Jamie fears he may have to lose a hand in Outlander Book 7, Chapter 62
There’s a battle in Outlander Book 7, Chapter 62, leading to Jamie being injured. Will Claire need to amputate?
Amputation is something Jamie fears. He wonders if he will need to lose a hand, but Claire refuses to let that happen. She will make sure he has a working hand still, although Jamie notes that if she has to cut off a finger, he can deal with that. It’s an interesting conversation that makes me think back to when Jamie was adamant that he’d rather die than lose a leg.
This chapter also sees Jamie have to deal with a scary possibility. He may need to kill his son. Both Claire and Jamie know that William is on the other side of the battlefield. Would Jamie ever allow himself to do that?
I do expect to see this chapter used in the TV series. After all, we know Benedict Arnold is going to be in the show, and he is in this chapter in particular. I also expect to see Claire having to work on Jamie to save his life.
There’s also some foreshadowing in this chapter when it comes to William and Jamie. I’ll get to that in the foreshadowing section.
Let’s dive into An Echo in the Bone Chapter 62.
Just the Outlander chapter
The chapter starts with the talk of the battle to come. Claire has learned from Jamie what’s going on. I love how the other wives don’t want the details, but as a battlefield nurse, of course Claire wants to know. She understands it all, and she needs to know what’s going on so she can be a battlefield doctor in this time period.
Claire talks about the fog and likens it to the bombs dropped in Japan during the Second World War. I’m confused about why she thinks of them. This fog is nothing like that. Is it that the change that is about to come is like that? It doesn’t make a lot of sense when I think the battle is more like Prestonpans or Culloden. They are better echoes for the chapter.
There is a concern for Jamie. He’s going to be a rifleman, and now the previous chapter makes a little more sense. Daniel Morgan is impressed with Jamie’s rifle skills. That leads to Jamie ending up here. He’ll need to take out the officers, and that could mean taking out William. Could Jamie ever justify killing his son for war? I don’t think so.
Jamie is injured. While the British don’t bother with him, scavengers do. Claire has to fight her way to Jamie to save him, and she does that by threatening the life of a child. I think we get to see a side to Claire we wouldn’t usually. It’s not normal for her to put someone else in harm’s way, but she will for Jamie.
Jamie fears that he will lose a hand. That’s the only part that’s injured. Claire makes it clear that she will leave him with a working hand, but there is concern about the finger that was damaged at Wentworth Prison all those years ago. Jamie says that if he loses a finger, he won’t begrudge those who pulled him into that battle.
There is a conversation about whether the men Jamie protected were worth it. Were they good men? I’m not sure why Claire worries about that considering she’s saved plenty of men who probably didn’t deserve it in her career as a doctor. Sometimes she’s such a hypocrite, but that makes her a great character.
Foreshadowing in the Outlander chapter
This chapter continues to foreshadow William learning the truth. Nobody at this point knows that Jamie and William are related. Jamie can’t just disagree with fighting in the battle because William is on the other side. He has no way of getting out of this.
Claire worries about William on the other side, and worries for Jamie’s conscious should he have to kill William. I think we get this confirmation that the truth is all about to come out, and William isn’t going to be on the other side for long.
Adapting An Echo in the Bone chapter
This chapter is sure to be used in the TV series. We need to see a battle, especially the one that leads to Benedict Arnold eventually switching sides. It’s seeing the Americans in this that makes him think the British side is the one that will win.
It’s also an important one for Jamie as it leads to the loss of his finger. I want to see Claire hard at work saving his hand, especially considering he doesn’t completely fight against the idea of a full amputation. He put up such a fight for his leg, but this shows how he’s grown and realized that there is something for him in life even with a missing limb.
What did you spot while reading An Echo in the Bone Chapter 62? Let us know in the comments below.
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