. This is just the first glimpse of Mabel and her stern personality is quickly understood. The specific tone of this character places great pressure on Norma Jean just to please her mother, greatly affecting her everyday life.
             As more information is acquired about Mabel, it is evident that there is extreme tension between her and Leroy "who gets along with his mother in-law primarily by joking with her". This is predominantly due to the loss of Randy. "Mabel has never really forgiven him for disgracing her by getting Norma Jean pregnant. When the baby died, she said that fate was mocking her". Mabel in a way feels insulted because of the miscarriage and disapproves of Leroy. She views him as inadequate of providing her with a grandchild and also unproductive because he is housebound. When Leroy explains to Mabel that he is now working on a needlepoint, she replies, "You don't know what to do with yourself- that's the whole trou...