Claire recovers from her fever in Outlander Book 6, Chapter 64
After suffering fever dreams, Claire pulls through in Outlander Book 6, Chapter 64. However, she learns about some of the terrible things that happened at the Ridge.
A lot went on while Claire was out. I do wish that we could have seen some of this play out through the eyes of various other characters. We’ve had chapters from Roger’s and Jamie’s POV before, so it is a shame that it didn’t happen here.
That leads us to being told of the events at the same time as Claire. They are some important events at the Ridge that will have a knock-on effect for a couple of characters.
We also find out what Mrs. Bug and Malva did to Claire. They (well, Mrs. Bug) were just trying to help. Although, it’s clear that Claire is embarrassed by everything that has happened.
There is a little foreshadowing in this chapter. However, for the most part, this is all plot development.
The chapter was used in the TV series. Instead of just being told about things, we get to see the events play out. This is important for an adaptation, and I’ll get to my thoughts on it in the adaptation section.
Let’s dive into A Breath of Snow and Ashes Chapter 64.
Just the Outlander chapter
The chapter starts with Claire waking up. She’s still weak, but she doesn’t have the fever anymore. However, there’s a problem. Her hair has been cut extremely short.
Malva and Mrs. Bug did this. Roger explains the women thought it was the only way to help Claire fight the fever. Brianna was angry about it, but the women did it while nobody else was around otherwise nobody would have touched Claire.
Claire doesn’t initially want Jamie to see her this way. Jamie has already seen her. He is angry about the whole situation, too.
After that, we learn about some of the things that happened on the Ridge. We start with Henri-Christian who was placed in a basket in the water. Roger had to swim out to get baby Henri-Christian and find out what was going on. The fisherfolk boys wanted to see if Henri-Christian was a demon or not.
Roger baptized Henri-Christian to deal with it. Jamie also finds a way to deal with the boys, but Jamie has more bad news. Fergus didn’t take any of this that well and he attempted to kill himself. He would have hanged himself if he had two hands to tie the knot, and it’s clear what the problem is.
Fergus doesn’t feel like he can provide for his family. He’d been struggling for a while, and the birth of Henri-Christian and what happened to him has thrown him over the edge. He’s sure if he’s gone, Marsali can marry someone who will provide for her and their children. Jamie manages to talk Fergus out of it, but it’s clear there’s more work to be done, there.
Foreshadowing in the Outlander chapter
There is a little bit of foreshadowing in this post. The main foreshadowing is in Fergus’s storyline. There is still more to do to help Fergus. This isn’t a case of “we’ve talked to him and now he’s okay.” Fergus wants to find some way of providing for his family. Jamie will help him do that.
There’s also a tiny bit of foreshadowing in Claire’s worry about how Jamie would react about her hair. While Mrs. Bug cut Claire’s hair to help, Malva had some ulterior motives. It’s all to do with the way Claire looks.
Adapting A Breath of Snow and Ashes chapter
The chapter was adapted for the series. Something that I loved was that the TV series actually showed us how things went down with baby Henri-Christian and then Fergus attempting suicide. It’s very important that the series shows us these events on the screen. We need to see that character development happen on the screen so we feel more empathy for the characters.
We also got to see Roger be there when Claire wakes up. I love how it was Roger both times. It would have been easier for Claire to face Roger first when it came to her shaved head. Plus, we see that Claire’s hair is important to her. She worries about how Jamie will react to seeing it. Will he still want her? Seeing this reminds us that she is vulnerable at times, and that’s so important when it comes to the strong female characters on TV.
What did you spot while reading A Breath of Snow and Ashes Chapter 64? Let us know in the comments below.
Like Claire and Jamie on Facebook for the latest from the Outlander Book Club and much more.