Outlander Book Club: A Breath of Snow and Ashes Chapter 45 breakdown

Manfred McGillvary can’t marry Lizzie and explains why in Outlander Book 6, Chapter 45

Up to this point, everyone has been getting ready for Lizzie to marry Manfred McGillvary. It turns out that he can’t marry her, and he has to explain to Claire why not in Outlander Book 6, Chapter 45.

This is a great chapter to remember the problems and situations of the time period. We often look back and think of a time when sex outside of marriage was considered immoral. However, many did it. Young men especially would decide that expectations of marriage didn’t always apply to them.

Manfred is one of those, although it seems like he did actually fall in love with a girl in Hillsborough. More specifically, he fell in love with a prostitute, and he ended up catching syphilis (known as the French disease) from her. That leads to him seeking help from Claire, as he can’t marry Lizzie and pass the disease on.

There is some foreshadowing in this chapter. Well, it’s more like plot development. There’s trouble for Manfred as this marriage prospect is over.

I’m not too sure if this is going to be used in Outlander Season 6. I’ll get to my thoughts on the chapter and the adaptation in the last section of the post.

Let’s dive into A Breath of Snow and Ashes Chapter 45.