Virgins section 21 makes me think Rebekah and her maid are up to something. However, they don’t seem to be on the same page with whatever they’re up to.
This section is very much focused on Jamie’s thoughts. Well, more like his hallucinations as he’s given what is likely laudanum to help with pain. We get a real sense at how laudanum feels in a person through Jamie’s reactions, along with why he doesn’t like it in the future.
Breaking down Virgins section 21
The section starts with Rebekah and her maid, Marie, coming into the men’s room. Rebekah notices that Jamie doesn’t look great and is feeling clammy. He tries to push off the concerns, but it’s clear for Ian as well that Jamie isn’t feeling great. So, Rebekah makes Jamie some tea, and she immediately refuses to have some because it has “medicine” in it.
I’m sure that this will be laudanum. Whenever it’s been used before, it’s described as not removing all the pain in the way that Tylenol ro Advil can do. Instead, it pulls a person away from their pain, and it can also lead to some bad dreams and hallucinations. That’s exactly what Jamie suffers, and it all starts with a purple figure watching them.
Marie isn’t happy with what Rebekah has done. They say something to each other and then Marie walks off. However, Jamie notes that Marie’s head remains in some vines he’s hallucinating over the bed. This then turns into a snake with a woman’s head, and she starts to do pleasurable things to Jamie.
Of course, Ian is worried about his friend, but Rebekah shares that the medicine causes hallucination. So, Ian moves back to talk with Rebekah, who wanted to know more about the men who attacked them and what they wanted. Is it possible that they came for her? With the way Rebekah and her maid are acting, I’m starting to suspect something.
The end of the section sees Jamie see Ian and Rebekah kiss, and then they disappear, and he has no idea where they have gone. Is this all in his head, though?
Could this section be used in a TV adaptation?
I’m in two minds about whether an adaptation of Virgins would include this. While it makes some sense as it gives us a look at why Jamie hates laudanum, it wouldn’t be easy to create some of these hallucinations. That would be a lot of CGI work, and it could end up being too costly.
We might see the chapter from Ian’s point of view instead. After all, we need to see Rebekah and Marie come into the room to find out why they were potentially attacked. This is connected to the bigger part of the story.
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