In Voyager, the narrator in the prologue expresses a fear of stepping onto puddles. Of course, at this stage, it is not clear who the narrator could be. There are two possibilities: Claire or Brianna. I tend to suspect it is Claire. The prologue also brings to mind the notion of time-traveling and different, parallel worlds. There is the concept that the past and the present co-exist at the same time. The description of the puddle lacking depth might be a reference to time-traveling, most likely “the space between” the different worlds, “the void.”
I believed it was an opening into some fathomless space.
It seems what is terrifying is getting stuck in that space unable to find an exit, and whatever entity or entities reside in there. In fact, the narrator describes a fearful being in the puddle with scales and sharp teeth. It might be a reference to the entity at Abandawe. Overall, it is safer to enter the other parallel world than to stay in “the space between.” In later books, Roger reminisces about the time-traveling event that took his family from the past to the twentieth century. Jemmy remembers it and has nightmares about the “void.”
Of interest is the narrator’s use of the stars for navigation.
The only time I would dare to walk through a puddle was at twilight, when the evening stars came out. . . . – for if I should fall into the puddle and onto space, I could grab hold of the star as I passed, and be safe.
This passage foreshadows the voyage that Claire and Jamie will make across the Atlantic to get to the New World. However, it is also a reference to the mental image of a loved one, which guides a time-traveler in arriving at the proper time. After the witch trial in Outlander and upon knowing Claire’s origins, Jamie decides to send her back to the twentieth century. Claire sees a light in the void, and Frank in it.
. . . Yet when I had begun to pass into the realm of chaos this time, I had been thinking of Frank. And I had felt him, I was sure of it. Somewhere in the void had been a tiny pinprick of light, and he was in it. I knew. I knew also that there had been another point of light, one that sat still beside me, staring at the stone, cheeks gleaming with sweat in spite of the chill of the day (ch. 25).
The lights refer to Claire’s husbands. They are the guides that lead her out of the void into the parallel worlds.
Sources
Gabaldon, Diana. Outlander. New York: Bantam Books, 1991. Print.
– – – . Voyager. 1994. New York: Bantam Dell. 2002. Print
I absolutely love your posts and always find them very insightful. I am always learning new things when I read your blog. Love your thoughts regarding the stats and showing the link to when Claire saw Frank as a pinprick of light. Such a fabulous association as well as the constant connection to Jamie. Fabulous thoughts that I’ve never considered before.
Thank you!
Thanks for reading my posts! I decided to write about Outlander to discuss certain aspects of the series in detail and to provoke thought with my speculations.