This post is basically an addendum to my last one, Malva’s Mother and her Sister-in-Law Part 1, in which I speculated about Mona’s background, and the possibility of her being from the Scottish Highlands.
The charm of finger bones that Malva used in her efforts to capture Jamie’s attention seems to be associated with the Scottish Highlands. Jamie mentions to Brianna when encountering this charm that “there’s the smell of the Highlands about this. . . (A Breath of Snow and Ashes, ch. 49). Mrs. Bug subsequently explains that it is a lover charm called the “Venom o’ the North Wind,” and that is known well enough to be used by even the fisher-folk (A Breath of Snow and Ashes, ch. 49). If the notion of the “four airts” and the Cherokee shamanistic system are taken into consideration, the charm basically symbolizes trouble and it foreshadows what is coming for Jamie, Claire, Roger and Brianna (North=blue=trouble, defeat).
Here is a copy of the shamanistic chart that I used in a former post, White Animals and the King of Ireland. All the bibliographical references associated with this chart are detailed in that post.
Malva’s choice of using this specific charm associated with the Highland tradition and even connected to the notion of the “four airts” could be an indication of her mother’s background. Furthermore, the word “venom” is indicative of Malva’s plans and nature.
Works cited
Gabaldon, Diana. A Breath of Snow and Ashes. 2005. New York: Bantam Dell. 2006. Print.