She should have cupped the baby’s head in the palm of her hand and snipped a few of its tiny hairs to keep in a locket at her throat. She should have looked into its small face and known if it was a boy or a girl, and then stood beside Jack as he buried it in the Pennsylvania winter ground. She should have marked its grave. She should have allowed herself that grief.
-- Narrator (Part 1: Chapter 1 paragraph 3)

Importance: Even years after her baby had been stillborn Mabel still regretted her decision not to hold the baby or even find out what sex it was.

And there lay the real problem. Not the nervous horse, but the tired old man. The truth squirmed in the pit of his stomach like a thing done wrong. This was too much work for a man of his age.
-- Narrator (Part 1: Chapter 2 paragraph 6)

Importance: Despite the many problems that Jack had working against...