Jayber Crow

Depression-era public works projects improve the roads near the town, so Jayber decides to purchase a car. It is a green Dodge and a bit rickety but gets him where he wants to go. Jayber enjoys going to juke joints and gatherings where it is legal to drink, and the car makes it easier to travel. Everyone enjoys going to Hargrave where there are plenty of entertainment options. Jayber also travels to Hargrave to get haircuts from Violet Greatlow. Violet is a drinker but a great storyteller. Jayber does not tell him he is also a barber and does not stay to get a haircut if he suspects Violet is drunk. Violet’s favorite story tells of the time he was locked in jail for a day. He went to give a haircut to an inmate and Loony Riggins the jailer forgot about him. Jayber admits he would like to have a partner. “To be plain about it, I was lonesome. I wanted the company of women” (186). Jayber meets Clydie Greatlow, Violet’s niece, at the Rosebud Cafe where she works. The two become close friends and enjoy dancing, going to the movies, and having late nights at Clydie’s house. Clydie lives with her aged Aunt Beulah for whom she cares, and they have to be silent in the house.