Jayber Crow

Troy Chatham does not go to war because of a knee injury. He and Mattie are married in 1945. Troy does not have much money, so Mattie’s parents give them a house on their land. Jayber hates thinking about how happy they are in their early days of marriage. Mattie's father Athey manages his farm and land with wise care in the tradition of the old ways. He plows with mules and does not borrow money. They have a bountiful garden each year but only grow enough food to feed themselves and their animals. Athey has 80 acres of timber land he calls the Nest Egg that he will not sell, preserving it for future generations. His tenants all respect his character and the way he cares for his land and animals. Conversely, Troy wants to plant more crops to make a profit off the land. He also wants to purchase a tractor. As Athey ages, he cedes more power to Troy each season. Troy borrows money to rent land and buy more machines. Mattie gives birth to their first child named Della, after her mother, but they call her Liddie. A few years later a son called Jimmy is born. Troy is often working after dark because he has spread the margins of the farm too thinly. Athey and Troy’s relationship is strained as they disagree on how to run the farm. “He and Troy were different, almost opposite, kinds of men” (197). Jayber explains the use of and eventual dependence on machines causes a shift towards modern society. He confesses the purchase of his car is no different from Troy buying a tractor. Jayber longs for a time when people depended on each other, not technology, to survive. Athey and Della eventually move closer to town.

Mattie is caught between her love for her parents and that of her husband. Troy continues to expand the farm against the wishes of Athey, and Mattie has to take on more and more responsibilities around the home including caring for the two children. Jayber says it has not changed her. She is still beautiful and gracious. Mattie is much like her parents: honest, hard-working, and good-natured. Jayber says she is a part of a group of women in Port William who support the community through caring for the sick and needy. In the summer of 1950, Jayber helps Mattie with vacation Bible school at the church. Seeing her with the children, he is overcome with love and admiration for her. His infatuation with her is tortuous, yet he tells no one. Jayber imagines what a life with Mattie would be like and fantasizes about the two of them running away together. “I wanted, as I would say to myself, to be in her presence, as if her presence were a fragrance, or a light that was within her and shone around her” (209). Looking back, Jayber feels shameful for how much energy he spent loving and longing for a woman he could not have. Jayber still spends time with Clydie, but she can tell his mind is elsewhere. His intense love for Mattie increases his hatred for Troy. Jayber can hardly bear to be around him when Troy comes in for a haircut. Jayber’s mind becomes clouded with a distorted reality because of his intense love for Mattie and hatred of Troy. Finally, after a year, he resolves to give up his obsession as he realizes the truth; he is not destined to be hers. However, his love for Mattie only grows as the yearning evolves into an idolization of her. Then tragedy strikes, forever changing how he views Mattie. While gathering wildflowers near a roadside, five-year-old Liddie is struck and killed by a passing car. Jayber is haunted by the vision to the present day.