Outlander Book Club: Book 2, Chapter 25 breakdown

Just the Outlander chapter

The chapter picks up with Claire at the charity hospital. It’s clear she’s been there for some time, as she notes about how her bed is placed not quite center of a section of the ceiling. She wants to move the bed to the center, likely getting a sense of peace from the balance in the room. There is something calming about symmetry, so I can relate to that.

We don’t get to know what’s happened in the time up to this point. All we know is that Claire doesn’t have a baby to hold. Mother Hildegarde tells Bouton to stay with Claire, giving Claire some comfort in the form of her four-legged child. It’s a bittersweet moment, as Mother Hildegarde won’t completely understand but will be able to empathize in a way.

Mother Hildegarde is clearly worried about Claire, though. Claire says that her contracted uterus should feel solid, but it doesn’t. It’s clear that there’s an infection there.

When Mother Hildegard prays to St. Raymond, Claire questions whether Mother knows Master Raymond. That question is met with disgust. Mother Hildegarde does not like or trust Master Raymond. In fact, the first time Master Raymond comes to the hospital to see Claire and heal her, he’s caught by the nuns and taken away.

That night, Claire wakes to find Master Raymond there again. This time he tells her to be quiet and allow him to work. He’s able to heal her spirit, while also removing the part of the placenta that has remained inside. This is what’s caused the infection and is killing her.

While doing so, Claire calls out to Jamie as the healing works. Her fever breaks and she is miraculously healed.

Claire checks Master Raymond’s arm for a vaccination scar. When she mentions that, he doesn’t know what she means. There’s no even a hint of recollection to the term, making it clear that Master Raymond is not a man from the future.

At the end, Master Raymond still calls Claire “madonna.” She can’t help but question why since she is no longer carrying a baby. That wasn’t why Master Raymond called her that. It was because of the blue light around her, a light that matches his own. It is the color of the Virgin Mary, which is why he calls her “madonna.”

With that, Master Raymond is gone and Claire is healed. We’re ready to find out what happened to everyone after the duel.