Outlander Book Club: Book 1, Chapter 16 breakdown
Just a look at the Outlander chapter
As always, we’ll just take a look at the chapter. This is one that is more about Claire getting to know more about her new husband. They get to spend some time together away from the other men but not in the confines of the bedroom. It’s a chance for the two to show they’re still nervous around each other but they have ways to find comfort.
One of those is through touch. Jamie realizes that they are more connected when physically connected. We know that they eventually don’t need to touch to be able to talk to each other, but this is an important start. They want to get to know each other more, but both are nervous of each other. That intimacy is still to grow.
Jamie shares about his connection to the MacKenzies, including the fact that there was a high risk if he took the oath at the Gathering. Some of the MacKenzie men see him as the best person to lead the clan should Colum die before Hamish is old enough to lead. However, there are others loyal to Dougal. Finding a way around taking the oath was essential for his life.
Getting Claire to marry Jamie was Dougal’s way of protecting his place as future acting laird. Jamie admits there’s no way people would want Jamie leading things with an Englishwoman as Lady of Leoch. In a way, it keeps Jamie safe from harm while giving Dougal what he wants.
He also notes that he sleeps armed. He suspects that Dougal may have hit him over the head with the ax years ago trying to kill his nephew to prevent the risk of Jamie being chosen to help Hamish after Colum’s death. It continues to show Dougal’s need to be the laird after his brother.
We also learn more about what the men think of Claire. They all know she’s not English—well, not of-this-time-English. She doesn’t speak the way the English do, so it’s no wonder Colum and Dougal thought her a spy. Colum thought English, but couldn’t explain her lack of Gaelic. Dougal thought French for King James and the Jacobites, but Jamie knows she’s not French. While she speaks good French, it’s not that of a native speaker.
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What does Jamie think? He’s still not sure. He does joke about her being one of the “wee folk,” but says she’s too big. It’s clear he’s not sure but doesn’t care. He will protect her.
The chapter also offers a little insight into Claire’s feelings for Jamie. She think she’s infatuated with him, which she explains wasn’t uncommon for nurses, whether it was with doctors or patients. Claire even admits that she felt the infatuation before but never acted on it—it would always end in disaster. It connects back to Claire telling Frank that she was faithful to him throughout the War.
The end of the chapter puts the two back in their room after some celebrations with the other men (and the innkeeper’s wife as the only other woman). This is the first time Jamie calls Claire “mo duinne,” which means “my brown one.” He loves his nicknames and terms of endearment for him. Something I’ve noticed is that Claire never seems to have any terms of endearments for Jamie, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. I do connect with Claire on this—I’m not the most romantic person in the world.