Voyager: One More Romance Novel Post (and a bit of Metafiction)

After the mini-romance novel scenario in Chapter 14, Chapter 15 reinforces the point by finding Jamie reading the 18th Century equivalent:

My lips, which I threw in his way, so as that he could not escape kissing them, fix’d, fir’d and embolden’d him: and now, glancing my eyes towards that part of his dress which cover’d the essential object of enjoyment, I plainly discover’d the swell and commotion there; and as I was now too far advanc’d to stop in so fair a way, and was indeed no longer able to contain myself, or wait the slower progress of his maiden bashfulness, I stole my hand upon his thighs, down one of which I could both see and feel a stiff hard body, confin’d by his breeches, that my fingers could discover no end to. (qtd in Voyager 219)

Except that arguably the novel he is reading, Fanny Hill or Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure by John Cleland, is not a romance novel at all, but erotica.  On the one hand, it does dramatize the circumstances in which a young orphan from the country might land herself in the position of prostitute or kept woman in London, but it is dramatized in such a way as to titillate the reader with the spectacle of Fanny's "education" and desires rather than to underscore the social circumstances or her moral downfall.  Though I have not read to the end of my copyright-free Kindle edition, I suspect that there is no "awakening conscience," unlike William Holman Hunt's much later painting, or if there is, it is only meant to redeem the novel in some small way.

So what does the inclusion of this novel excerpt contribute to the conversation on genre? Because certainly that is why it is there.  The argument seems to be, first of all, for anyone who might be wondering whether the sexual practices discussed or enacted by the characters in the Outlander series were well-known during the 18th Century, that yes, everything that the characters do and discuss is historically appropriate.  So okay, most people would probably assume that sexual positions and acts are as old as the hills anyway.  I've read The Symposium.  And I've seen a fair sampling of Greek kylix (okay, one is Etruscan--and these are TAME).

 But there might be a legitimate question about inhibitions and whatnot--likely based more on stereotyped views of the 19th century.  There are countless rape narratives (including Pamela) from the 17th and 18th centuries.  Some are called "marriage plays" (proto-Romance novels?).  In many ways, Mrs. Bennett and Lydia in Pride and Prejudice represent the old way of getting husbands in literature, while Jane and Lizzie represent the post-Romantic movement way.  So Jamie's reading material, which offers him some variation from Defoe and Fielding, proves that erotica was a familiar genre for the time period,  and that depictions of sexuality in literature go way back.  In a way, this gives some validation to the frank depictions of sexuality in the Outlander novels.  However, if the reader goes a little bit further and actually investigates the 18th Century erotica in question, a contrast becomes apparent.  Fanny Hill exists for titillation.  The Outlander books do not have titillation as their primary purpose, though certainly scenes may titillate.  (I think that's the word of the day.  Use it whenever appropriate.)

So once again, the reader is asked to think about literature generally (or generically!) based on a scene or a literary reference or a quote in the text (and in case you were wondering, it's all about literacy) for the purpose of coming to (predetermined?) conclusions about the genre of Gabaldon's books (or at least, what they are not--too long, romance novels, or erotica).  So really, if the reader is open to it, Voyager is asking the reader to engage with questions that a reader does not always consider apart from the bookstore or the odd Amazon.com review--perhaps encouraging a more analytical reader.

Gabaldon, Diana (2004-10-26). Voyager (Outlander) Random House, Inc.. Kindle Edition.