The date of the house fire has come in Outlander Book 6, Chapter 111
It’s time for something that has been on the minds of Claire and Jamie for a few years. The date of the housefire has come up in Outlander Book 6, Chapter 111.
The topic of the housefire has come up now and again since Bree made it to the past to share the news. However, it was always something at the back of their minds. That changed when the date of the fire came up, which is the topic of the chapter.
As expected, everyone gets out of the house. Why stay there when you know there’s supposed to be a fire on that date. I just love how they manage to convince Amy McCallum to get out without sharing the truth about time travel. Superstitious folk are going to believe in prophecies.
This chapter hasn’t yet been used in the TV show. I’m not sure it can be exactly considering the way the show opted to smudge the date on the paper. However, some of the chapter could still be used, and I’ll get to my thoughts on that in the adaptation section.
This chapter doesn’t involve all that much foreshadowing. It’s mostly about plot development for the chapters to come.
Let’s dive into A Breath of Snow and Ashes Chapter 111.
Just the Outlander chapter
The chapter starts with us getting to know how the Frasers are dealing with the knowledge that the house is supposed to burn down. It’s the day of the fire, and Claire and Jamie have decamped to Roger and Bree’s cabin. Amy McCallum and her boys are also there, while Young Ian is out of the house with Rollo. The Bugs are at their own cabin.
Of course, there is a question about whether the fire is the actual Big House. What if the cabin is the place that gets set on fire? There is nowhere else to go, so they just agree to be very careful. Amy doesn’t quite know the truth behind why they’re camping at Bree’s. She’s been told that there was a prophecy, and she certainly believes that it will come true.
Major MacDonald chooses that day to pay a visit. He wants Jamie to help bring men to the militia. It turns out that Duncan Innes was supposed to supply some guns for the militia but couldn’t. It’s probably a good idea he went to Canada!
This is when Jamie tells Major MacDonald the truth. He is not going to fight for the Crown. MacDonald isn’t happy to hear that. In fact, he’s rather offended by the notion. He cannot stay with traitors. He needs his wig, which had been taken by Adso. Claire retrieves it, and that’s when she sees the pantry is on fire.
With the fire out, Claire and Jamie decide they should go to their own house. Major MacDonald agrees to stay with Bree and Roger. It seems that the fire has been put out and prevented, but is that really the case?
Foreshadowing in the Outlander chapter
There isn’t that much foreshadowing in this chapter. It’s mostly focused on plot development. It’s clear that Jamie and Major MacDonald are now on opposite sides and they will eventually need to face each other on the battlefield.
With Claire and Jamie going to their own house, it’s pretty clear that the fire hasn’t really been prevented. I guess this is the foreshadowing.
Adapting A Breath of Snow and Ashes chapter
The chapter hasn’t been used in the TV series. It’s going to be hard to use the topic of the fire since the date was smudged in the paper in the TV series. This gave Bree more ammunition to get to the past right away. There wasn’t a matter of urgency in the book, so I never did understand why she had to go right away.
I guess we could find out that the family has done this every January to avoid the fire. However, I could see the show just skipping over some of this.
We should see Major MacDonald find out that Jamie has switched sides. I do wonder if the series will offer us this since we’ve seen him tell Lord John Grey. Major MacDonald has still been a relatively important character in Outlander Season 6, so I would like to see him learn the truth from Jamie and see how offended he is. This is a big deal.
What did you spot while reading A Breath of Snow and Ashes Chapter 111? Let us know in the comments below.
Like Claire and Jamie on Facebook for the latest from the Outlander Book Club and much more.