Who Killed Jacky Jarvis On Agate Hill by Lee Smith Essay

The book On Agate Hill by Lee Smith is focused on the life of the main character Molly, whose life is depicted from her childhood to the adult life and her maturation. However, the book contains a lot of interesting elements, which keeps the audience in suspense and which the author does not really uncover even in the end of the book. In this regard, one of the most burning questions is the name of the murderer of Jacky Jarvis, a man, who was the husband of the main character. In fact, the death of Jacky Jarvis was absolutely unexpected and provoked consistent changes in the life of Molly, who was officially accused of murdering her husband. However, the author leaves room for doubts in the audience and it is possible to suggest that it was not only Molly, who could have killed Jacky Jarvis.
First of all, it is worth mentioning the fact that Lee Smith keeps the audience in suspense intentionally. The author does not uncover the truth about the murder of Jacky Jarvis but still the author provides documents and official reports concerning the investigation of the murder and other relevant issues. In fact, the entire story is a sort of documentary that makes the author a distant observer rather than the participant and developer of the events that unfold in the book. In this respect, it is important to place emphasis on the fact that the author becomes even more distant from events depicted in the book, when she describes the murder of Jacky Jarvis and the investigation of the crime.
In fact, the murder of Jacky Jarvis is a mystery because it is really unclear, who killed him and why. At this point, why is probably the main question readers pose, when they read the book. Basically, the investigation focused on Molly as the major suspect in the murder of Jacky Jarvis but it is hardly possible to get rid of impression that she was a casual suspect, who was accused of the murder because the police had no one to accuse of the murder. In such a way, the main character of the book becomes the main suspect in the murder of Jacky Jarvis. However, to understand possible motives and reasons why she could have killed her husband, it is necessary to briefly dwell upon her story and character.
In fact, Molly was an orphan, whose life was extremely difficult. Since the early childhood she had suffered numerous hardships and she had felt being poor girl. Even as she grew up, she felt being deprived of many things other girls had taken for granted. At the same time, she had quite an original view on her life and herself. For instance, she argues “thinks I am just a poor girl, like Cinderella,” and “Perhaps I am La Belle Dame Sans Merci after all” (Smith, 71) But it is less so when, a decade earlier, she describes a tableau vivant: “Flares burned in sconces. There lay Romeo dead on his back, the vial of poison still in his hand. Fair Juliet, also dead, lay in a pool of crimson created by the skirt of her silk dress” (Smith, 73). She is a girl, who still believes in a miracle and hopes to become happy in her life. She views herself as Cinderella and she apparently is looking for her prince. In such a context, it seems to be quite natural that Molly is captivated by the appearance of a banjo-playing mountain man with “yellow-red hair that fell forward into his eyes and a big nose and wide crooked reckless grin” (Smith, 110) The rapturous and mournful love story that follows even features a woeful ballad, “Molly and the Traveling Man”. In fact, love is very important for Molly. “Love lives not in places nor even bodies,” Molly writes much later in life, “but in the spaces between them” (Smith, 182). On Agate Hill works best when her appealing voice, at its most natural and ardent, fills those spaces. In such a way, the main character appreciates love, which plays an important part in her life. In such a context, it seems to be absurd that she had murdered her husband, Jacky Jarvis, whom she loved. Even if one presupposes that she was not in love with Jacky Jarvis at the moment of the murder anymore, it is still hard to believe that she could have killed her husband, the man, whom she loved so much.
At this point, it is possible to look for other reasons for the murder being committed by Molly. To put it more precisely, Molly and Jacky Jarvis did not have children because they had died being toddlers. This fact may be very important in understanding why Molly could have murdered her husband. First of all, it is important to place emphasis on the fact that the death of her children could have provoked serious psychological problems in Molly. For instance, she could suffer from a depression or some mental health disorder under the impact of the repetitive death of her children, who were just toddlers. In such a situation, she could commit the murder of Jacky Jarvis being in the state of affect, under the impact of her psychological or mental health problems, which could be the result of the deaths of her children. In such a way, she could not be able to control herself and to maintain the adequate control over her behavior and actions. Being unable to control herself, Molly could kill her husband. For instance, they could have had a quarrel or some dispute that could lead to the outburst of the rage in Molly that could lead to the murder of her husband. However, psychological problems could not be the only reason for the murder of Jacky Jarvis, whereas in case of Molly, psychological problems could have being virtually the only reason why she committed the crime.
In such a context, it is possible to look for other suspects, who could have committed the murder. In this respect, it is possible to refer to Molly’s benefactor Simon Black could commit the murder because he could have attempted to maintain control over Molly and he was a lifetime rival of her father. To put it more precisely, Simon Black could have his own reasons for murdering Jacky Jarvis because he was an obstacle on his way to establish the total control over Molly. In fact, Molly became absolutely independent of her benefactor, Simon Black, who could control Molly before she fell in love with Jacky Jarvis. In such a way, she became estranged and Simon Black had lost control over her. Obviously, such a situation was dissatisfactory for him and he wanted to regain the control over Molly. However, he could not reach this goal as long as there was Jacky Jarvis.
At the same time, Simon Black has ample opportunities to murder Jacky Jarvis. In such a way, he could murder Jacky Jarvis to regain control over Molly and to return to the life they had before Molly encountered Jacky Jarvis. At this point, it is worth mentioning the fact that Simon Black could have had some material benefits from the murder of Jacky Jarvis because, if he regained control over Molly, he could regain control over her money, even if her wealth was quite few.
Thus, taking into account all above mentioned, it is important to place emphasis on the fact that the development of the story of Molly and the death of Jacky Jarvis rather raise questions than provide clear answers. In fact, it is unclear who committed the murder and who killed Jacky Jarvis. The main suspect is Molly because she is his wife and she was the closest person to Jacky Jarvis. However, she did not have many reasons for murdering her own husband. On the other hand, she could commit the crime because of psychological problems or even a mental health problem provoked by the deaths of her children. Alternatively, the murder could have been committed by Simon Black, the benefactor of Molly, and the rival of her father. Simon Black could murder Jacky Jarvis to regain control over Molly.