Outlander Book Club: Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone Chapter 23 breakdown

Just the Outlander chapter

The chapter sees Jamie and Roger out fishing for trout with the boys. The kids are away from the adults, allowing them to talk. However, like all kids, they do interrupt at one point with a question about whether females shouldn’t hunt and fish or not. Jamie notes that they should remain downwind of prey when women have their “courses,” because of the smell of blood. Maybe someone shouldn’t tell Brianna that.

Between Jamie and Roger, it’s a discussion of confession. While the Presbyterians don’t have the sacrament of confession, Roger is there for Jamie to open up as it’s clear Jamie needs to. He confesses to killing the man who raped Claire. As much as Claire thought she could forgive her rapist, Jamie knew that he couldn’t, and so the man had to die.

Jamie also spends some time talking about the killings he’d done in Scotland. He decides that killing the man who raped Claire was the hardest one—not morally but because it was hard to do. Many other deaths have been to protect family or for a bigger cause. Even killing Dougal was hard but it was necessary at the time.

With the MacKenzies back in the 18th century, Jamie notes that he can’t kill for anyone’s future. It has to be to protect his family. Roger agrees that he will do what needs to be done, but Jamie notes that killing someone will leave a mark, even for a man of God.

There is so much respect in this chapter, especially when Jamie tells Roger that Roger is doing what he is supposed to. He makes a good minister.