The Effects of Separation in "Shiloh"

In Bobbie Ann Mason's "Shiloh", a trucker is terribly injured in a highway accident, resulting in the loss of his job (5) and a return to his home, his wife, and his marriage. This trucker, Leroy Moffitt, believes that his injury is a blessing in disguise, because he believes they must "start afresh" (9) now that he is pemanently home. His wife Norma Jean, however, is made more uncomfortable by his presence; at one point Leroy admits that oftentimes she is almost surprised to see him when she enters their house. Nonetheless, both characters share one trait: they are in the midst of a renaissance in their lives - but they are going in opposite directions with them. Separation is at the heart of all this change and tension.

Leroy and Norma Jean get married at the tender age of 18, due to the fact that Leroy impregnates her (26). Following the death of their son, Leroy becomes a trucker and goes on the road for the next 15 years, stopping only occasionally at his own house (16). Instead of confronting the emotions attached to the loss of their baby, Leroy and Norma Jean betray their immaturity by running away from the problem - or, in Leroy's case, driving away from it. As a result, they never really talk about their lost son, and this is one reason why the second-chance marriage fails. Although Leroy and Norma Jean were technically married during this 15-year period, it was really a separation, emotionally and physically, caused by the child Randy.

This long separation, coupled with the forced reunion of their marital union, shakes them both up. Leroy takes up a number of hobbies: hobbies that would be common for a 10-year-old boy, but hobbies that are depressingly pathetic for a 34-year-old man to be doing (6). Norma Jean, on the other hand, reinvigorates her life. She cannot stand to be around Leroy, perhaps because he reminds her of Randy (9), or perhaps because she is simple not used to being around someone - as she says at the conclusion of the story, she wants to be left alone (154). Nevertheless, Norma Jean partakes in a number of activities that will benefit her life. She begins lifting weights, jogging, and even enrolling in a course at a community college (86). She is already preparing herself for another separation with Leroy, but one that this time will be a conscious decision on her part.

Thus, the aformentioned renaissances are revealed: Leroy desires a rejuvenation of his marriage, and Norma Jean wants to begin a new life by ending her marriage. Shiloh serves as the scene for the climax that we knew was coming all along: Norma Jean finally voicing her wish for a divorce. Interestingly, Leroy is shocked by the statement, even though he knew "he [was] going to lose her" (94). And unfortunately for Leroy, the rebirth of his marriage ends in death, like the son he once had. For Norma Jean, her goal of separation succeeds as she speeds past Leroy when he is trying to catch up with her. However, her renaissance for a new life might also have ended in death, as Bobbie Ann Mason's ending is arguably ambiguous. Regardless of whether or not Norma Jean jumps in the end, the marriage of the Moffitts ends at the battlefield, where many men lost their lives, and where one trucker appears to lose his. (573)