Outlander Book Club: Drums of Autumn Chapter 18 breakdown
Just the Outlander chapter
The chapter starts with Roger and Brianna heading to Catholic Mass on Christmas Eve. Roger feels out of place, and there are some comments about him switching sides. I like that despite Roger not going into ministry, he still follows Reverend Wakefield’s teachings. We also get to see the differences between two religions that are technically the same religion.
Some of the women also note that Roger likes Brianna. They can tell that Roger wants to propose to Brianna, and despite initial tuts, they leave them be.
After the service, Roger and Brianna are walking home. Their intimacy causes a few tuts again, reminding us of the time period. It’s 1969 Scotland, which would public displays of affection were frowned upon, especially when out of wedlock.
However, women were also coming into their own. Young women, especially, were breaking away from the expectations of the time period. Brianna is a modern woman for 1960s Boston but doesn’t fit into 1960s Inverness.
This is the chance for Roger to propose though. It’s not the most romantic proposal, but that doesn’t really matter. It’s not about the way he says it, but what he asks.
Brianna wasn’t expecting a proposal. She doesn’t want to get married. At least, not yet.
Eventually, she does, but she wants to make sure that the man she marries is the man she loves. Claire loved Frank at one point, but then they fell out of love. Claire moved onto Jamie, but she had to settle for Frank in the modern day. Brianna knows what that did to her mom and dad, and she doesn’t want it happening to her.
Seeing this is important for the rest of her development. This is a woman who is scarred from her childhood. It was a good one, but that doesn’t mean it was perfect. She knew her parents didn’t really love each other, and learning about Jamie helped her piece it all together.
Naturally because of that, she’s afraid of commitment. But she still loves Roger. She wants to be with him, and she certainly wants to be with him physically.
At first, Roger is offended by that. He thinks she only wants him physically and not emotionally. Yet, when he hears her explanation, he understands it. He can see past the initial anger and realize that she’s actually doing the mature thing.
They’re still together by the end of the chapter, but how long for? For now, Roger is willing to wait and he gives her a bracelet with an engraving to prove that.