The Fiery Cross

Philip Wylie has a prized Friesian stallion named Lucas; he loses the horse while playing cards with Jamie, and Stephen Bonnet subsequently steals the horse to escape from River Run. The stallion symbolizes masculine jealousy and sexual rivalry, and it contributes to the theme of Masculinity as a Social Construct. Wylie is infatuated with Claire and tries to seduce her during the wedding celebrations at River Run. While Claire flatly rejects these overtures, Jamie becomes irrationally jealous, and he and Claire argue. Even once Jamie is satisfied that Claire is faithful to him, he wants to assert himself over Wylie, who is seeking to avenge his wounded pride. The conflict between the two men is symbolized by the virile and powerful horse. Wild stallions jealously guard their mares and will not tolerate the presence of other male rivals.

The symbolism is heightened because owning impressive horses is an important status symbol for 18th-century men; when Wylie loses his horse to a man he views as a rival, he is symbolically emasculated. While the conflict between Jamie and Philip Wylie is the primary example of this jealousy and competition, it is also discernible in interactions between other male characters such as Jamie and Roger, or Roger and Stephen Bonnet. Throughout the novel, male characters often experience tension as they jockey for dominance and authority. For example, the string of events that nearly cost Roger his life are set in motion after William Buccleigh MacKenzie witnesses Roger kissing his wife Morag and becomes enraged. While the stallion primarily symbolizes sexual rivalry between men, the tension and jealousy between Claire and Laoghaire (Jamie’s estranged wife, who lives in Scotland) also reflects this symbolism. The novel asserts that any two individuals can become engaged in a struggle for dominance and power, especially when they are competing over resources or an object of desire.