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 7 – Home Again
CHAPTER 35 Flight from Eden

After Jamie’s exit, Jenny helps Claire into bed. Claire makes it clear that earlier events were not all Jamie’s fault, though Jenny clearly blames him and promises to keep him away from her. Then Jenny leaves her in young Janet’s care while she goes to find her a dress. Young Janet admits that she was the one who told Laoghaire of her arrival, on Jenny’s say so, and apologizes for her role in this. Jenny finds a dress and provisions Claire to leave for what Claire believes will be the last time.

A numb Claire rides off in the general direction of Craigh na Dun, eventually needing to eat, and thinking about different types of love and about risking everything for true, honest love.

While sitting on a fallen tree, she suddenly hears footsteps and shoots up, knife in hand, to find Young Ian. He awkwardly tries to get her to return to Lallybroch, saying that Jamie sent him. She climbs on her horse and would have ridden off without hearing Ian out if he hadn’t held tight to the reins. Eventually, he gets out that Jamie and Jenny had a huge fight, and now he is dying as a result of being shot by Laoghaire.

Claire agrees to return, telling Ian that if he is lying he will regret it. As they near Lallybroch (about 3 days after Jamie was shot because they are progressing faster on the return than she did on her travels away), Claire considers whether Jamie might have shot himself in a bid to get her to return, but she dismisses the idea. She realizes that this is the second time that she has left Jamie knowing that she would never see him again and then gone back to him. And, in a similar statement as the earlier one to Ian, the chapter concludes:
“I’ll tell you one thing, Jamie Fraser,” I muttered under my breath. “If you aren’t at death’s door when I get there, you’ll live to regret it.”


- Were you surprised when the person Claire discovers in the clearing is Young Ian rather than Jamie himself? Why did you think Jamie didn’t come himself?

- Young Ian seemed younger and more awkward in this chapter than he seemed at times earlier. Admittedly, the situation is awkward and he was startled by Claire popping up with her knife when he arrived. The closeness they had been developing must have helped at least some and he got the outcome he needed, but it obviously wasn’t easy.

- What were your thoughts and feelings about Jenny in this chapter? We learn that she sent her daughter to Laoghaire. Then, we see how she facilitated Claire’s quick departure and that their leave-taking is not the warm farewell that they had when Claire left before. Not to mention her dramatic fight with Jamie that Ian describes.

- Do you think Jamie would ever consider shooting himself or some other ploy to get Claire to return to him? Do you think he would have considered sending Young Ian, or anyone else, to find her if he weren’t seriously injured (maybe thinking she’d react better to someone other than him)?

- Do you think Claire would have returned through the stones if she had reached Craigh na Dun without someone catching up to her? Clearly, she was not really rushing away and had mixed feelings (and questions about having her life to return to in the 1960s).

- The chapter title is Flight from Eden. Does Claire view Lallybroch as a paradise? Certainly she thought of it as a home she was not accustomed to having. I thought it was kind of sad that she was leaving “Eden” alone unlike Adam and Eve who had each other.

Nice summary, and very thought-provoking questions!

It was hard to like Jenny in this chapter. Although we find out more later on, it was difficult to understand why she'd chosen to handle the situation the way she did, forcing a dramatic confrontation rather than simply telling Claire the truth herself. Her motives are very foggy in this chapter, and I think Claire is in too much shock to be able to examine Jenny's actions in the moment.

I don't believe Jamie would ever consider shooting himself to get Claire to return... but if he had nothing in his way (like a pesky little gunshot wound), I'm sure he would have come riding full speed after Claire to prevent her from going through the stones. Away from Lallybroch, I think he would have been able to convince Claire to wait at least long enough to hear him out. And considering that Claire was taking her time in getting to the stones, she certainly was allowing for the possibility that Jamie would come after her.

Very good point about Lallybroch being Claire's Eden. It definitely seems like the closest thing Claire has ever had in her life, not just to a home, but also to a real family. How sad for her to feel that she'd been exiled. Do you think Claire might have acted differently if Jenny had urged her to wait a bit, rather than agreeing that she should go?

I thought it was quite touching, and said a lot about Claire's strength of character, that she left the photos of Brianna behind for Jamie. No matter how hurt and betrayed she was feeling at that moment, she recognized and honored the father-daughter connection that existed with or without her, and she couldn't deny that to Jamie.

Yes great summery audiobooklover! Lisa, I liked your prospective a lot, especially on Claire having the good character to leave the photos of Brianna when she was so angry with Jamie.

I think Jamie would most definitely go after Claire himself if he was able. I don't think he would shoot himself. If he was going to shoot him self it would have been after Culloden.

It did surprise me that Jenny would involve her daughter. I always thought that Jenny was fiercely protective of her children. I think she expected her children to always do the "right" thing.

Hmm would Claire have gone back through the stones? I think subconsciously she was expecting Jamie to stop her. But if he didn't come I think she may have but I think she would have sat at the stones for a long while before doing so.

I don't think that Claire had any intention of going back through the stones. The closer she was, the slower she went. Claire knows how well a tracker Jamie is and she could never outrun him. She did need to get away and Jenny practically pushed her out the door. You see the other side of Jenny that wasn't there before. This Jenny is mean-spirited, selfish and manipulative. It's too bad that she shoved her children into the middle of this very adult situation.

Wonderful summary and comments, everyone. Claire was distressed and took flight, but would not have traveled through the stones had she reached Craig na dun. Bravo Young Ian for taking the initiative and seeking out his aunt. He stood in for Jamie, knowing that is what he would have done himself had he physically been able to do so.

I doubt Jenny could have ever expected events to turn out so wrong. She got her wish and Claire left, but she almost lost her brother in the process. Then to think she had her daughter tell Laoghaire the news about Claire's return. Seems a bit cowardly to me. Pauline, you are right, we do get to see another side of Jenny and one that ain't pretty.

I know Jenny explains herself in a later chapter, but I'm trying to just think this through without peeking ahead. Jenny's actions make me so angry, but I'm trying to come up with an explanation that casts her in a somewhat more positive light. We know she loves Jamie heart and soul. We know that she's the one who arranged the marriage to Laoghaire in the first place. She'd watched him suffer and walk around as if only half-alive for all those years.

As far as Jenny knew, Claire was just gone, presumably dead. Now Jamie shows up with Claire, alive and well after 20 years, and offers Jenny that lame story about Claire being in France all that time? I'm trying to put myself in Jenny's shoes, and I suppose I wouldn't think too kindly of Claire. Running away after Culloden? Okay, understandable. Never coming back to find him, living in France without contacting the family, having a great couple of decades, and then suddenly coming back to disrupt things? Maybe not so understandable. To see Jamie so happy and alive again, but to feel so unsure about the woman responsible, must have been really hard for Jenny. How could she possibly believe that Claire wouldn't just run off and break Jamie's heart again?

Again, I think most of the blame has to lie with Jamie (much as it pains me to find fault with him!). He's not being honest with anyone at this point. Would Jenny have behaved differently if she knew there was more to Claire's story? Maybe not everything, but at least if she'd known that Claire had gone through a dangerous pregnancy and hid herself away all thse years to raise Jamie's child -- his only child, as far as anyone would know -- she might have felt more sympathetic. And if Jamie had been honest with Claire before indulging in a mini-honeymoon at Lallybroch, they might have found a way to face the Laoghaire problem together.

Not to mention that in Jenny's eyes and the eyes of the family, there's some serious adultery going on, and Jamie and Claire are acting like a pair of lovebirds. WE understand why and what they've been through, but Jenny certainly wouldn't.

I'm really not trying to defend Jenny. I think her actions were wrong, wrong, wrong. I'm just trying to find a little compassion toward her, because no matter how disastrous, everything she did came from a place of loving Jamie.

Thanks everyone! And, what a great discussion. Everyone makes such good points that it's fun to read.

I agree, Lisa, that mad as I was with Jenny's actions, I've tried to understand her motivation so as not to think the worst of her. And, it's true that she tries to do what she thinks is best for her beloved brother, Jamie, even if he - and we - disagree (lots of rhyming there ).

I agree that Claire left the photos because no matter what happened between her and Jamie, he was still Brianna's father and he and Brianna both deserved to have that relationship recognized and cherished. I wouldn't have expected her to be spiteful enough to take those back. And, she knows there was no doubt of his love for Bree when he saw them, despite never having met his daughter.

As a sister, I admit I don't see that much wrong with what Jenny did. She probably felt betrayed by the affection she had for Claire. After all they suffered, and the way Jamie ached for Claire, and she suddenly appears? If she really loved them, she should have been there all the time (from Jenny's POV). Not to mention her brother hasn't even mentioned his newer wife? I'd think he'd lost his mind and wouldn't make it easy for him to hide the truth. I felt all along that Jamie was very wrong not to tell Claire when she asked him in Edinburgh. (However, bursting through the bedroom door while they were intimate was a bit over the top!)

I would think Jamie would've caught up with her sooner, and would not think he'd hurt himself to get her back. Howevr, I think Jamie crafty enough to send another to ask, if he felt it necessary. Not in this case however, I am sure he would have been frantic to stop her from reaching the stones. It is nice that DG rarely takes the story where you think she would. Predictable stories are not nearly as good!

Audiobooklover, another GREAT summary as usual! I loved the questions/premises that you posed to us -- You really made me think!

And as for thinking, it was a gasp moment for me when 1) we find out Jennie sent her daughter to "warn" Leghair about Jamie & Claire's arrival; 2) when Jennie seemed so "eager" to help Claire leave; and 3) when it was Ian, not Jamie, who came after her.

I can't see Jamie shooting himself; he's much too practical. For me, in the game of life, Jennie earns -1000 points for her actions this chapter!

I saw the meaning of the chapter (Flight from Eden) in a different way.: I saw Claire as "Eve" and Jamie as her "Adam", the only man that she has only loved, and now, even though it is her decision to leave, with the way Jennie helps her leave (never saying, "Oh, please stay. You and Jamie need to talk after you both calm down.") I feel like Claire feels that she's being "cast out". She's not loved (The man she's risked EVERYTHING for already has a wife and is no where in sight); she's not wanted (Jenny, the matriarch of the family, seems quite eager to help her leave; and like Eve, she's forced to wander and fend for herself.

It seems to me that Claire is even MORE alone than Eve at this point! After Eve leaves Eden, she has Adam for support and companionship, but in Claire's case, until Young Ian comes for her,she has NO ONE to call on for love or help or support.

Awww, thanks jamie'swife.

Crafty - You're right. Certainly Jenny has a different POV. And, if he could, Jamie would have ridden after Claire like a bat out of hell to prevent her from going back through the stones and being completely inaccessible to him forever.

jamie'swife - So, do you think Claire felt cast out by Jamie himself? Or only by Jenny? I agree that she was more alone than Eve since Eve had Adam and Claire had no one. Just wondering if you think Claire felt that Jamie - her "Adam" - cast her out too.

No, I DON'T think that Claire thought Jamie cast her out. Jenny, yes. Jamie, no.

Sorry I didn't make this more clear. Ugghh! (How come it seemed so clear to me?!!!!)

I thought you were talking about Jenny, but I wasn't completely sure where Jamie fit in there, so I thought I'd ask. No worries. So, does that mean Jenny was playing the role of God to Claire's Eve by being the one to cast her out? And, I suppose that Lallybroch is Jenny's domain (and Ian's but we know who has the stronger personality there) so it would make sense for her to be the one to cast someone out. . .

I may be the only one, but I was frustrated with Claire, as well as Jenny, in this chapter. I thought it was unlike Claire to run away. I don't think she would have gone throught the stones had she reached them, and I think she wanted Jamie to come after her. (How many of us have done the same thing after a spat with our spouse...left the room hoping they would come and make everything okay??? Maybe only me! ) I think Claire needed time to think, but I don't think she would have ever left Jamie for good. It cost her everything to get back to him.

I was very angry and disappointed that Jenny didn't take the time to find out where Claire had been or why she returned before "dismissing" her from Lallybroch. I do wish that Jamie had told her about Claire and who she was early on. Jenny may not have believed him, but he should have tried, especially since he had first-hand knowledge. If that had happened though it would have changed things that come later in the books.

I do think that Lallybroch was Claire's "Eden"! It meant home and family to her, and most of all Jamie!

I agree that it wasn't like Claire to run away. But, I think she was so blindsided by everything and there was Jenny basically saying Jamie was a brute and then pushing Claire to leave and I think she was so overwhelmed that she just kind of went along with it. But, since she didn't really plan to leave, she was slow on her way toward the stones and easy to catch.

On the point about Claire running away, there was a compuserve discussion where DG said that if you looked at Claire throughout the books, you would see that she always runs away when she is confronted by an emotional upheaval. I actually did a rekilt looking for those references and really didn't see it as a pattern. There were times when she ran away, but there were also times when she ran into trouble to help someone (usually Jamie). I don't know if I could have sat around that house after what had just happened. Can you imagine how humiliated Claire must have felt? What was she supposed to do? Stay in the bedroom and wait for Jamie to return and make it all better? Go downstairs and face everyone over a cup of tea? I'd pack up and leave too.