Young Ian has a confession to make in Outlander Book 6, Chapter 82
We knew from the ending to the previous chapter that Young Ian had been up to something. Well, we find out what that was in Outlander Book 6, Chapter 82.
I love how we get to realize that Young Ian isn’t as innocent as he’s always seemed. He is a young man of his time, and that means he has urges and wants. However, he has also been raised well and he doesn’t just take. That’s something we get a sense for in this chapter—Malva Christie wanted him as well.
Yes, it’s all about Malva Christie. It turns out that Young Ian could be the father of her baby. Not only that, but so could Bobby Higgins. There are likely many more men on the Ridge who could be the father, although we know who it actually is later in the books.
What we do get to see from Young Ian is that he has been raised to follow his uncle. Jamie would do the “right thing” if he was the father of the baby. Well, Young Ian will also do what is considered the “right thing” for the time. He is a good man.
The chapter was used in the TV series, which isn’t that surprising. I’ll get to my thoughts on that in the adaptation section.
What about foreshadowing? There is a little that I want to touch on in the foreshadowing section.
Let’s dive into A Breath of Snow and Ashes Chapter 82.
Just the Outlander chapter
The chapter starts with Young Ian finding Claire in her garden. He has a confession to make. He has slept with Malva Christie a few times. He doesn’t love her, and he certainly wouldn’t want to marry her. However, he will marry her if there’s a chance that the baby is his. He wants to do right by the baby.
I love how we have this focus on what’s right for the baby. Young Ian is just like his uncle, and that’s what makes Ian and Jamie’s bond so strong. Sure, Ian would have likely built this attitude to life through his parents, but it was spending time with Jamie that really did it. There were some illegal acts, but when it comes to morality with women and children, Ian and Jamie are good men.
There is another thing, though. Ian isn’t the only man Malva has been with. He knows that she also slept with Bobby Higgins. It’s clear that there are likely more men out there, and that I think that’s what this chapter infers to. But it’s impossible at the time to know for certain who the father is, and that means Ian wants to claim the child if Claire thinks he should.
Ian is also thinking about Jamie. If he weds Malva, it would mean that some of the talk would start to die down. After all, he knows that Jamie didn’t sleep with Malva—and he would have claimed the child if he did.
Claire suggests that she talks to Jamie about it. She doesn’t want Ian marrying Malva under these circumstances and being tied to her for life, but she also wants to see what Jamie has to say.
Foreshadowing in the Outlander chapter
The bit of foreshadowing here is in the fact that Malva also slept with Bobby Higgins. Bobby and Ian are not the only men on the Ridge she’s slept with. In a previous chapter, there are even thoughts of Obadiah Henderson. It’s clear that Malva has managed to get around, and somehow, it’s been without her father and most people at the Ridge realizing it.
Yet, there is someone else to blame for this. We still have the big story involving Allan, and it’s Young Ian who is there to hear some of the confession—although Claire hears most of it.
Adapting A Breath of Snow and Ashes chapter
This chapter was partly adapted. The bit with Bobby was skipped over since his character hasn’t been introduced yet, but we did get Obadiah Henderson as a potential father, too.
We needed this chapter to be used. Just the bit with Young Ian confessing to sleeping with Malva and then offering to marry her for the sake of the child. He is a good man, and the TV show needs to show that. At the same time, it needs to remind us that Ian isn’t an innocent young boy anymore. He is a man, and he will get up to things without Claire and Jamie realizing.
What did you spot while reading A Breath of Snow and Ashes Chapter 82? Let us know in the comments below.
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