I am currently writing several Outlander posts. Of course, I will be writing about Frank in subsequent posts. This short post is only about the first chapter of Voyager. Thanks for reading!
Memory Lapses
Chapter 1 opens with the events after the Battle of Culloden. The reader for the first time in the series experiences Jamie’s point of view. He believes he is dead and in the purgatory. It takes him a few minutes to realize that he is still alive, which is not what he wanted. Once he can see clearly, he realizes that the dead body of Black Jack is on top of his. Of course, Jamie does not remember how did Black Jack end up on top. He is having a memory lapse. He will never know whether he is the one who killed Black Jack. For the reader, there are two possibilities at this stage.
- Black Jack tried to kill Jamie during the battle, but he dies before performing the deed.
- Black Jack died protecting Jamie.
Of course, eventually, the reader learns that the first option makes sense based on details revealed in subsequent books. However, the second option did cross my mind when I read Voyager for the first time (probably related to the description of Black Jack lying across Jamie’s body).
Later, once he is back at the farmhouse, Jamie realizes that Murtagh is dead. Of course, he does not remember the details, but he is aware that they will come back to haunt him, giving us a hint of what Jamie will be experiencing in subsequent books.
Lord Melton
As readers, we like Lord Melton and Lord John Grey. At this stage, we do not know much about them. However, the author gives some hints about Lord Melton in the first few pages of Voyager. When Lord Melton reveals at the farmhouse that he is there to execute the Jacobites because of treason, Duncan MacDonald declares that all of the Scottish Highlanders at that location are guilty. Of course, there is an element of pride in MacDonald’s answer, but also courage. Of note is Lord Melton’s reaction:
Melton’s face twitched in a small grimace of distaste, then settled back into impassivity. He was a slight man, with small fine bones, but carried his authority well, nonetheless.
This reaction is related to the fact that he is not pleased to kill men. Unfortunately, it is his duty to do it. At the same time, MacDonald’s reply may have sounded blunt too.
There is also the scene in which Lord Melton recognizes Fraser as “Red Jamie.” Of note, is the “criteria” he uses to recognize Jamie – a triangular scar on the throat, above the collarbone. Lord Melton tells Jamie that he is Lord John’s brother, and sends him back to Lallybroch on a carriage. Of note is the interaction between Lord Melton and Lieutenant Wallace.
- Wallace is the name of the person that Claire meets on her way to Edinburgh once she back in the eighteenth century.
- He proposes Lord Melton to shoot Jamie under another name so that Lord John and others would never realize what happened to him. Of course, Lord Melton did not agree with it since he is honorable. Furthermore, if Jamie were killed under an assumed name, it would have been difficult to find his fate in historical records.
If Lieutenant Wallace is the same person that Claire meets later, the conversation he has with Lord Melton reveals a dark side to his personality. He does not seem to be honorable as the Greys.