Outlander: Rereading Voyager – Prejudices and Love

Prejudices

Chapter 8 mainly summarizes the arrival of Lord John to Ardsmuir and his feelings about meeting Jamie Fraser again. Of note are the details that Colonel Quarry gives Lord John about Jamie. Of course, Quarry is aware of the incident that happened between Lord John and Jamie years back during the uprising, and he emphasizes how important Fraser is. In fact, Lord John needs Jamie, especially since the prisoners see him as a leader. Furthermore, Quarry mentions that Jamie is educated. However, the most meaningful description that Quarry gives about Jamie is related to Claire:

“There’s intelligence,” Quarry said slowly. “And then there are other things. But perhaps you’re too young to have seen hate and despair at close range. There’s been a deal of it in Scotland, these last ten years.” He tilted his head, surveying the new commander of Ardsmuir from his vantage point of fifteen years’ seniority (Voyager, ch. 8).

These words will reverberate in Lord John’s mind later when he asks Jamie where Claire is. He notices the despair and the hate in Jamie’s eyes. Quarry’s description makes it clear that those negative feelings are present in the population of Scotland (a notable quote). Of course, Lord John does not follow Quarry’s advice initially. Jamie is the one with the reputation of being stubborn. However, Lord John exhibits some stubbornness because of his pride. The first interaction that he had with Red Jamie was embarrassing (and he has not recovered from it at this stage). The English saw him as a coward who revealed confidential information to the enemy to save himself.

The narration puts emphasis on the prejudices that the English had against the Scottish Highlanders. Lord John relates that night before the Battle of Prestonpans in which he tried to protect Claire from being raped. Of course, he could not see in his mind a marriage between an educated Englishwoman and a barbarian Scottish Highlander.

. . . Everyone said that Highlanders indulged in rapine at every opportunity, and took delight in dishonoring Englishwomen; . . . (Voyager, ch. 8).

This bias against the Scottish Highlanders is what led him to fail in his mission to kill Red Jamie and to become an object of scorn subsequently. The description of “the fierce Highlanders and their bloody broadswords” was engrained in his mind. The fact that his lover, Hector, was hacked to pieces by a broadsword does not help Lord John in getting comfortable at Ardsmuir. It is because of a need that he starts interacting with Jamie Fraser, and eventually Lord John’s misconceptions about the Scottish Highlanders begin to change.

Another example is when Lord John starts inviting Jamie for dinner and chess games to get more information about the Frenchman’s Gold. Lord John was surprised when he found Jamie reading a French novel.

The fact was that he had subconsciously assumed that the other did not read, his evident education notwithstanding, merely because of Highland accent and shabby dress (Voyager, ch. 10).

It takes a while for Lord John to realize that the Scottish barbarian he thought as Red Jamie is, in fact, a refined, honorable man. Of interest is how Lord John falls in love with Jamie. There are some factors involved in the process. First, they both share similar values and refinement. Both come from “noble” families. Second, Lord John’s sexual preferences also play a role. Later books reveal that he could be killed for having an affair with another man. He is part of a minority that cannot express how he feels about love (which means he sees societal norms as unfair). Similarly, the Scottish people saw many things as unfair too after Culloden (the dismantling of the clan system and the suppression of their culture to name a few). Therefore, it is easier for Lord John to identify himself with the suppressed, in a way. However, the most important factor is that Lord John shares the feeling of despair present in Jamie. He lost Hector. Both men share the loss of a loved one.

Eventually, Jamie explains a different perspective of what Lord John did for Claire years back before the Battle of Prestonpans. Lord John was willing to reveal confidential military information not to save himself but to save Claire’s honor. He was ready to sacrifice himself to save somebody who he did not even know. In this way, he resembles Jamie, who sacrificed himself by going to prison and risking his life to benefit his family and tenants. They are both selfless.

The Fraser Prophecy

My last two posts were about the role that characters have in their lives. Frank Randall never figured out what his role in life was. However, Claire gives us certain clues. She tells Roger:

“So far as he ever felt he had a destiny – something he was really meant to do – he felt that Brianna was it”  (Voyager, ch. 7).

Based on the information provided by subsequent books, Frank was aware of the Fraser Prophecy. One wonders whether he found out that Brianna will be part of it (something that we as readers do not know yet at this stage).

Snake References

When remembering his first encounter with Jamie, Lord John compares him to a python:

. . . He had touched a great snake once, a python that a friend of his uncle’s had brought from the Indies, and that was what it had been like, Fraser’s touch, lithe and smooth and horribly powerful, . . . (Voyager, ch. 8).

This passage could be an event related to an experience that Lord John remembers in “Lord John and the Plague of Zombies.” He learned from a friend, Oliver Gwyne, a natural philosopher, that the snakes in Jamaica are not poisonous. Of interest is the fact that Jamie did not kill Lord John. Instead, he had Claire treat his broken arm and subsequently released him. Similarly, snakes, even dangerous ones, like Lord John.

Sources

Gabaldon, Diana. “Lord John and the Plague of Zombies.” A Trail of Fire. London: Orion Books. 2012. Print.

– – – . Voyager. 1994. New York: Bantam Dell. 2002. Print.