The seer Maisri is a fascinating character in Dragonfly in Amber because of her attributes and skills. She can read faces, and is not scared of Claire being a White Lady. In fact, she is interested in Claire. Her physical characteristics are unique. She is tall with long legs and feet. Claire describes her limbs as storklike and cranelike. Claire relates:
. . . She had a most intriguing face, slightly asymmetrical, like a Modigliani painting, and long black hair that flowed loose around her shoulders, streaked with white, though she was plainly still young. A seer, hm? I thought she looked the part. (ch. 41)
Overall, Maisri’s looks are unusual. Tall height and lean, long legs are not common characteristics of the typical female body. Of course, there is a certain level of asymmetry in everybody’s faces. However, asymmetry (can be read as “imperfection”) is juxtaposed with art in the above passage, which means that Maisri has an “odd” beauty (even though “exotic” might qualify too). Here is the description of Maisri when Claire sees her for the first time:
. . . The bundled figure raised its head, and I saw an odd, angularly pretty face, dark eyes wide over the red blotch deepening on her cheekbone. . . She was very tall and extremely thin, and moved with the strange, half-clumsy grace of a crane, . . . (ch. 40)
Oddness is a characteristic that Maisri shares with Claire. It is also associated with white color symbolism: Symbolism of Claire’s Color. Therefore, both women are perceived as different and unusual by others. Furthermore, one cannot forget Lord John’s description of the white-silver deer that frequents William’s plantation in Virginia: “a sight of rare beauty” (An Echo in the Bone, ch. 95).
Maisri’s comments about having the “sight” are emphatic of this “gift” being a curse.
“Why! Why can I see what will happen, when there’s no mortal thing I can be doin’ to change it or stop it? What’s the good of a gift like that? It’s no a gift, come to that – it’s a damn curse, though I havena done anything to be cursed like this!” (ch. 41)
This passage is a hint that the past cannot be changed and that Culloden will happen. Throughout book 2, Jamie and Claire have risked their lives to stop a significant historical event, but their efforts are futile. Other characters, such as Otter-Tooth and Geillis, have attempted to change the past only to lose their lives in the process. In later books, Claire meets Benedict Arnold, and she likes him as a person. However, she most likely will not be able to stop him from betraying the Americans. Knowledge is power but also a curse. Of course, later books reveal that small changes can be made, especially when secondary characters are saved from dying by a healer. For example, Duncan Innes used to have a cleft lip as a newborn. If it were not for a “healer,” he would have died of malnourishment. Maisri gives another instance: she saved somebody from drowning by telling what she saw to this person’s in-law (ch. 41). Maisri’s comments about having the “sight” bring to mind Roger MacKenzie’s internal musings about predestination and free will. As a seer, Maisri can tell people what will happen and even their deaths. It is their role to do something about it, if possible. As a result, there is a combination of both predestination and choice. Claire summarizes this notion:
Doom, or save. That I cannot do. For I have no power beyond that of knowledge, no ability to bend others to my will, no way to stop them doing what they will. There is only me (ch. 41).
This passage is Claire’s thoughts after she asked Maisri what she is seeing. Maisri only sees Claire. Overall, it is possible to make small-scale changes in the past because it involves the decision of few. However, in regards to major historical events, one person cannot persuade several people to change their minds. There are many factors at play.
Claire and Maisri share other similarities besides oddness and knowledge of the future. Both have a face that gives away what they are thinking. Maisri relates:
“. . . He knows, ye ken; he sees it in my face when I’ve had the Sight. But that’s the only power I’ve got; the power not to say” (ch. 41).
Because of hiding information, Lord Lovat beats her. Maisri reveals that she will tell Lord Lovat his fate, but it will be he to make the choice.
Sources
Gabaldon, Diana. An Echo in the Bone. 2009. New York: Bantam Dell. 2011. Print.
– – – . Dragonfly in Amber. New York: Bantam Dell, 1993. Print.
Artwork used is in the public domain. Refer to the following link in regards to licensing.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Amedeo_Modigliani_-_Alice_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg#filehistory