Outlander Book Club: Voyager Chapter 44 breakdown
Just the Outlander chapter
The chapter opens with Jamie thinking of how much of a fool he is. And he’s not the only one who thinks this. By trying to protect Marsali’s virtue, he’s forced himself into months of celibacy. And he’s only just got Claire back.
During a conversation with Claire, he explains that in prison, men have three choices when it comes to time without women. They can let it drive them crazy, find comfort in each other, or deal with it themselves. Claire knows exactly which option Jamie would have chosen, especially considering everything that happened with Black Jack Randall.
We don’t even need a reminder of Jamie’s story to Claire to remember it all. Just the name sends shivers down all Outlander fans’ spines.
After this, Mr. Willoughby is writing on sheets of paper on the deck. The crew members don’t like him and make life difficult for him. However, Jamie is there to look out for him, and Jamie mentions to Claire that Mr. Willoughby writes on the deck to purposely annoy the crew. The Chinaman is not going to back down.
I just wish that Claire would have the time to feel some sympathy from him. While she’s not from a different country completely, she is an outsider. She’s from a different time, so she knows what it’s like to have people suspicious of her and even try to push her out. If anyone knows just a little of what Mr. Willoughby would feel, it’s Claire.
And yet, as soon as she hears the story about why Chinamen have a fetish for feet, she focuses on the disgust. She’s even flabbergasted that Mr. Willoughby has the audacity to call Jamie a barbarian. I think the part that I dislike about Mr. Willoughby’s inclusion so much is that Claire’s interactions feel out of character. I expect more respect from her considering the time she’s from and the amount of the world she’s seen.
Yes, the story Jamie tells is disgusting, and she has a right to be disgusting. However, Mr. Willoughby is not the only Chinaman who has the fetish. It’s that culture.
Moving on, the crew decide it’s time to kill a shark. While all this is going on, Mr. Willoughby throws himself into the sea to catch a pelican. Jamie goes in after Mr. Willoughby, who refuses to let go of the bird.
Jamie has no idea why Mr. Willoughby would jump in the water for the bird. It’s an amusing and dramatic moment, but Jamie is more concerned about how he could have lost a leg in the shark-infested waters. His mind is taken off that when he and Claire realize they can steal a bit of time alone to deal with their joint needs.
After that, we can find out why Mr. Willoughby wanted the pelican in the first place. He teaches it how to hunt for fish in the water and bring it to him. Sure enough, it works. Everyone is impressed, although the crew members aren’t too certain about the bird.
A week passes since the shark attack. Mr. Willoughby has a chance to finish whatever he is writing. After signing his name, he releases the papers over the water and walks away. We’ll have to wait to find out why that is.