The Road To Hell is Paved with Good Intentions Ep 138
Drums of Autumn
Chapters 45-46
Week 24
“The Road to Hell is Paved with Good Intentions”
*****Warning: There is a discussion about rape during this podcast. I have notated the time where it occurs in the podcast below.*****
Summary:
Brianna is pregnant. She doesn’t know who the father is. The pirate raped her days after being hand-fasted to Roger. She recovered Claire’s gold wedding ring. Roger is near Fraser’s Ridge. His horse and supplies were stolen. He was on foot without a weapon. He is met in the clearing by two men. A case of mistaken identity will possibly prove deadly. (:45)
Inside the Chapters:
Chapter 45
Fifty-Fifty
Brianna and Claire were foraging in the woods. Claire was also teaching Brianna important landmarks not altered by the seasons. Claire watched Brianna and wondered what was causing her inner turmoil. This was a planned trip into the forest so that Claire could get Brianna alone. The cabin was full of people coming and going. Claire found the perfect time to ask Brianna what was on her mind. She could still read Brianna’s mind and asked her how pregnant she was. She was two months pregnant. As she looked into Brianna’s eyes, she could see the child within all grown up and relieved to share the burden. The thought of Roger startled Claire then she told Brianna she had to go back through the stones. Brianna was confused. Going through the stones was a terrible thing (p 765, Nook). Brianna is worried she cannot go to the right time with Roger in the 18th century. Claire was adamant about them all guessing how the stones worked (p765, Nook). Claire realized Brianna had already thought about going back. There might be another way, Hispaniola – Abandawe. Claire explained why she had been to the cave. Claire thought she could feel Geillis’ gaze upon her sometimes. Claire asked how Brianna got pregnant (p767), Nook). At the core of Brianna’s worries, was how Jamie would react to her pregnancy. Claire reassured her it would be okay and there was still time to find Roger. Then Brianna dropped a bombshell. She said the baby wasn’t Roger’s. (8:00)
On that interesting note, Brianna pulled something from her pocket and handed it to Claire (p769, Nook). That was a game changer. She hadn’t planned on telling them after hearing about the robbery on the river by Bonnet. She told Claire the story even though she didn’t want to. She recalled how she went to the Gloriana during the day thinking it would be safer. Bonnet was fresh-shaven, but his clothes were dirty and been worn since the day prior. He paid her a compliment about her looks. She immediately asks about the ring and if he would sell it to her because it reminds her of a ring her mother had. He was a big man and hid something behind his eyes when she asked where he got the ring. He took her by the hand and led her to his cabin. (9:15)
He offered her brandy and claimed the ring was a love token. Bree is relieved to know her mother is alive and well. Bonnet has a different payment in mind for the ring (p771, Nook) (10:20). Brianna fights back, he slaps her hard and forces her to her knees. She nearly vomits as he forcibly presents her with his unwashed penis. He forced her to perform oral sex with threats and grabbing her hard. He suddenly pushed her away, causing her to stumble and spit. He wasn’t done with her yet. He grabbed her, kissed her, and roamed below her waist. She butted him in the face with her head and ran out of the room. The cook tripped her giving Bonnet time to reach her. Back to his cabin they went. She told her mother she stopped fighting after that. Except in her mind, she still fought. When someone is raped or sexually assaulted there are several common reactions that can occur, Bree seems to be experiencing some of them. It only took a couple of minutes, and it was over, along with his humming. She was frozen in place, then he rolled off her, leaving her dazed. He made a comment that tells us he doesn’t think he did anything wrong. He told her the ring was on the desk, as was money. She is affronted he is offering to pay her. He told her to help herself to what was on the desk because she was worth it and promptly left. Her hands shook preventing her from picking up the ring from the bowl, so she poured the contents into her pocket, and walked out. (16:00)
Let’s take a breath for a moment. Brianna tried to be safe but she was unable to prevent what took place. Even if she would have had a weapon, he was stronger and bigger than her. She couldn’t have stopped him. This is an all too common reality for many women.
Brianna had tried to pretend it didn’t happen. It had been two days since she had sex with Roger multiple times. They used the withdrawal (coitus interruptus) method. Claire said people who used that method were called parents. Properly used, withdrawal is as about as effective as condom use, BUT that is if the timing of the male partner is perfect, he ejaculates away from her genitals and washes the head of his penis before another each encounter. Did Roger wash off his penis between the several encounters? (20:20)
Brianna is traumatized by the rape. She is worried about Roger not returning. She is worried about who the father is. She didn’t have the best entrance into sexual activity given the fight she and Roger had afterward, then the rape only two days later. (21:30)
Chapter 46
Comes a Stranger
Roger was in fact, on his way to Fraser’s Ridge. He stopped for a drink of water at a spring. He was annoyed because his horse, gun, a bit of food, and water had been stolen. His clothes were a mess, and he was not clean shaven because the razor had been in his saddlebag. He was only worried about what Brianna thought of him. Claire and Jamie were not on his radar of concern. He hoped she would forgive his betrayal of not telling her about the death notice. His thoughts ran wild (p778, Nook). Roger was temporarily removed from his thoughts by birds’ dive bombing him. He had ventured too close to a nest. He hoped the encounter with the ravens was not a bad omen as Scot’s folklore depicts. He then thought about how exciting it was here, seeing history firsthand. Only for Brianna did he have regret. He placed a hand over his pocket; he had stolen two gems from Stephen Bonnet. Of course, he didn’t know those had been stolen from Claire and Jamie by Bonnet. They had taken them from Geillis Duncan after saving Young Ian at Abandawe. The girl at the mill told him he would reach Fraser’s Ridge by sundown. His thoughts pestered him again (p779, Nook). He reached the spot as it was described. His stolen horse was there. A young man had come into view with Roger’s gun in hand. Poor Roger. There was another man in the clearing who looked familiarly like Brianna and how Claire described him. It was Jamie Fraser in all his size and fierceness (p781, Nook). Roger was confused and alarmed. What had Jamie been told about him? Roger claimed to come for his wife. The situation escalated as Young Ian weighed in with a gun in hand. Jamie asked for the truth (p782, Nook). It has gone from bad to worse for Roger. It seemed Jamie was trying to kill him. Roger fought back (p783, Nook). They continued to brawl. Jamie was besting Roger. He tried to get Jamie to stop but he wouldn’t. Roger believed he was going to die before he was born. (29:45)
It seems Jamie is working out more than anger about Brianna on Roger. His rape perhaps. Since Brianna and Claire had told Jamie Roger’s last name was Wakefield, MacKenzie was a whole different person according to Lizzie. What a horrific mess. This is one of Jamie’s biggest mistakes in all the books in my opinion. He acted without talking to Brianna or Claire. He reacted instead of making sure he had full and true information. It is a prime example of how clear communication matters. (30:30)
Brianna’s good intention to get the ring back brought a hellish nightmare to her in the form of Stephen Bonnet. Jamie’s desire to protect his daughter placed Roger in hell. Jamie’s actions also continued Brianna’s living hell of Roger not returning. The ramifications will go far and wide. (31:00)
What’s Coming up? Chapters 47-48 Drums of Autumn (DOA).
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The Outlander book series is written by Diana Gabaldon. You can find her on Twitter and Facebook
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