Outlander Book Club: Drums of Autumn Chapter 23 breakdown

Foreshadowing in the Outlander chapter

This chapter certainly offers a lot of foreshadowing for things to come. The first is the Mueller family. We only get a glimpse of them at first, but Petronella tells Claire that this is going to be her only baby. Sadly, it is her only baby, but not for the reasons Petronella says. This is where the comments about a sickness come up.

The other bit of foreshadowing is the skull and opal, both of which Claire brings back with her. They are certainly going to come up. There are clues as to what’s to come and the owner of the skull’s story. What’s not clear is that it connects more to Ian than Claire. However, there is a time traveler element to the story.

Something that I did note is that Ian doesn’t pay much attention to Jamie’s remarks about Cinderella and Prince Charming. Maybe he isn’t completely not paying attention. After all, he figures something out but assumes Claire is a fairy, but he later learns the truth. This is all foreshadowing that he eventually becomes part of the trusted members of the family.

Adapting the Drums of Autumn chapter

When you watch the TV show without the book, you won’t really notice that this part of the story has moved. The way the show is written flows so well.

Instead of Claire being alone, she is with Jamie but they get separated in the woods during a storm. The part with the skull and the ghost play out in the same way. The big change is that Claire’s shoes don’t get to the house. Instead, they end up by a stream, which Jamie finds.

Claire follows the footprints to get back to Jamie. This ghost still connects the two of them, and it’s this moment that they find Fraser’s Ridge.

The bit with the Mueller’s is still kept for later in the story. The drama with the Mueller family is just about the measles, the confrontation with the local Native tribe, and the deaths of people close to Claire.

Even after reading the book, the show’s decision makes a lot of sense. The important parts of the story are kept, but the drama is kept focused for individual episodes. The flow remains steady, with storylines naturally fitting in to keep those important elements in.

Of course, this part of the show led to #bootgate, but that’s a whole different article!

What did you spot while reading Drums of Autumn Chapter 23? Let us know in the comments below.

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