Mother Hildegarde
It’s easy to overlook some of the women in Outlander. I’m sure none of you intentionally forget Mother Hildegarde, but she only really comes up when you think of early Season 2. She was such as important woman for Claire during her time in Paris, though.
If it wasn’t for Mother Hildegarde, Faith wouldn’t have a name or a burial spot on consecrated ground. Mother Hildegarde went against the law to do that for Claire. She also helped Claire as much as she could when it was clear she was dying of childbed fever.
Then there’s the fact that Mother Hildegarde was willing to even give Claire a chance. She saw something in Claire and watched her closely when it came to initially working in L’Hopitale. It was clear from this point Mother Hildegarde was a smart woman who could be trusted. She would become a dear friend to Claire and Jamie.
Geillis Duncan
As I said, not all women go about things in the right way. That doesn’t mean they don’t have anything in them that is worth looking up to. For International Women’s Day, I have to give a special mention to Geillis Duncan.
It wasn’t really until Season 3 that she was viewed as a bad woman. Up to that point, she was a woman with a mission and a secret. It turns out that she came from 1968. She traveled through the stones to help Bonnie Prince Charlie win at Culloden. Sadly, her plans didn’t work out when she was accused of witchcraft.
When Claire came through the stones, she did spend some time helping Claire. She was intrigued and wanted to figure out who Claire was, but I also think she understood what it was like finding yourself in a new place, surrounded by people who question everything different. Geillis didn’t want Claire completely ostracized, and I don’t think that was all because of curiosity.
There was also that moment at the witch trials. Geillis could have refused to help save Claire, and at first she wanted to. In the end, she showed off her baby bump and her smallpox vaccine. She knew where Claire came from, at least a little bit, and she wasn’t going to let both of them die. She did sacrifice herself for Claire.