Outlander Book Club: Book 1, Chapter 9 breakdown

Foreshadowing during the Outlander chapter

There are a few things that stand out that connect to later chapters during Chapter 9. Many of them surround Geillis Duncan.

Claire notes how she’s different to the other women. She certainly has a sassy attitude that you wouldn’t usually see in women of the 18th century. Claire can immediately connect to her, and there are times that Geillis clearly knows that Claire is different too. We get this foreshadowing of Geillis not being of this time like Claire.

The difference for Geillis is that she works to fit in. While she is a woman out of her time, she’s done her research. She’s made sure that she can be in a position of authority for her own plan.

And that plan clearly involves Dougal. During the chapter, Geillis asks Jamie to take something to Mrs. Fitz but says that the bill has to go to Dougal. At first glance, it looks like she’s telling the truth, but there is certainly some foreshadowing within this. Looking back, it’s clear that Geillis wants to get a letter to Dougal to arrange something, but she needs some reason to send him that letter. A bill for items seems to be the perfect reason.

I promised a touch on Claire’s thoughts about the punishment and not doing anything to help the boy. It foreshadows everything Claire still has to learn. She is going into this world with a 20th-century view and she’s going to have to change some of her views if she wants to survive. She needs to empathize with the people of the time, with the situations. It’s not going to be easy, but she needs to do it.

Then there’s a touch on Father Bain. Father Bain certainly isn’t happy that the Tanner kid isn’t being punished more severely. We get this sense that he’s a man of his time, one who won’t budge on his views. He believes that women are beneath him and that all sin should be punished severely. This gives us a hint of what to expect of him at a later point in the books.

Finally, we get to hear Jamie call Claire “Sassenach” for the first time. Claire doesn’t flinch at the sound of it. She doesn’t hear a hint of negativity in his use of the term. It’s an endearing one, foreshadowing the way that Jamie will always get to call her Sassenach because he means it in a loving way. And only he gets to use it.