Outlander Book Club: Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone Chapter 19 breakdown
Just the Outlander chapter
The chapter starts with Jamie and Claire on their way to Ian’s place, and they mention Oggy and whether he has a real name yet. It’s clear that this is turning into a bit of a joke for the family now.
Bluebell is with them at first, but Jamie sends the dog back to Fanny. This is when Claire notes that Jamie only calls her Frances. Jamie shows how respectful he is of this girl, sharing that Fanny is the name of prostitutes and that Roger has noted it’s other meaning in the 20th century. He prefers Frances.
The two discuss how much Frances knows about her life before. Claire decides that Fanny probably doesn’t want to remember a lot. It would be interesting to get some backstory, and I do wonder if the series will add some of that so we get to know who Fanny and Jane are.
Bluebell returns with the children running after him. They watch a raccoon climb a tree, and Jemmy asks if he can shoot it. Jamie wants Fanny to do it, though, and I love that he’s including Fanny in life on the Ridge. This is a great way to build Fanny’s confidence and make her feel like a member of the family. It’s clear that he is taking his promise to William seriously.
Mandy asks about Claire being able to shoot, sharing the Bree can shoot anything. I love seeing Mandy grow as a young girl, especially in the past. Jem and Germain get to work on skinning and cleaning the raccoon. It looks like they have more meat to feed the family.
With all that done, Claire and Jamie are able to talk more. Claire wants to know how Jamie feels about taking in Bluebell. She knows that Bluebell’s former master was her rapist, and she comments that she wishes she wasn’t happy that he was dead. She also wishes that Jamie didn’t feel like he had to kill the man.
Jamie notes that he did it so that the man wouldn’t tell others of what he did to Claire. This could lead to a gang forming and attacking the Ridge. Also, Jamie decided that Bluebell coming to him was a chance for him to atone for killing the man and also a sign of forgiveness.