Waverley

Fergus Mac-Ivor (also known as Vich Ian Vohr or Glennaquoich) is the chief of his Highlands clan and the last surviving son of a long and noble line of Mac-Ivor chiefs. Fergus’s father had fled Scotland to France after a previous Jacobite uprising, where he married a French noblewoman and had two children. Fergus and his sister Flora were raised in the French court but were able to buy back their estate in the Highlands, where Fergus became an admired leader of his clan. Though he was part of a group hired by the crown to maintain order in the Highlands, he used his position to serve his quest for power, letting the thieves or freebooters who supported him do their work while punishing others justly. Once he was discharged from this position, he began working more closely with the thieves and having local residents pay him blackmail for protection. Yet Fergus’s actions, however questionable, were always intended to aid the Jacobite cause. Not only was he interested in the restoration of a Stuart King, but he believed that those who aided the prince would be rewarded with fortune and a high position.

Fergus is described first and foremost as a politician who—though he has a good nature—is willing to maneuver and manipulate others to get what he wants. For example, it is implied that Fergus was the one who sent Donald Bean Lean to steal the cattle of Tully-Veolan so he could then suggest a truce with the Baron. Even his family and friends are sometimes used as political pawns, such as when he attempts to arrange Flora’s marriage to Edward and his own to Rose so that he can secure his family’s wealth and power. Though this quality is what led Fergus to his position and status, Scott also shows how it is a character flaw that ultimately leads to his demise. In many ways, Fergus is a foil to Edward, who cannot make up his mind on his convictions. Contrarily, Fergus is so dedicated to the Jacobite cause and blinded by what he believes the outcome will be that he faces a significant shift once the Jacobites’ plan to march on England begins to fail. He is ultimately given a gruesome traitor’s death, yet he faces it with bravery and a purer and less political hope for the future.

In the broader context of the novel, Fergus is not only a tragic hero but a symbol of the Highlanders’ role in the Jacobite uprising as a whole. His hope and despondency over the cause mirrors that which the Jacobites faced in history. Scott aligns the timing of his rise and fall with that of the Jacobite movement. Fergus mirrors the tragic heroes of whom Edward read in his romances, who went against the grain to fight for a cause they believed in yet faced a tragic end. The tragedy of his death is enhanced by his young age—again comparable to Edward’s—and the reverence with which his clan treats him. Fergus’s execution parallels the destruction of the Highland clans’ way of life after Culloden, but the way he is remembered as a hero afterward also shows hope for the future of Scotland.

Flora is the passionate, caring, and intellectual sister of Fergus. Raised as a companion to the French princess, Flora acquired all the knowledge and accomplishments expected of a woman of her time, yet the narrator is careful to note that this only represents the bare minimum of her character. Flora has a purer and more hopeful interest in the Jacobite cause than any other character in the novel, stemming from her passion for justice and her care for her people. Whereas Fergus’s interests in the uprising are political, Flora’s interest is purely the restoration of the Stuart monarchy and the benefits it will bring to Britain. She is primarily characterized by her idealism and interest in the Jacobite cause, and her name is a reference to Flora MacDonald, one of the most influential women involved in the uprising, who helped the prince escape to France. Like Edward, Flora is interested in several topics and is a scholar of everything that interests her, but unlike Edward, she uses her knowledge to assist her clan and preserve its history.

Flora is a nuanced and fully-fleshed character, yet she serves a primarily symbolic role in the text. Flora embodies the theme of Preserving Scottish Culture and Character: it is through Flora that Edward is exposed to Scottish poetry and art, and Edward’s attachment to her is one of the main avenues through which his attachment to Scotland and its people forms. Flora is also a symbol of romance in both the modern and contemporary understandings of the term. She is often compared to Rose, who is less passionate and idealistic but more traditionally feminine. Additionally, she embodies the idea of romance which Edward is infatuated with, and her idealism, passion, and association with nature remind Edward of the romances he always daydreamed about at Waverley-Honour. Even so, Flora is not just romantic but rational and can think things through better than many of the men around her. Though she likes Edward, she knows that she cannot give him everything he wants from a wife as she is more devoted to her cause than anything else. She also knows that, though Fergus is in too deep with the uprising, Edward does not have to involve himself and risk his life for a cause he is uncertain about. In this way and others, Flora embodies both realism and romanticism, two characteristics Scott emphasizes and blends in his historical novel.