Outlander Book Club: The Fiery Cross Chapter 18 breakdown

Foreshadowing in the Outlander chapter

There is a little foreshadowing as Claire and Jamie discuss hysterectomies. Claire didn’t want to do anything because she didn’t know if Jamie would want more children. Claire also doesn’t think she’ll get pregnant anyway.

It all foreshadows things to come in A Breath of Snow and Ashes. After Claire is kidnapped and raped, she and Jamie are concerned about pregnancy. She and Jamie end up having sex so that there’s the sense of doubt if Claire does end up pregnant.

I think within that conversation, there’s also a bit of foreshadowing for Bree and Roger and for Marsali and Fergus. The contraception of the 1970s isn’t 100% foolproof, and the contraception of the 18th century definitely isn’t guaranteed. It’s clear that there will be more children for both of these couples.

Adapting The Fiery Cross chapter

The show opted to skip this whole chapter. This didn’t surprise me. If I’m honest, for the TV show, I don’t feel the need to discuss contraception and hysterectomies. These are conversations I could imagine being off-screen, and I can deal with them.

Adso’s introduction couldn’t be completely skipped over, though. He had to be brought into the show in some way, and the series made it clear in promotional material that he would come up eventually.

Since the Gathering was skipped over, Adso needed to come into the story in a different way. However, the series still managed to keep his introduction somewhat similar. Jamie still comes across Adso on his own and brings him to the Ridge for Claire. Instead of on the way back from the Gathering, he finds Adso after killing Hamilton Knox.

The slight change didn’t bother me. After all, it’s just bringing Adso into the story that’s important here.

What did you spot while reading The Fiery Cross Chapter 18? Let us know in the comments below.

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