Dragonfly in Amber

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1992

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Summary

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Prologue-Part 1

Part 2, Chapters 6-11

Part 2, Chapters 12-17

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6, Chapters 36-39

Part 6, Chapters 40-46

Part 7

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

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Discussion Questions

Part 7Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 7: “Hindsight”

Part 7, Chapter 47 Summary: “Loose Ends”

Claire’s story finished, she turns to Roger and Brianna to see their reaction. Brianna becomes angry and refuses to believe it. Claire despairs, claiming she has nothing to prove her story. Roger asks if there’s a jeweler’s mark on the wedding ring Jamie gave her. Claire says she’s never taken it off. When she does, Claire is shocked to find an engraving of a line of poetry inside. Roger sees the look on her face and tells her that is proof enough for him.

Claire shows Roger a copy of his family tree and tells him that part of the tree is inaccurate. She points to a child who was born and 1744, telling him that the child born to this family died, causing the subsequent adoption of another boy who took on the same name as the dead child. The adopted child was the child of Geillis Duncan and Dougal MacKenzie. Claire continues by saying that Geillis gave her a message through Dougal before she died that included the year 1968. She believes that is when Geillis went through the stones, and that she believes Geillis is a woman named Gillian Edgars, a name she got from Fiona. She suggests they find Gillian before she goes through the stones to warn her of her fate in 1744.

Part 7, Chapter 48 Summary: “Witch-Hunt”

Claire and Roger go to the home of Gillian Edgars, but she is not there. They meet her husband, an alcoholic. Next, they go to the Institute for the Study of Highland Folklore and Antiquities, where Fiona says Gillian takes classes. They speak to a receptionist and the supervisor, Dr. McEwan. Roger sees a picture of Gillian and is disturbed by the clear resemblance between them. Claire instructs Roger to take Brianna and visit Gillian’s husband again. Roger learns that Gillian left her husband over two weeks ago and suspects she is planning to go through the stones soon. At the same time, Claire breaks into the Institute and steals Gillian’s diary, hoping it will have information that will help.

Part 7, Chapter 49 Summary: “Blessed are Those…”

Roger, Claire, and Brianna go to Craigh na Dun in the hopes of finding, and possibly stopping, Gillian Edgar. They climb to the top of the hill and find Gillian burning something. Roger figures out that she has lured her husband up there and burned him as a sacrifice to make the circle work. Gillian, dressed in period clothing, runs toward the rock circle when Claire calls out to her. Roger tries to catch her but becomes disoriented. When he regains his senses, he discovers that Gillian is gone. The following morning, Roger tells Claire that he found a reference to Jamie in one of his history books and that he did not die at Culloden.

Part 7 Analysis

Once again, touching on the theme The Wisdom of Sharing Knowledge, Claire has told her daughter and Roger her story. Brianna does not believe her; a risk Claire knew she was taking when she decided to do this. It is sad to Claire because she remembers how Frank also refused to tell Brianna, and Claire has never told anyone else. She carries this burden completely alone. However, Roger does believe her even if he struggles with some of the details.

Claire suggested early in the book that Roger had connections to Claire’s experiences in the 1740s. The reader finally learns this connection when she tells Roger that his ancestor is the child of Geillis Duncan and Dougal MacKenzie. This further draws Roger into Claire’s story. He quickly realizes it is truth when he sees a picture of the woman believed to be Geillis Duncan and sees a resemblance to himself. However, after they fail to warn Geillis of her fate, Roger is filled with resentment and decides it is time to tell Claire what really happened to Jamie.

Claire has managed to make a life for herself in the twentieth century because she believes Jamie died at Culloden and there is nothing that she could have done to stop it. She’s done quite well for herself, having a child and going to medical school to become a successful doctor in America. She has done this believing Jaime to be dead, so Roger’s announcement that Jamie did not die as she believed he did is a shock. The reader does not find out how Jamie died, but this final statement at the end of the novel sets up the next book in the series.