Outlander Book Club: Voyager Chapter 14 breakdown

Foreshadowing in the Outlander chapter

Okay, before we get into how this chapter was adapted, let’s get into the foreshadowing. There is a little. The main part is how Jamie tells Geneva to time the night right. This isn’t just about making sure the footman is drunk, but about making sure Geneva doesn’t end up pregnant.

A lot of people suspect that Geneva planned it so she got pregnant. I don’t believe that’s the case. What this bit does hint at is that Geneva will end up pregnant. After all, while you can try to time things as well as you want, biology doesn’t always work with you. I’m sure there are many women reading this who have gotten the timing wrong.

There’s also an element of foreshadowing of the name Jamie will use later. He continues to live by Alex MacKenzie at times, especially in Edinburgh. It’s his way to disconnect from the Jacobite past that threatens to follow him everywhere, his chance to have some sort of anonymity.

It also hints that Claire, Roger, and Brianna will run into a road block. Would any of them even think about him possibly going by two of his middle names?

Adapting the Voyager chapter

For the most part, Voyager Chapter 14 was used for Outlander Season 3, Episode 4. However, there were some changes.

The first is Lord John Grey visiting and spending time with Jamie. Hal Grey also visits and immediately recognizes Jamie. This would have been a chance to make John stand out more—show us the feelings John had growing for Jamie. At the same time, it would have been a way to simplify the story.

It was Hal who led to Geneva learning the truth about Jamie Fraser. Since all this had to be told in what made up maybe a quarter of an episode, it had to be done quickly and easily. Using Hal and John to tell this part of the story made a lot more sense from a TV show perspective.

We didn’t get Jamie climbing up the side of the house like the book describes. Instead, he goes through the house. Part of that would likely have been safety and to cut down on the sets needed. One of the previously built sets could be used instead of building an extra one.

Overall, the bedroom scene was extremely similar. It was more sensual than the book makes it out to be, which offers a physical look at the lust Jamie describes in the chapter.

It completely misses out Geneva telling Jamie to stop. This makes sense. There are just so many arguments about who committed rape against whoever because of this one section of the chapter. It does involve a lot of people putting 21st-century views on both characters and both parts of the story (blackmail and “no means no”).

The story is set in the 18th century and was written in the late 90s. We can’t put 21st-century views on the story, so it made sense for the writers of the series to just skip it completely. I don’t think there were many complaints about it.

Something that is changed in the series is the ages of Geneva and Isobel. At least, it looks like this has changed based on the actresses chosen. This is possibly because the producers decided not to face complaints about underage sex and all that (again, people putting a 21st-century view on an 18th-century story) or it could have been because it was easier to work with older actresses. It didn’t distract from the show, but it is something I have to remember when reading about these characters in the books.

Overall, the changes didn’t disrupt the story. We got where we needed to be for the rest of Outlander.

What did you spot while reading Outlander Book 3, Chapter 14? Share your thoughts on the Voyager chapter in the comments below.

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