Why can’t Jamie hear music anymore in the Outlander novels?
In the Outlander novels, Jamie is unable to hear music. One of the latest daily lines posts from Diana Gabaldon reminds us of why that is.
In one of the latest daily lines posts from Diana Gabaldon for Outlander Book 9, we get a reminder of something that Jamie suffers from. He can’t hear music. It just sounds like noise. But why is that?
During the passage, Jamie is talking with Rachel. For those who don’t know, Rachel is connected to Young Ian but I’m going to let you get caught up with the books in your own time if you haven’t. This passage about Jamie has no connection to who Rachel is, except that she doesn’t know all of Jamie’s story.
More from Spoilers
- Did Bree and Lord John Grey marry in Outlander?
- Outlander Season 7B: Will Diarmaid Murtagh return as Buck MacKenzie?
- Outlander Season 7B: Will Chris Fulton return as Rob Cameron?
- Will Dottie be in Outlander Season 7B?
- 3 characters who definitely won’t return in Outlander Season 7B
He mentions how the music sounds just like noise to him. It’s not something brought up in the show that I can remember, so those who aren’t caught up with the books may be a little confused. Why can’t Jamie hear music?
It’s all linked to the ax blow to the head thanks to Dougal MacKenzie. This blow almost killed him, but it did cause some damage to part of his brain. Diana Gabaldon went into more detail in one of the comments, saying that the part of the brain that turns noise into music has been permanently damaged. It’s not actually his hearing that has been damaged, but the connections.
Does he hear all other sounds as normal? It seems so. Gabaldon believes so, and it’s her character after all.
Is this something that will ever be used in the show? Possibly not. Something like this is much harder to show on screen than it is when written in prose. This is why I’ve always found the books so great after watching a season of the show. They delve deeper into each of the characters, so I get to know them better.
#DailyLines #GoTELLTheBEESThatIAmGONE #Book9 #noitisntdone #Illtellyouwhenitis #meanwhileignorepolitics…
Posted by Diana Gabaldon on Thursday, August 1, 2019
The daily lines from “Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone” only gives us a snippet of the events. There’s no point going into too much detail. We already know what happened from the first book and Rachel wouldn’t get to know everything. However, it’s a sweet chat between the two characters as Rachel gets to know Jamie better.
Next. All the Outlander books in chronological order. dark
Did you remember why Jamie couldn’t hear music? Did you understand what truly happened to him on the inside after the attack? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Outlander Book 9 is slated to be finished by the end of the year. Follow us on Facebook to stay up to date with the news.