Outlander Book Club: Book 2, Chapter 9 breakdown

Foreshadowing within the Outlander chapter

This chapter certainly had a little foreshadowing. It is all about Master Raymond.

During the Dragonfly in Amber chapter, Jamie tells Claire that he doesn’t want her seeing Master Raymond again. I guess he’ll want her to find another apothecary since she’ll need items for her medicine box, but I’m curious about how many apothecaries there would be in Paris in 1744.

Why doesn’t Jamie want Claire to see Master Raymond again? It’s all about the stories that he’s heard, rumors of Master Raymond being a wizard.

Of course, we later learn that Master Raymond does have some powers, as well as being skilled in sleight of hand. He is able to heal Claire, something that Claire will later develop as a magical skill.

Jamie worries that Master Raymond will be arrested in a similar way to Geillis. He, understandably, doesn’t want to pull Claire out of a situation where she’s being tried as a witch again. So, it’s best that she just remains away from Master Raymond.

I do think this foreshadows everything to come with Master Raymond, being one of those accused of witchcraft. King Louis was a superstitious man, afraid of witchcraft. He would have kept a close eye on someone like Master Raymond and the rumors surrounding him.

At the same time, I believe there’s some foreshadowing of things to come with Claire. Rumors circulate that she’s a white witch. In the show, it’s Jamie who starts that rumor. I can’t remember who starts it in the books right now. But it still happens. The French are a little scared of her, worried about curses, and it’s why King Louis wants her to sniff out the dangerous practitioner between Master Raymond and the Comte St. Germain.

If we didn’t already know that Claire and Jamie’s efforts were fruitless, I do think this chapter would also foreshadow that history can’t be changed. Black Jack Randall’s return makes it clear that he’s still to die at Culloden.