Chapter 23 Summary

Devoting himself to Mattie keeps love in Jayber's heart, even though he lives a solitary life without her. He feels his marriage to her is validated by Troy's invalidation. Living as a married man in his heart only, Jayber loves Mattie all her life. He questions why hate succeeds and finds its justification and love does not always succeed but forces us out of the limits of time. Jayber feels he has always seen Mattie in her eternity.

Jayber begins to pray again. His old questions are still with him, and he still cannot give up on people, even those who diminish life and take more than they give. But he is now remembering God loves the world, and Port William, with all its faults and flaws. He acknowledges the temptation to reason out that everything must be proven. If we really understood...