Voyager - By Diana Gabaldon

Please discuss Outlander, Dragonfly in Amber and Voyager ONLY in this thread. Thanks!
The SPOILER Thread can be found here.


PART 4 – The Lake District
CHAPTER 17 – Monsters Rising

Loch Ness, August 1968
We’re back to Claire, Brianna and Roger searching for Jamie. They found out about his parole to Helwater and later discovered his Royal Warrant of Pardon dated 1764. Roger and Claire (but perhaps not Brianna) realize that they are getting close to discovering where Jamie would be if Claire decides to go back since time seems to move at the same pace in both time periods.

Roger and Claire have a few other conversations, one about why short men always seem enamored of very tall women; another about how behavior between men and women is similar in the 1740s and the 1960s; and, one about the Loch Ness monster and how if there were a time portal under the water that could explain why the descriptions sometimes differ and the monster can’t be found all the time. Claire thinks the one she saw in the 18th century was a plesiosaur.

They also discuss the experience of going through the stones and Roger tells Claire for the first time that both he and Brianna heard them. The chapter ends with Claire asking Roger if he would go down there (into the Loch), if Brianna were down there. Roger replies that he thinks he would and Claire says that so would she.

- Brianna seems to be somewhat of a support player in this chapter with Claire and Roger being far more central. Perhaps that is just because Claire is, for obvious reasons, the most interested in finding Jamie, and Roger is the professional historian. Or maybe because Brianna is the youngest. Is there another reason why Brianna seems to be present, but not directly involved in much of the discussion in this chapter?

- We find out a couple of things about Brianna in relation to being Jamie’s daughter. Unlike Jamie, Brianna has a cast-iron stomach and does not get seasick. On the other hand, like Jamie she can fall asleep anywhere (here it is on the boat in the Loch). Are there other similarities and differences that you’ve noticed between Brianna and Jamie (or Claire)?

- I’ve been thinking a lot about the chapter titles during this group re-kilt. Do you think there is more to the title Monsters Rising than a reference to the discussion about an explanation for Loch Ness monster sightings? This may be convoluted, but I was thinking that the decision Claire will have to make if they succeed in finding Jamie alive in 1766 (when she would expect to arrive if she returns to the past), could be a “monster” rising. She’d have to face going through the stones again and all the fear and pain that entails. Plus, she’d have to leave Brianna and the rest of her life in the 20th century. And, she wouldn’t know exactly what she would find, or what Jamie’s life would be like at that point. So, the difficult decision (monster?) for Claire that they are getting closer to (they are only 2 years shy of finding him in 1766), is also approaching (rising?).

Great summary ABL! Funny but I am listening to Voyager and heard this very chapter this morning.

Bree is a minor player her because to the obvious - she is asleep. But also I think because the decision by Claire hasn't been solidified yet. It has dawned on Roger the implications but apparently (at least there is no indication) that Bree has realized yet that as they find Jamie, Claire could go back. I don't think either of them want to alarm her unnecessarily until the decision is final - no need to cause her undo concern yet.

Like Jamie, Bree draws attention wherever she goes - she has his presence. Roger noticed it in DiA when he first saw her. She has her father's aura and presence.

I agree with your thoughts on the title! It also strikes me that the monster is the past looming. And as you point out, the monster is the stones calling and changing lives - in some ways destroying a whole present existence. Scary thought that the future could be a mute point for Claire, Roger and Bree since they can all hear the stones. A chill passed over Claire at the knowledge that Bree heard the stones.

In terms of Bree being a supporting character, what I was thinking was that of the trio - Claire, Brianna and Roger - I would have expected a different pairing. Specifically, it seems like Claire would be closer to her daughter, Brianna, than to Roger, a man who was essentially a stranger until very recently. For Roger, I'd think he'd be more likely to hang out with the young woman in whom he has romantic interest, rather than her mother, in whom his interest would be friendship and academic interest, but not romantic. So, I thought it was a little odd that in this chapter the pairing that spent time talking was Claire and Roger.

The question was more a matter of why the author chose to write it that way (she could have left Brianna awake, after all). On a practical level, it could be that at that point, Claire and Roger "spoke" to DG more easily. I know she's said that Bree was a tough nut to crack, so perhaps at that point, it was easier to limit her part in the conversations.

I see what you are saying. I also think it conveys at this point Brianna's level of interest and her realization or lack there of for what this could mean to her - she might actually be able to meet her father! That hasn't clicked yet. Also, she is young, imo, and thinks of Frank as her father (as he truly was in all the real ways) but this Jamie person is still very mythical. Roger on the other hand, as you point out, is a historian and is far more fascinated in the implications of finding Jamie than Bree seems to be. As I said, he understands what this means - Claire could go back, whereas Bree hasn't come to that realization yet.

Also, I think in some ways, it is probably easier to talk to Roger about things because he doesn't have a stake in it as Brianna does. He did know Frank but has no attachment to him so he has less invested in either man. Bree is at this point, her father, Frank's, daughter.

Finally, Roger seems to accept Claire's story more willingly than Brianna did so Claire may be more comfortable talking to him about it.

Tink, but to take it one step further, I think that both Roger and Claire understand the implication of their research -- that Claire intends to go back and find Jamie. He's trying to tell her that he and Brianna hear the stones, effectively telling her that they (or Brianna) could go through the stones with her on this quest. The two of them are having a silent conversation , IMO, around Brianna. I think that if Brianna was fully awake, she's the type of person who would have called them both out on this. They both know that Claire is going back, they don't know what will happen to the wild card, Brianna.

Great summary and the reference to the "monster" rising and all the meanings it could have, ABL. The great unknown (will she or won't she go back, if they find Jamie), the "wild card" of Bree and her reaction (cool, Pauline!) are all possibilities! Bree's ability to hear the stones, as Tink mentioned, and I had never really thought about before reading it, was something Claire had never really contemplated, was it? It's great to find all the nuances in the story...and if it shocked her that Bree could hear them, it must have really shocked her to think that Roger could, too.

Bree's similarities to Claire and Jamie are interesting. Her sheer physical presence and everyone's immediate desire to be around her, like the guy at the boat rental shop, is so Jamie. She soaks in the attention and stays true to herself. Her ability to speak her mind, without hesitation, is sort of like both Jamie and Claire. I loved the conversation Bree and Roger shared about short men and tall men - having been around both all my life (and loved both to pieces) it's fun to apply it to personalities of people I've known in the past. Another one of DG's enjoyable anecdotes!

This chapter is so exciting as it leads so close, yet so far from Claire finally finding Jamie.