Maisri is a Seer in residence at Beaufort Castle at the behest of Simon Fraser, Lord Lovat.
Personal History[]
Maisri had the Sight (the ability to foresee the future) from the time she was born. It is unclear where she came from and how she came to be employed by Lord Lovat.
As of 1765, Maisri was still alive; Jenny Murray spoke to her after Jamie Fraser wed Laoghaire MacKenzie, and told her she had seen a fetch of Claire Fraser at the wedding.[1]
Events of the Novels[]
Dragonfly in Amber[]
In 1745, Jamie and Claire arrive at Castle Beaufort to ask Lord Lovat to commit his clan to the Jacobite cause. Lord Lovat consults her to help come to a decision, but she refuses to tell him what she can see of the future and he throws her out into the hallway.
Personality[]
Though she is confined to serving Lord Lovat as his personal Seer, Maisri sometimes exercises her ability to choose the only way she can – by not telling Lovat what she has seen. She is kind and thoughtful, and wonders why she, of all people, has the ability, and what she might be meant to do with it.
Physical Appearance[]
Maisri is tall and extremely thin with an odd, angularly pretty face,[2] which Claire describes as being slightly asymmetrical "like a Modigliani painting". She has long black hair streaked with white, though she is still young, and intelligent dark brown eyes.[3]
Name[]
- Maisri is the name of the heroine in Child Ballad 65 (typically spelled "Maisry"); some variations of the ballad name her Margery or Marjorie, suggesting that the name Maisry may be related to other Scottish names like Marsaili, [4] Maisie,[5] and Mairead,[6] which are all related to the name Margaret, from Greek μαργαριτης (margarites) meaning "pearl".[7]
Trivia[]
- Maisri has a vision of Lord Lovat's death: "He was standing there before the fire, but it was daylight, and clear to see. A man stood behind him, still as a tree, and his face covered in black. And across his Lordship's face there fell the shadow of an ax."[3]
TV Series[]
Actress Maureen Beattie portrays Maisri in the STARZ Outlander television series.
Appearances[]
References[]
- ↑ Drums of Autumn, chapter 34
- ↑ Dragonfly in Amber, chapter 40
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Dragonfly in Amber, chapter 41
- ↑ Behind the Name: Marsaili. Accessed 12 June 2016
- ↑ Behind the Name: Maisie. Accessed 12 June 2016
- ↑ Behind the Name: Mairead. Accessed 12 June 2016
- ↑ Behind the Name: Margaret. Accessed 25 April 2017.