I haven’t read the books (yet), so I was wondering something. Does Frank cause a problem between Bree and Jamie at all? In my mind it would, because he saw her grow up and would have had an affect on her as a person.
I think that question could vary depending on the how the reader interprets the text. It is of my opinion that he is a wee bit of a problem between the two. Here’s why:
Brianna: Fronk is the man that raised her. He is the man that provided for her: put food on her table, took care of her after school while Claire was in medical school, taught her how to shoot a gun, ride a horse, etc. For twenty years, Fronk Randall was the main father figure in Brianna’s life. She bonded with Fronk in a way that she didn’t with Claire because Claire even states herself in the text that she wasn’t as able to let go of the past was, even for Bree’s sake. Fronk was able to kind of close the door on the past and just see towards the future, for the sake of the child. It was a double edged sword for Claire because Brianna was a daily living reminder of Jamie Fraser and Claire had to pretend that that time in her life essentially never existed. So with all of that to say, Brianna and Fronk had a special relationship, and now in her young adult life she gets told that the man she thought was her father isn’t really her father and that her biological father is really a man from the eighteenth century. It’s a massive pill to swallow and while Fronk and Claire might not have gotten along so well, F/B did. I think Brianna struggles internally with how to accept Jamie Fraser and his role in her life, when for so long he merely didn’t exist to her and then when she did learn the truth he was just a man in a history textbook. When she sees him in the living and breathing flesh it creates a new dynamic for her character: how do I respect the father figure who raised me who loved me as his own in a balance of opening myself to my real father who gave up everything so that I could live? She’ll struggle in a way to learn how to love and accept both men, her relationship with them, and how make room for both of them in her heart, as her mother did.
Jamie: In essence it’s almost the same for Jamie. Jamie Fraser sent the love of his life and his unborn child, back to the future, so that they could live. JAMMF Is a prideful man, and all he wanted in life was to love a woman and raise a family, something he was continually stripped of. I honestly think his biggest sacrifice in life was sending Claire and Brianna back to the future: I mean this in the sense, all Jamie wanted to do was provide for his wife and child, and he couldn’t do that- his ultimate sacrifice as a man was to give that duty to another man. In many ways, I think Jamie is jealous of Fronk- there’s a sentence in DOA where Jamie says something along the lines of “I am not a jealous man, nor one of a dead man!” or similar. Fronk had the keeping of 20 precious years with Jamie’s heart and soul. Fronk left an impression on his daughter, a mark, there’s no doubt in his mind. Jamie is going to struggle on how to figure out who his child is as an adult, and respecting the impression Fronk had on her. I mean, in many ways had Jamie raised Brianna, parts of her personality and views on life would probably be different. So Jamie is going to have to be faced with these choices.
It might not be very spoken of between the two, but there’s an underlying discourse of the affects of Frank Randall between all three character: Claire, Jamie and Brianna. It will be interesting to see how the show handles it. (I hope you read the books, they are so worth it!)
