Who is Jemmy’s father in the world of Outlander? Roger or Bonnet? Diana Gabaldon confirms who she knows is Jemmy’s father.
Who is Jemmy’s father? That’s something Brianna and her family have wondered throughout Outlander Season 4. In fact, it’s a question book readers asked for a long time. The answer was inferred in the novels, and now Diana Gabaldon has confirmed Jemmy’s parentage.
There are some spoilers for the books in this post. If you haven’t read ahead and you don’t want to know the details as to how everyone figures out who Jemmy’s father really is, then you’ll want to skip over this post.
Brianna believes at first that it has to be Stephen Bonnet. Shortly after she lost her virginity to Roger MacKenzie, she was raped by Bonnet. She then decides that since she and Roger practiced “coitus interruptus,” Bonnet had to be the father. But is that really the case?
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Claire had an excellent response to Brianna’s thoughts about the pull-out method. Those who practice the pull-out method are called parents because it’s not an effective method of birth control. However, it would be much later that readers would finally get some sort of confirmation that Roger is actually Jemmy’s biological father.
Diana Gabaldon confirmed in comments on one of her Daily Lines posts recently that Roger is Jemmy’s father. And it’s all to do with a certain birthmark. While there are instances where the birthmark may not mean a biological connection, there’s a high chance that the two are related.
When Jemmy suffers from headlice, the treatment is to shave off all his hair. It’s then that everyone notices a small mole above his ear. While it’s alarming for Brianna, Roger notes that he has the exact same mark. Sure enough, this mark tends to be hereditary, and that’s proof enough that Roger is Jemmy’s biological father.
While there is still a chance that the mark is just a coincidence, Diana Gabaldon shares that Roger is definitely Jemmy’s father. She works with the logical idea that the lack of a specific mark would likely mean they aren’t related, so the appearance of a specific mark means that they are. There are no such things as coincidences, especially when it comes to fiction!
"“Of course he’s his biological father. And looked at logically, the lack of a specific mark between two people can’t possibly mean they _aren’t_ related–while the fact that they _share_ a fairly rare king of mark–in the same place–raises the odds that they _are_ related significantly.”"
It’s always good to get confirmation from the author of the novel. After all, Diana Gabaldon is going to know her own story, right?
Did you believe the mark definitely meant Roger is Jemmy’s father? Have you been worried about Jem’s parentage? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
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