Written in My Own Heart's Blood

“He felt suddenly as though he’d broken through a crust of frozen snow and plunged straight down into an unsuspected river beneath [...] helpless, voiceless, a feral chill clawing at his heart.”

This simile describes William’s feelings of losing control over his life and his identity after discovering he is the son of Jamie Fraser. William’s sense of identity is rooted deeply in his presumed lineage, and when that is stripped away, he metaphorically drowns in the deception that has been practiced against him since he was born.

“A tide in the affairs of men”

The title of this chapter is taken from William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. In this metaphor, Brutus means that the key to success in life lies understanding the motivations that move the affairs of men and seize the opportunities offered. In this chapter, it is the arrival of George Washington’s army that is the tide; Jamie takes the opportunity to meet with Washington and subsequently is commissioned as a general.

“His Grace woke up in the morning red-eyed as a ferret and in roughly the same temper as a rabid badger. Had I a tranquilizing dart, I would have shot him with it without an instant's hesitation.”

In this animal imagery, Gabaldon compares the Duke of Pardloe to both a ferret and a badger, both animals that are normally docile, but also have vile tempers when threatened. The Duke is normally a courteous man, but he was up late with Claire the night before and unbeknownst to him, the cathartic smoke he inhaled all night was cannabis. His resulting hangover and lack of sleep has put him into a temper.

“His father had always been quite open regarding matters of sex [...]”

When William thought of how open his father is about sex is dramatic irony. John is not open at all regarding his own sexuality, and William is still in the dark regarding other secrets that his stepfather keeps from him.

“Ever think a whore has a sense of honor, too?”

Jane’s whisper to William is in response to his assertion that the only honor he has left is his word, which he abandoned when he had sex with her. This seems childish compared to her life; the only honor she ever has is to abide by the contract she makes when he purchases her sexual services.

“I found the rooted silence, rushing stream, and rustling leaves balm to the spirit.”

The sound imagery in this quote elicits a feeling of peace, aided by the sibilance in the sentence. The repeated “s” sounds are alliterative and recall the sound of a quiet stream. Claire finds a sense of needed serenity by the stream, away from the chaos of the Chestnut Street House and impending war.

“‘Thy life’s journey lies along its own path, Ian,’ she said, ‘and I cannot share thy journey—but I can walk beside thee. And I will.’”

Rachel echoes the tenets of the Quaker faith, particularly belief in accepting and respecting each individual's uniqueness, when she reassures Ian that she does not judge him for the violent side of his nature. Her statement supports the theme of duty, as Ian’s duty is towards the Continental Army, but her duty lies in adhering to the Quaker faith.

“‘You mustn’t hit him again, Grand-père,’ Germain said earnestly, breaking the silence. ‘He’s a very good man, and I’m sure he won’t take Grannie to bed anymore, now that you’re home to do it.’”

Germain is frequently a jester when the adults are at odds with each other. His irreverent remark about John sleeping with Claire is meant to break the tension when Jamie encounters John in their tent with Claire. Germain’s remark is also meant to soften Jamie’s anger towards himself for defying Jamie’s orders and running away to war.

“Ye always carry your women wi ye into battle, Ian Og. They're the root of your strength, man.”

Although Ian thinks of Brianna when he puts on the war paint, he doesn’t think it’s appropriate to bring Brianna into his battle thoughts, and especially doesn’t believe that Rachel, being a Quaker, has any place in those thoughts either. Jamie’s reassurance that women are the strength behind men helps Ian to reconcile his need for the women he loves to be with him when he goes into battle.

“William wished he could stop reaching for things that weren’t there.”

The concrete items that William is reaching for - dagger, pistols, sword - are symbols of his role as a warrior, as well as representing his officer commission and status in British society. When he reaches for things that aren’t there any longer, he is reaching for his past identity, now out of reach due to his new status as the illegitimate son of a Jacobite traitor.

“‘Brave' covers everything from complete insanity and bloody disregard of other people's lives—generals tend to go in for that sort - to drunkenness, foolhardiness, and outright idiocy— to the sort of thing that will make a man sweat and tremble and throw up . . . and go and do what he thinks he has to do anyway.”

Claire’s comment about bravery, meant to reassure Denny, addresses the theme of duty as well. Claire’s point is that men like Jamie, whom Denny considers brave, are products of a worldview that men were created to be responsible for other people. When they are being brave, they are fulfilling their duty, much as Denny does when he adheres to his Quaker faith.

“‘Oh ma’am, it was just wonderful!’

‘Wonderful’ I echoed dutifully, catching a trickle of blood that threatened to run into his eye. The shadows of the tombstones in the graveyard stretched out long and violet, and the sound of the flies buzzed in my ears, louder that the ringing of the shots that still came – were coming closer – to the barrier of the dead.”

Gabaldon juxtaposes a soldier’s jubilation at the chaos and violence of war with Claire’s more realistic viewpoint. While the soldier is still caught up in what he feels is an uplifting victory, he is unmindful of the death images that surround him; blood, tombstones, and flies that swarm around the triage tent.

“‘Dorothea is a Grey,’ he pointed out. ‘Any member of her family would pause on the gallows to exchange witty banter with the hangman before graciously putting the noose about his neck with his own hands.’”

Denny’s comment reflects Dorothea’s ability to remain charming and wryly humorous in the most dangerous of situations. This is a family trait with the Grey family and characterizes John and Hal as well. Only William seems to have not inherited the art of witty repartee while threatened, further illustrating his similarity to Jamie.

“[....] the violence and agitation that attended fighting didn’t simply stop when the fighting did. And it wasn’t only deserters and scavengers who looted, raped, and hunted among the hapless sheep.”

William, who once viewed war as an opportunity for advancement and glory, now realizes that even the “good guys” devolve into metaphorical wolves in war, and the metaphor that compares Jane and Fanny to sheep demonstrates their vulnerability to all men in this environment.

“Thee is a rooster, William, [...] I saw this in thee before, but now I know it for certain.”

When Rachel tells William that he is a rooster, he assumes she means he is vain and gaudy. However, she means he has courage and will jump into a fray, regardless of the danger, to protect those he loves. Rachel’s opinion of William is important to him because he holds her in such high esteem.

“Would I not exist if we hadn’t come to find your wee lad, I mean?”

Buck, in his own way, is questioning the existence of the predestination paradox, which states that the past cannot be changed. When a time traveler causes change in the past, he becomes part of those past events and the changes do not affect the future. Based on this theory, if Roger and Buck had not gone to 1739, then they wouldn’t have told Dougal MacKenzie about Geillis, and Dougal would never have met her, thus negating Buck’s existence.

“Miracles only happen once too [...] That’s why all bairns are different.”

Jamie’s comment is in reference to Henri-Christian’s dwarfism. Claire explains that Henri’s condition is a sort of accident, but Jamie disagrees. His comparison of Henri’s birth to a miracle reveals his deep love for all his progeny as well as his protective nature towards those who are most vulnerable in colonial society.

“I think he’s only worn out from the pain, aye? Sometimes ye canna be bothered to put up with it anymore, but ye’re no ready to die, so ye just drift away for a bit.”

Jamie’s recognition of the pain Tench is experiencing allows him to empathize. At the same time, Claire is paralyzed by her own empathy; she cannot employ the ruthlessness she needs for surgery because she now knows intimately how intrusively painful surgery is.

“The wine could wait, and any surgeon dances with death routinely. The problem was that I’d forgotten the steps [...]”

The metaphor for surgery as a dance is supported by Gabaldon’s imagery of the room where Claire is preparing to amputate Tench’s leg. The candles create a romantic glow, but Claire is filled with panic because she no longer remembers the steps, or how to perform the surgery, after being shot.

“A trained surgeon is also a potential killer, and an important bit of the training lies in accepting the fact [...] you are laying violent hands on someone [...] and sometimes the person under your hands will die, and knowing that . . . you do it anyway.”

Claire’s assertion that surgeons are killers reveals a necessary hubris for medical practitioners. When Claire no longer can summon the detachment needed to operate, however, she loses the arrogance that allows her to ruthlessly cut into her patients to save their lives.

“And the shell of fear cracked like an egg and everything inside me poured out like blood and water mingled […]”

The metaphor which compares Claire’s crisis to an egg represents Claire’s apotheosis. When she releases the fear from the rape and her injury; she relinquishes her need to control all aspects of her world. Her resulting tears lift her mental oppression and allow her to see that her life is not meaningless, but full of meaning for those who love her.

“...I suppose men can make all the laws they like [...] but God made hope. The stars willna burn out.”

Jamie responds to Claire’s explanation of entropy by resorting to faith. His assertion that regardless of what men believe, the stars continue on helps Claire confront her existential crisis; rather than believe that life is meaningless, she accepts that the meaning of life defies human understanding.

“Ye lost your parents young, mo nighean donn, and wandered about the world, rootless. Ye loved Frank [...] and of course ye love Brianna and Roger Mac and the weans … but, Sassenach—I am the true home of your heart, and I know that.”

Jamie’s metaphor compares his love for Claire to home, a poignant comparison given that Claire has never known a real home due to losing her parents and traveling with her uncle for most of her life. Returning to Fraser’s Ridge with Jamie, Claire now has both the metaphorical and concrete home that she yearns for.