Outlander Book Club: Book 1, Chapter 5 breakdown

Focusing on just the chapter

We’ll start by just looking at the chapter. Claire was forced to think on her feet during this. After being woken by Mrs. Fitz and dressed in clothing for the time, she had to see “Himself.”

I do love the mention of Claire’s hair being cut so short. It’s not something we’d necessarily think about now, but women didn’t have long hair back then. There are these constant mentions of Claire being out of time.

We’re immediately given the description of Colum, but Claire doesn’t give us a diagnosis yet. While we know he has some type of disability, we don’t get a sense of how debilitating it is. However, it’s clear that this is a man who doesn’t want to be pitied for his disability and he certainly doesn’t hide it.

While there are moments Claire has said she wished she’d paid more attention to Frank’s history lessons, she does admit that one thing he told her stuck out. It was all about lying—it’s best to stick to the truth as much as possible.

That’s exactly what Claire does, although she has to come up with some sort of story as to why she was in the middle of the woods in just a shift. I do love how we keep getting a reminder of the changes to clothing over the years. Claire doesn’t even consider her “state of undress” since it was just a normal item of clothing for the 1940s. However, it looks like a shift in the 18th century.

Throughout the chapter, Claire is telling her story while trying to figure out the time period she’s in. It’s only when she gets the chance to snoop that she finds out. She’s in 1743.

Something I want to touch on is Colum’s character. From the start, he has this sense of authority. He doesn’t care what people think of his disability, as long as they respect him as a laird. And he certainly commands that respect. He has a good head on his shoulders. It’s clear that he commands a room, setting him up to either be a strong friend or a dangerous foe.