Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone

“‘We have to be careful,’ Bree said, with a half smile at me. ‘We’d just as soon not have Mandy singing “Twist and Shout” in church.’”

Brianna comments on the possibility of her small children stating things about the future now that they have returned to the past. This is a moment of foreshadowing as Mandy does exactly this thing when she comments that she has flushed Elspeth Cunningham down the toilet. However, Elspeth doesn’t understand Mandy’s comment and puts it down to the undisciplined behavior of a spoiled child.

“William had just thrust little Frances into Fraser’s arms and walked off. And now, for the first time, wondered why he’d done that. Lord John had been there, too, attending at the sad, tiny funeral. His own father—he could certainly have given Fanny safely into Lord John’s keeping. But he hadn’t. Hadn’t even thought of about it.”

William’s thoughts on his own actions on the day of Jane’s funeral show some of the confusion that has come to his emotional reaction to learning Jamie Fraser is his biological father. Initially, William was angry, but now it seems he has entered into a more analytical view of the situation, struggling to understand his own feelings toward the situation. It is clear that William trusts Jamie despite his low opinion of him because of his reputation, foreshadowing a moment when William will once again ask Jamie for help.

“‘I left her howling on her master’s grave,’ he said quietly.”

Jamie makes this comment when a dog suddenly appears outside his home in the middle of the night, starving and howling so as to wake up the entire house. This moment reintroduces events from the novel A Breath of Snow, where Claire was kidnapped and sexually assaulted. In another novel, Claire saw her rapist at a trading post; Jamie found out and killed the man. Jamie will express that this was the most difficult killing in his experience because it was more cold-blooded than any murder he’d ever committed, but he doesn’t regret it for Claire’s sake. This moment is a sort of redemption for Jamie, and it foreshadows a moment later in the novel when Jamie sees another dead man and believes it is a relative of this one.

“There’s quite a thin line, sometimes, between a scientist and a voyeur, and I was aware I was walking it, but Mrs. Cunningham was undeniably a mystery.”

Claire observes Elspeth Cunningham taking a bath in the creek and, in watching her, realizes that Elspeth has the same needs and wants as anyone else. While this moment is intrusive on Elspeth’s privacy, it does appear to open the door that allows for the development of an uneasy friendship between the two women. This friendship will prove to serve both women well as tensions begin to mount between the loyalists and patriots on Fraser’s Ridge.

“‘But Claire, Brianna, and the children—and them—I canna shield them, should it come close.’ He nodded toward the distant sparks, and it was clear to Roger that by ‘them’ he meant his tenants—his people.”

As Roger and Jamie discuss the war and how it is about to come close to them in the Carolinas, Jamie expresses a fear that he cannot protect the people who matter the most to him. He mentions Frank Randall’s book but not what it says about his fate. This moment not only shows the depth of Jamie’s character but also explores Jamie’s struggle with knowing he will die at the Battle of Kings Mountain.

“A flash of white, Amy’s petticoat. She lay on the ground ten feet away; there was blood on her clothes and a bear had her head in its mouth, making a low gargling noise as it worried at her.”

The death of Amy Higgins has two purposes within the plot. The first is a reminder that life in 1779 has many dangers, not just the war that is currently waging in the northern colonies. The second is the fact that her husband, Bobby, is left with three children and no wife to care for them, foreshadowing the end of the book when a wedding takes place, as the creation of family units sits at the narrative’s core.

“He put a hand on his father’s shoulder, feeling the hard bones and warmth of his body, wondering whether he would ever call him ‘Papa’ again, and turned him toward John Cinnamon.”

William is once again thrown for an emotional loop when he learns that John Cinnamon might be John Grey’s biological son. William is already struggling with the truth of his biological father. The possibility of losing his stepfather proves to be a very difficult moment for William that is filled more with grief than anger, as opposed to his reaction to the news of being related to Jamie. Not only does this open the door to exploring William’s struggles with these issues, but it also touches on the theme of Dynamics and Definition of Family, showing how not every family is not made up of strictly traditional roles.

“If I canna sand the notion that you and he were fucking me behind my back, how do ye think I can stand to think that you and I are sharing a bed wi’ him in it?”

Illustrating the theme of The Power and Lasting Impact of Love, this moment between Jamie and Claire shows the depth of Jamie’s jealousy in regard to having come back from being lost at sea to find Claire married to his friend, John Grey. However, this moment also seems to touch on something else from Jamie’s past: the torture he received at the hands of Jonathan Randall that had sexual components to it. Jamie has struggled with his memories of those events for many years, and this fight with Claire reveals that he still struggles with it, suggesting that with seeing a picture of Frank Randall and understanding how much he looks like Jonathan Randall, the memories have once again come back fresh to his mind.

“I ken very well that some here profess loyalty to the King. Ye’ll all ken that I do not. Ye’ll do as your conscience bids ye—and so will I.”

As part of his speech to Cunningham’s church congregation to begin recruiting for his militia, Jamie acknowledges the different politics held by those living on Fraser’s Ridge. This begins the split on the ridge that will lead to Cunningham attempting to arrest Jamie and getting shot in the process. This also touches on the theme of The American Revolution and Neighbor Tensions.

“Percy’s voice was husky, though John couldn’t have said with what emotion. Humor, fear, excitement, lust…? The last thought made him shake off Percy’s grasp and take a step back.”

This moment doesn’t just reintroduce Percy Wainwright to John Grey but also reveals the depth of their past relationship. Percy will prove to be a thorn in John’s side as the novel progresses, becoming a source who could potentially ruin the reputation of the Grey family. However, there is a clear emotional attachment between these two men that foreshadows Percy’s one act of kindness when he goes to William to tell him the truth about John’s kidnapping.

“‘That’s your choice, isn’t it?’ Roger continued. ‘Whether to commit your—our—militia to fight with the army—or go it alone, like Cleveland and Shelby.’”

As Jamie builds up his militia and prepares for the inevitable fight at Kings Mountain, he has to make a choice over who he might trust to have his back. Roger sums up his choice simply, foreshadowing Roger’s attempt to locate Francis Marion, a well-known patriot who has built multiple partisan bands during the course of the war, for advice. This attempt to find Marion will place Roger in the middle of the Siege of Savannah, but it also foreshadows Jamie’s eventual decision to align himself with the Overmountain men, Cleveland and Shelby.

“‘I think he’s maybe mine,’ Ian blurted. ‘The boy. He would ha’ been born about the right time, after I left.’”

Ian confesses to his wife that he believes his former wife, Emily, might have successfully borne his child after he left the Mohawk tribe. This moment is important for several reasons, beginning with the fact that he and Emily lost a child and suffered several miscarriages while together. The second reason is because it gives a valid reason for Ian to go check on Emily’s welfare after a raid on their home killed her husband. Finally, it foreshadows the moment when Emily will request Ian and Rachel to take custody of the boy to protect him from her new lover.

“He’d seen those feet and those bursten shoon before—and likewise the dead, broad face, hairy jaw slack and eyes half open, dull and sticky under their lids. Seen it covered with dirt as he filled the grave, shoveling fast lest he vomit again.”

Jamie sees the body of a murder victim and immediately makes a connection between him and the rapist he killed sometime before. This moment appears to come out of Jamie’s guilt in murdering the first man, but it becomes clear later that there truly is a connection between the two men, deepening the mystery of this man’s identity. Later, Jamie will come to the conclusion that this man is a spy, and this remains an unresolved issue that will likely be touched upon again in a later novel.

“If she was honest, though, she was less worried about the elders than about her own ability to be a good wife for a minister. So far, it had been mostly all right; she could keep Roger fed, clothed, and with a roof over his head, but beyond that…what kind of help could she give him?”

On the verge of Roger getting approved to be ordained as a Presbyterian minister, Brianna has doubts about her ability to be a good minister’s wife. While these kinds of fears are common, these ones show insight into Brianna’s character. She is the same woman who has survived sexual assault, travel through time, a battle with treasure seekers, and the kidnapping of her son. Clearly, she is a strong woman, but even strong women have insecurities.

“Jesus, what the thought of another fire will have done to him and Marsali…the little girls…He felt his blood go cold in his veins at the thought.”

After someone sets a fire at Fergus’s back door, Roger contemplates the true meaning of what has happened in relation to a past fire at Fergus’s previous print shop that killed his son, Henri-Christian. Not only does this further explore the theme of the American Revolution and neighbor tensions in the fact that it was loyalists who set the fire because of Fergus’s patriot politics, but it also touches on the cruelty of the time and the lack of compassion some had for their neighbors. Finally, it also touches on the theme of the power and lasting impact of love as it shows the depth of affection these men have for one another and their families in their outrage at the fire.

“I was looking into his face—seeing his eyes behind the spectacles. Kind. Decent. Tellin’ me things about history. And then I saw Jack Randall, sitting back behind his desk, lookin’ at me, mild and civil, like he might have been askin’ did I want sugar in my tea, but what he was asking was whether I’d rather be buggered or flogged to death.”

Jamie has a dream about Frank Randall and his ancestor Jonathan Randall that makes a connection between the two men that might be a part of his inability to trust the words Frank wrote in his book. Jamie was tortured by Jonathan Randall in the first novel, Outlander, to such a degree that he still struggles with it. While Claire knew Frank and never associated the two, the only thing Jamie knows about Frank is that he was married to Claire and was a historian; therefore, he struggles to believe Frank wouldn’t try to hurt him out of jealousy, but it is also clear that Jamie believes the entire Randall family to be evil based on the actions of one man.

“‘I do not wish to remain in Philadelphia,’ Silvia said. She’d got hold of herself and her voice was steady. ‘Since Yearly Meeting knows who I am—both by name and reputation,’ she added, with a slight note of bitterness, ‘I will find no acceptance here.’”

Another example of the difficulties of life in 1779 is the situation of Silvia Hardman. Her husband has disappeared and left her with no choice but to go into sex work to provide for her children. The church has abandoned her, so now she finds herself in an unwinnable situation. Ian shows his depth of character once again by allowing Silvia and her children to travel with him and his family, partially out of respect for Jamie’s wish that Silvia be cared for but also out of his own sense of outrage and concern for the woman and her daughters.

“‘Be with them,’ the major said quietly, but his eyes held Roger’s, deeply serious. ‘Reassure them. Tell them God is with them. That I’m with them. That they aren’t alone.’”

As Roger enters the battlefield during the Siege of Savannah, he remembers something a friend of his father’s told him. This moment not only reveals Roger’s fear and uncertainty at this moment but also allows him to reach back and grasp a memory that is both helpful and reassuring. Roger reveals bits of his character in the fact that he is frightened but also wants to be supportive to the men who are fighting this battle. Like Brianna, he suffers from insecurity, but he is able to overcome it and do what is necessary.

“William felt as though he’d been kicked in the stomach by a mule, but managed a breath.

‘Hallo, Ben,’ he said flatly.”

William has searched for his cousin Benjamin since the previous novel after learning of his death in a Continental Army prison camp. This moment brings that search to an end, but it also presents a new problem for William, who has fallen in love with Benjamin’s wife, Amaranthus. This moment also presents complications for other members of William’s family who will have to figure out a way to avoid the shame that will come to bear on the family when news that one of their own has betrayed his country is revealed.

“The men I talked to say he means to arrest you himself and take you to Ferguson—so’s Ferguson can hang you for show, I mean.”

Jamie learns that Cunningham intends to arrest him for treason, a culmination of the tensions that have arisen on the ridge since Jamie’s announcement about forming a militia. The fact that Jamie has forewarning gives him the upper hand, but it doesn’t prevent the attempt from happening. This moment not only adds tension into the novel but also touches on the theme of the American Revolution and neighbor tensions.

“Like everyone else present at the time, I’d been deeply moved by Charles Cunningham’s maiden sermon, and the story of his son’s death—and his last words. ‘I’ll see you again. In seven years.’”

As Claire and Elspeth wait together to learn the results of Cunningham’s attempt to arrest Jamie, Claire remembers these words, and they frighten her. Magic and superstition are powerful things in the time period in which Claire lives, and the last words of a dying man are taken seriously. Claire and Elspeth both believe Cunningham will not die in this fight, but there is really no way of knowing that beyond belief in these words. However, when they prove to be true, the moment gives stronger consideration to Claire’s belief that she might, as a time traveler, possess some magical skill to heal people, foreshadowing her actions on the battlefield after Jamie is shot.

“‘They’ll hang him,’ she whispered, so softly that for a moment he heard only the anguish in it, and that anguish made him go to her and put his hands on her shoulders.”

Amaranthus offers an explanation as to why she told Benjamin to fake his death, and part of it is her fear for his safety. This creates a complication for William, who is still in love with her, but her words imply that she is also still in love with Benjamin. At the same time, this moment explores the true possibility that as a traitor, Benjamin really could be hanged, providing motivation for several of the members of the Grey family in what happens next.

“Suddenly I was aware that there was something warm and round in my mouth, a metal taste, stronger than blood. I coughed, lifted my head enough to spit, and found that it was a musket ball, warm from his body.”

There has been foreshadowing throughout this novel, even going back to the earlier novels, that time travelers have certain healing qualities. Claire appears to have displayed this when she saved a stillborn infant. However, these abilities appear to be tied to a blue light, yet there is no mention of a blue light at the moment Claire finds the musket ball from Jamie’s chest wound in her mouth. Yet it happens, and the magical quality surrounding it gives strength to the idea that time travelers do possess a certain healing quality that is of a magical nature. At the same time, Claire’s refusal to allow Jamie to die illustrates the theme of the power and lasting impact of love as well as the romantic genre of the novel.