I know there’s a lot of hate for Laoghaire, but she’s not a character I can personally hate. In fact, I feel for her a lot throughout the book series. It’s because of that that she’s my #WomanCrushWednesday this week.
Laoghaire gets a lot of hate. She’s certainly made some awful decisions and been spiteful on a number of occasions, but I still can’t bring myself to hate her. I’ve made her my #WomanCrushWednesday for this week because I actually feel for her throughout the book series.
Don’t get me wrong; some of the things she did was downright awful and evil. She could be a manipulative, tantrum-throwing child when she didn’t get her own way. But that’s the thing. She was a child when we first met her. Well, a child by today’s standards but into adulthood in the standards of the 18th century and it’s easy to overlook this.
During this time period, women were owned by men. Yes, they were literally owned. A woman would belong to her father and then belong to her husband. If she never married and didn’t inherit through her father then she would struggle. It’s clear her father doesn’t like his daughter as she’s not lived up to his expectations, so she was likely fearing for her future. No, it wasn’t right what she did, but it’s this sort of consideration that I put in place before deciding whether I can hate her or not.
But she led to Claire being tried for witchcraft
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Laoghaire was a key part in Claire being tried for witchcraft. In the TV series, she even shared how she’d asked Claire for a love potion and then used it on Jamie herself. It was damning evidence and Claire has never forgiven Laoghaire for that.
But again, it’s all about the time period. Now, Laoghaire would be spiteful and jealous. Sure, then she would have too, but she was also thinking about her own safety. Standing up in defense for an accused witch would have been suicide for her. Doing anything other than what the courts expected, as a woman, would have been a big no-no. Even if she wanted to, she couldn’t have.
There may have even been a part of her that believed the stories about Claire. After all, she did ask Claire for a love potion. This meant she believed Claire could do something; had some sort of knowledge of the magical arts. It’s possible she really believed Jamie had been seduced by magic.
What about Laoghaire’s actions 20 years later?
When Claire is in her present day, Jamie has to survive and move on. That means marrying again and he chooses Laoghaire. For whatever reasons given in the books and show, Jamie and Laoghaire do marry, they don’t have a happy marriage, and they live apart. There’s no point in looking at the whys right now.
Claire’s return throws everything off. Jamie married Laoghaire believing Claire was gone forever. Everyone else believed Claire dead. Despite this marriage not being a happy one, it was a marriage for Laoghaire. She had a man to support her and her daughters.
Understandably, Laoghaire was hurt when she learned the truth. She was angry that Claire was still alive, knowing that it would mean her marriage to Jamie was voided. He wouldn’t be punished as he supposedly didn’t know Claire was alive–and Claire would back that up with her story–so all that could happen was Laoghaire’s marriage would be dissolved.
In a time when women had so very few rights, she would have been scared. What would this have meant for her and her daughters in the future? Sure, she would have had money and land from previous marriages, but she was likely counting on this marriage to Jamie to set her up a little more for life. Her actions made sense. Her anger was understandable.
I just can’t hate Laoghaire. There are times I’ll roll my eyes and groan, but I definitely can’t hate her. She was a woman of her time.
Next: Outlander theories: Could Claire and Laogire be related?
What do you think about Laoghaire? Do you just look at the character or the circumstances around the character? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
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