Outlander Book Club: Drums of Autumn Chapter 37 breakdown

Just the Outlander chapter

The chapter is on the quieter side. It’s just a chance for Roger to experience life on the ship.

The crew members keep their distance from him. They’re mostly English and he’s Scottish, and he isn’t working hard on keeping his accent light. As someone who lives with a Scotsman, I can appreciate Roger’s thoughts about his accent here. My husband will lighten it a bit when he’s around other people, but he allows it to come through at home because I understand him.

Roger wants to know a little bit more about Bonnet, but the crew doesn’t have much to say about him. There is something iffy, but Bonnet always turns a profit and the majority of the crew members have something like shares in the jobs. They end up with better pay, so they’re going to stick with a captain who is good for their pay.

Roger spends his time watching life on the ship. He enjoys people watching, and I do think this is the historian side of his personality coming through. These are all people that would be forgotten in history, but he gets a chance to see them live their lives and try to gain a better future.

He tries to make sure his jobs are around the passengers to allow him to do some people watching. While handing out the water rations, he meets Morag MacKenzie. She’s too shy to ask him for a favor, but the woman with her makes it clear that Morag is breastfeeding and needs a little more water. Roger obliges.

While on the ship, Roger spends his time thinking about Brianna. During this chapter, he thinks about whether Brianna would have chosen him if she hadn’t time traveled. He thinks of the loneliness that he feels now, a loneliness that Brianna knows well. Something that Claire also understands.

It’s clear that Brianna is the one for Roger.