I find some of Virgins section 12 a little ironic considering what we know of Jamie later on in the book series. However, right now, he is trying to focus on being the man his dad raised him to be.
Yet again, though, the topic of the Jewish people and the antisemitism within France comes up. Jamie makes a “mistake” by speaking Hebrew, but really, it’s a look at how xenophobic the people of the time were.
Breaking down Virgins section 12
The group of mercenaries has stopped their march, and those who haven’t be told to guard the wagon are allowed to go to explore. This means Jamie and Ian are allows to head to a tavern, although Jamie wants to know if there are prostitutes in the place first.
Ian is both relieved and disappointed to learn that Jamie doesn’t want to go where the prostitutes are. I guess for Ian, he would like to love his virginity, but he’s also a little worried about it at the same time. However, Jamie points out that his dad had always told him not to go where the prostitutes were, and that’s something he wants to stick with while his dad is on his mind. I do find this ironic considering Jamie ends up staying in brothels after his time in Ardsmuir and Helwater.
While in the tavern, Jamie flirts with a barmaid, and the two Jewish men speak in their mixture of Hebrew and Spanish, making a joke about STIs. Jamie speaks to them in Hebrew, commenting that warts are the demons trying to get out, and this leads to the two men leaving.
The barmaid wants to know what Jamie said and the language he used, which leads to her turning her nose up at him and leaving. Ian shares that the French women don’t want to lay with Jewish men because they’re circumcised, although he doesn’t quite explain it that way. Poor guy doesn’t quite know of the right wording to use.
Jamie is understandably angry. He hates that this is the way of the French people, and I do love how he reacts when facing this sort of discrimination.
Could this section be used in a TV adaptation?
I’m in two minds about whether this section would be needed in a TV adaptation of Virgins. On the one hand, it gives us a look at life for the mercenaries, but on the other hand, it doesn’t add much to the plot. It just continues the view of the Jewish people to the French people, reminding us of the antisemitism during the time.
There is room for a lot of this throughout the series. If it was used, I could see this section being combined with potentially others that are set in taverns or other situations that are similar locations.
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