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Thursday, June 27, 18:41:19 [ Login ] [ Contact Forum Admin ] [ Main index ] [ Post a new message ] [ Search | Check update time | Archives: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, [9] ]

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Date Posted: 07:50:19 09/09/07 Sun
Author: Karen
Subject: I think you're referring to my post on the Compuserve board yesterday. I didn't get a response from Diana but I would be happy to talk about it here (more inside >>>>>>>>>>>)
In reply to: pamelalass 's message, "Yes! that's it - a smart woman, teepe54. I always learn something from the questions you come up with! There's an interesting new post over at Compuserve about the flogging scene in BOTB and its echo of the Ardsmuir flogging. Makes me realize (again!) how each reader picks up on different elements in the story, and some analyses enrich the meaning, and the story itself, a great deal." on 04:48:30 09/09/07 Sun

Here is what I posted on Compuserve:

I was especially moved by Chapter 22 ("Shame"), where we see Lord John reliving the time he had Jamie flogged at Ardsmuir and imagining what it must have felt like. When we saw his reaction to the flogging initially, in VOYAGER, it was mostly anger (that Jamie had forced him into it) and then a stomach-churning mixture of guilt and horror. Even now, several years later, he's still torn up over it. You get the feeling that Lord John is going to feel guilty for having Jamie flogged (and ashamed of his part in it) for the rest of his life.

I'm reminded of his conversation with Brianna in DOA where he tells her the story of this incident, and she says "You can't flog yourself", and he tells her she's been doing just that for months. Here we see Lord John "flogging himself", aching with guilt and shame over what he did to Jamie. He seems to want Percy to punish him for it (when he says "Don't stop"). The dream sequence was very interesting, for what it reveals about John. He would have liked to be able to offer Jamie comfort following the flogging -- but he also imagined himself having sex with him ("mastering" him, perhaps, or just trying to show how much he loves him?) Waking, he realizes anew that this will never be possible, and is filled with shame. Very sad, and I found it especially poignant on re-reading because of what happens in that last confrontation in the stable between Lord John and Jamie. That, too, is something he'll feel guilty about for a long time afterward.

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