Outlander Book Club: Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone Chapter 79 breakdown

Just the Outlander chapter

The chapter starts with Rachel and Silvia getting ready to head to the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting. Rachel would like to see Friends to see if they will be able to help the Hardmans get situated somewhere else. They need the support of people, and Rachel knows that her people are among the best options.

I love that Rachel is looking for a way to help. She doesn’t judge Silvia’s situation. Instead, she looks at a pragmatic way of helping.

Young Ian can’t go with them, so he decides to head to the brothel to do the task Claire asked of him to do. Rachel makes a comment about Ian not bringing a woman home as he has too many of them, and I can’t help but chuckle. This is a defense mechanism, though, I’m sure. She’s already feeling a little apprehensive about meeting Emily and she’s dealing with Ian’s mother. Then there’s Bree, Lizzie, and others in Ian’s life. It’s not easy being his wife, but he is a loyal man.

At the brothel, Young Ian gets to business. He would like a quality room and to find anyone who has been at the brothel for more than five years. As suspected, Claire wants him to find someone who knows Jane so that they can find out more about the family.

There is something that stands out in Diana’s writing in this chapter. When she wants us to feel sympathy for prostitutes, she gives them names and writes about them in sympathetic ways. She gives them backstories. When it comes to the side characters, she consistently uses the W-word. It’s a consistent reminder of their jobs and not of who they are, and it is a little disappointing from a writing point of view. We know what they do based on where they are. Why do we need that constant reminder?