The Gardener’s Son (1977) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Robert kills James after discovering his mother has died and been buried without his knowledge, and learning he has lost his gardener job. When he confronts James in his office, James mocks him and offers a gold piece, echoing the same offer James made to Martha, which triggers Robert's rage. After James reaches for his desk drawer (possibly a gun), Robert shoots him twice, first in the stomach, then kills him when James fires back and misses.

Foreshadowing: Earlier, James offers Martha a gold piece to keep quiet about his lewd remarks, establishing the coin as a symbol of James's manipulative contempt for the poor.

• robert mcevoy
• james gregg
• murder
• graniteville
• motive

When 14-year-old Martha searches for Robert near the Gregg estate, James makes lewd remarks toward her and offers a gold piece in exchange for her silence. Frightened, she flees. Later, during the trial, Martha visits Mrs. Gregg and reveals that James "never done nothing" to her, implying James attempted to sexually harass or assault her but did not succeed, though the power dynamic and his offer suggest coercion.

Foreshadowing: The gold piece offer to Martha mirrors the gold piece James later offers Robert, showing his pattern of using money to control and degrade the McEvoy family.

• james gregg
• martha mcevoy
• harassment
• gold piece
• assault

Robert had left Graniteville after his amputation and was working elsewhere. When Martha wrote to him saying their mother had "took sick again," Robert returned but arrived too late, he discovered two Black gravediggers burying his mother. It appears no one sent word to Robert about the severity of her illness, leaving him absent for both her death and burial.

Foreshadowing: The earlier scene shows the McEvoys discussing Robert's perplexing nature while he is absent, suggesting his distance from the family had already created a breakdown in communication.

• robert mcevoy
• mother death
• burial
• graniteville

After William Gregg dies, James inherits the mill and becomes its owner. When a group of impoverished people arrives by train seeking employment, James rejects them outright, refusing to hire any. This decision reflects his indifference to the suffering of the poor and demonstrates the shift from William's more paternalistic approach to James's ruthless management style.

Foreshadowing: Earlier, Mrs. Gregg and James visit the grave of an unnamed boy who died in 1855 visiting Graniteville, where James criticizes his mother's concern for the poor, foreshadowing his heartless decision.

• james gregg
• workers
• job
• graniteville
• textile mill

Robert's attorney O. C. Jordan advises against testifying, arguing it would risk "sullying the Gregg name", an unpopular stance in the community. Additionally, defense attorney W. J. Whipper tells Patrick that Robert's "erratic nature" would make testimony unreliable. The defense also agreed with Mrs. Gregg to avoid calling any female witnesses, which likely included Martha who could have testified about James's harassment.

• robert mcevoy
• trial
• testimony
• jordan
• whipper

After his leg amputation and recovery, Robert took a job sweeping up at the Gregg mill in Graniteville. He then left town, likely due to his troubled state, before receiving Martha's letter about his mother's illness. He was working elsewhere or traveling when his mother fell sick and died.

• robert mcevoy
• job
• absent
• leaves graniteville

When Robert returns to Graniteville after his mother's death, he discovers his father's glasshouse is barren and he is no longer employed as a gardener for the Greggs. The film implies James fired him, likely after Robert's prolonged absence following the amputation and his growing hostility toward the Gregg family.

• robert mcevoy
• gardener
• job
• fire
• greggs

Despite the circumstances leading to James's death, the mocking with gold coins, the loss of his mother and job, James reaching for a drawer, Robert was convicted of murder. The trial had a majority-black jury, and key testimony came from Starks Sims, a boy who worked for mill assistant Mr. Giles and witnessed the shooting. Robert was sentenced to death and executed by hanging.

Foreshadowing: The confrontation scene shows James firing first and missing, then Robert returning fire and killing him, establishing the narrative that Robert fired the fatal shot, even if motivated by perceived self-defense.

• robert mcevoy
• death sentence
• murder
• trial
• execution

Before his execution, Robert sits for a studio portrait seated from the waist up, carefully hiding his prosthetic leg. He agrees to copies being sold but doesn't want his family to receive proceeds or know where the money comes from. The portrait represents his desire to be remembered on his own terms, not as a disabled man or a condemned murderer, but as he wished to be seen.

• robert mcevoy
• portrait
• photograph
• execution
• memory

Martha visits Mrs. Gregg during the trial, seemingly to plead for Robert, but then reveals James "never done nothing" to her, suggesting she came to expose James's harassment rather than ask for mercy. Mrs. Gregg, misinterpreting this as an offer of comfort, asks for tea. When Martha says the Greggs "must have failed him somewhere," Mrs. Gregg encloses and orders her to leave, refusing to acknowledge James's behavior.

• mrs gregg
• martha mcevoy
• visit
• trial
• dismiss