Chapter 7 - Davie Beaton's Closet

Since this whole adventure is just one big science experiment, I decided on this chapter to experiment with not only reading the chapter, but listening to it while reading it. I must say, Davina Porter's performance on the audio version is really stunning to me. Hearing the accents and pronunciation of obscure (to me) Scottish names, places and things increased not only my comprehension of the story (since I wasn't trying to figure out how things should be pronounced), but I'm finding my appreciation of the story increased as well.

One of the things I am really enjoying about the story is how Diana doesn't always explain what a term is, and leaves us to find out from context clues what it is. Things like "breeks" for britches; "kiss the iron" for (what I think relates to) honoring the pope (or converting to Catholicism); "theriac" for poison antidote. These little "treasure hunts" are the types of things that appeal to me, where the meaning is not right out there, but becomes evident if you apply yourself a bit.

I also appreciated the opportunity to take a break from everything new that Claire was experiencing and to get a glimpse into what she could remember about her time travel experience.

"I had tried repeatedly to think about everything that had happened to me since I stepped through the standing stone. But things moved so rapidly around this place that I had hardly had a moment to myself when I wasn't asleep. Apparently I had one now, though..."

I'm not sure why, but this little respite in the action was refreshing to me. The description of her recalled experience is very "Dr. Who"-ish, but we do glean a couple of other glimpses or snapshots of things that may or may not come to pass in the story: what were the terrifying images she "had fought away from" during the maelstrom of the time-passage; had she really "fought toward others?"

When she brings Jamie his lunch out at the horse fields again, he recounts the story of why he was a wanted man, and how it is all a case of mistaken identity for the murder of the sergeant-major who had flogged him. But he adds enticingly:

"Though had it been Captain Randall, I expect I'd ha' made the effort."

The way Black Jack keeps coming up in the story, the scene is definitely being set for what I can only assume will be the ongoing antagonism between the characters as the story unfolds. His physical likeness to Frank; the fact that he is the moral antithesis of her husband; he's the bane of our hero Jamie, and a well-reputed enemy of the Castle Leoch; yes, it is a masterfully applied interweaving of delicious villainy.

Obviously, since my wife has read all of the books, and I have been exposed to everything Outlander since Seattle, I knew Jamie's last name was not MacTavish. While it wasn't the whole explanation, it was nice to have that back-story explained a bit in this chapter, as well.

As Claire drifts off to sleep in the afternoon sun while Jamie and Old Alec talk horses, Claire recounts:

"Oddly contented and drowsy, I pushed away all thoughts of Colum's suspicions, my own predicament, and other disturbing ideas. 'Sufficient unto the day,' I thought sleepily, picking up the biblical quotation from some recess of memory."

Interesting usage of this biblical quotation from Matthew 6:34, the full text of which reads: "Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." The context of this saying comes on the heels of God's provision for those who "seek first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these things [food, drink, clothing] shall be added unto you."

The psychology of picking and choosing bible verses for our own edification (and not entirely in its full context) is a natural human tendency that fascinates me. I have been guilty of that very thing myself from time to time. It seems that in a time of crisis, the mind seeks to make sense of unusual things and events, to find solace with the known in the midst of upheaval; so it is here with Claire pulling a comforting slice of scripture from "some recess of memory".

As she makes her way back to the castle, Claire considers the shape of the scar on Jamie's head that he had showed her while recounting his tale of woe:

"It wasn't a straight line, as might be made by an English broadsword. The wound was curved, as though made by a blade with a definite bend. A blade like a Lochaber ax? But so far as I knew, the murderous axes...were...carried only by clansmen..."

Hmm. Not sure exactly how Claire would have known a detail like that, unless I missed it earlier in the story. But it is an interesting twist to the shroud of mystery surrounding Jamie's past.

The detailed descriptions of all of the late-medieval medical tools and potions made for some interesting reading at the last part of the chapter. All I have to say after reading that is, "Thank God for modern medicine and indoor plumbing." :)