Outlander Book Club: Book 1, Chapter 2 breakdown

Foreshadowing of future Outlander storylines

There are a few things that foreshadow things to come in the storylines. One of those is all the mentions of Black Jack Randall. There’s a section where Reverend Wakefield and Frank talk about the complaints that never went anywhere.

It’s clear that there’s going to be a complaint at some point. Later, we do get Jamie putting in a complaint, and he turns to the Duke of Sandringham to do so. Of course, with BJR’s connection to Sandringham and the knowledge that the complaints go nowhere, it’s clear that this one won’t. This is the foreshadowing in this character.

There’s another connection to Jamie in this chapter. Claire talks about the artificial pearls that Mrs. Graham is wearing, and it makes me immediately think of the real pearls that Jamie gives Claire on their wedding night.

We also get a connection to Roger’s upcoming storyline. Claire notes that he’s a MacKenzie, a name we wouldn’t know at the time but would become an important one in the story. Roger’s lineage dates back to the 16th century, which suggests that Roger is related to the MacKenzie clan in some way. We just have to put the pieces of the puzzle together.

Finally, there’s the talk of adopting children. Frank admits that he wouldn’t be able to. I know some find this a selfish side to him, but it’s also a realistic one. The two have really only just come back together after being separated during the war. They hadn’t had too much time before the war to try for a baby and they’re only just trying again. I did feel like it was a little soon for Claire to even bring up adoption.

Frank wants to at least try for their own. He admits that he might change his mind in the future, but right now, he doesn’t think he could love a child that wasn’t biologically his. It’s an understandable feeling. Adoption isn’t right for everyone and you need to be all in for the sake of the child.