49 pages • 1 hour read
Graeme Macrae BurnetHis Bloody Project: A Historical Thriller
Graeme Macrae BurnetFiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2015A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Summary
Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Preface-Statements
The Account of Roderick Macrae, Pages 15-37
The Account of Roderick Macrae, Pages 37-59
The Account of Roderick Macrae, Pages 59-83
The Account of Roderick Macrae, Pages 83-96
The Account of Roderick Macrae, Pages 96-112
The Account of Roderick Macrae, Pages 112-126
The Account of Roderick Macrae, Pages 126-133 and Medical Reports
Extract from Travels in the Border-Lands of Lunacy by J. Bruce Thomson
The Trial, First and Second Day
The Trial, Third Day-Epilogue
Character Analysis
Themes
Symbols & Motifs
Important Quotes
Essay Topics
Tools
BetaThe Account of Roderick Macrae, Pages 83-96Chapter Summaries & Analyses
The Account of Roderick Macrae, Pages 83-96 Summary
Roderick notes that his family’s “crops grew poorly that summer,” although he “cannot say if this was for the want of sea-ware on our land or due to some other cause” (83). He notes his father’s declining health, which leaves John unable to tend the croft like he once had. This leads to Lachlan Mackenzie further punishing the Macraes by leveling them a 10-shilling fine for failing to maintain their croft’s upkeep. This prompts John to announce to Roderick that he intends to seek an audience with the factor. Although Roderick has misgivings about the trip, he accompanies his father to see the factor in Applecross.
After being kept waiting by servant who seems reluctant to admit them, they are allowed to see the factor. John is unable to articulate his problems, only vaguely alluding to the “various troubles” he has been facing; after a great deal of effort he explains that Lachlan Mackenzie is the cause of those troubles. He asks to see the regulations governing their tenancy, but the factor balks, believing that John only wishes to see the regulations to flout them. He angrily informs John that there are no written regulations. Roderick intervenes and attempts to explain that Lachlan Mackenzie is waging a harassment campaign against his family but, without any evidence, the factor sends them away.
Several days later Roderick meets Flora and the two go for a walk toward Aird-Dubh. They are stopped by an old woman, who tells Roderick that she hopes Jetta’s condition has “improved,” suggesting that Jetta sought the old woman’s help terminating an unwanted pregnancy. Flora and Roderick continue on their way, although Flora seems unhappy with Roderick as he describes the time he ruined the hunt as the ghillie’s assistant and then the tragic story of his parents’ meeting. She talks about her dream to move to Glasgow, where she hopes to find a husband. Roderick attempts to kiss her but she rebuffs him, and he plays his advances off as a joke. Although Flora tries to keep the mood light, Roderick can’t hide his hurt feelings.
The Account of Roderick Macrae, Pages 83-96 Analysis
John and Roderick’s visit to the factor is a major turning point in the family’s misfortunes and serves as a stark reminder of the rigid social order they belong to. This reminder begins with their dealings with the factor’s housekeeper, “who clearly believed that her employment in the factor’s house made her the better of a crofter” (85). It continues when they are finally allowed to meet with the factor, who treats their presence with condescending bemusement. As everyone in the room understands, the Macraes’ visit is extremely unusual, and it is generally expected that people of their low social standing shouldn’t be demanding the time and attention of someone in the factor’s position. After John’s repeated requests to read the regulations governing his family’s tenancy, the meeting culminates in the factor revealing that, “[t]he reason [John] may not ‘see’ the regulations is because there are no regulations, at least not in the way [he] seem[s] to think” (90).
Rather, the factor explains, the rules are based on a commonsense understanding of what sorts of behaviors are and aren’t considered correct. What this really means is that the Macraes and their fellow crofters exist entirely at the whim of the powers-that-be, without any real rights or protections. As John correctly notes, all of his neighbors’ rents are in arrears given their inability to pay their rent with the money they make working their crofts, which ultimately means that any one of them could be evicted without question or fuss should they step out of line—and this is exactly what eventually happens to the Macrae family. Roderick’s parting realization “that to these important men our actions [a]re of simply no consequence” (91) is a stark reminder of his family’s precarious situation.
Roderick chafes at the injustice of his family’s position and seems surprised that Flora does not share his unhappiness but actively embraces the social hierarchies that Roderick rejects. After sharing his story about interrupting Lord Middleton’s hunt, noting that he “only acted as [he] had because [he] did not wish to see a fine stag destroyed for the amusement of the gentry,” he is surprised at her rebuttal “that the deer were on the mountain for the sport of the gentlemen and that Lord Middleton’s livelihood depended on such pursuits” (93), as well as her insistence that their whole community relies on Lord Middleton’s wellbeing. Roderick’s class consciousness serves as another device that holds him apart from his community and reinforces his sense of superiority over those around him.
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