Chapter 22 - Reckonings

Well, I must say, in this chapter there's a whole lotta beatin' goin' on. Between Claire being "punished" for risking the lives of the rest of the group, to Jamie sharing some of his youthful experiences with punishment, there is no lack of bruised and/or swollen hind ends or hands.

Not having read any of the fan comments that I'm sure are out there in regards to Jamie's treatment of Claire, I can only say that, for the time period and her behavior, she definitely put herself in a place for this to happen. I was actually surprised to see that Diana brought this aspect of accountability into the story; quite honestly, it makes Claire's situation so much more believable to me. Consequences for actions; who would have guessed?

“Do ye realize, Claire,” he said quietly, “that all of us came close to bein’ killed this afternoon?” I looked down at the quilt, shamefaced. “Yes, I know. My fault. I’m sorry.” “Aye, so ye realize,” he said. “Do ye know that if a man among us had done such a thing, to put the rest in danger, he would ha’ likely had his ears cropped, or been flogged, if not killed outright?” I blanched at this. “No, I didn’t know.” “Well, I know as you’re not yet familiar wi’ our ways, and it’s some excuse. Still I did tell ye to stay hid, and had ye done so, it would never have happened. Now the English will be lookin’ high and low for us; we shall have to lie hid during the days and travel at night now.”

Based on the ramifications of her actions, Jamie's response appears to me to be measured and appropriate. He would be right in saying that any man who had jeopardized their mission so severely would easily have suffered a worse punishment. And the response of the rest of the men as they ate dinner at the inn, dismissive and edged with silence, would be a natural reaction to this type of behavior.

As Claire reciprocates by ensuring Jamie sleeps on the floor, she was, as she puts it, "torn between fits of rage and philosophy". This also surprised me. There's a depth to some of her surmisings that caught me off guard. She admits to "having trouble with the scale of things"; "things" being what was truly a priority based on her future-knowledge of the ravages of mechanized war. It was hard for her to relate her actions among the clan fightings to the broader context of WWII.

A man killed with a musket was just as dead as one killed with a mortar. It was just that the mortar killed impersonally, destroying dozens of men, while the musket was fired by one man who could see the eyes of the one he killed. That made it murder, it seemed to me, not war. How many men to make a war? Enough, perhaps, so they didn’t really have to see each other? And yet this plainly was war—or serious business at least—to Dougal, Jamie, Rupert, and Ned. Even little rat-faced Murtagh had a reason for violence beyond his natural inclinations. And what about those reasons? One king rather than another? Hanovers and Stuarts? To me, these were still no more than names on a chart on the schoolroom wall. What were they, compared with an unthinkable evil like Hitler’s Reich? It made a difference to those who lived under the kings, I supposed, though the differences might seem trivial to me. Still, when had the right to live as one wished ever been considered trivial? Was a struggle to choose one’s own destiny less worthwhile than the necessity to stop a great evil?

Heavy thoughts, these. And not without precedent. My wife is a huge Lord of the Rings fan, and reading Claire's musings in her final sentence there regarding choosing personal destiny over resisting evil reminds me that the very same question is the root ethic of the Lord of the Rings epic.

Me personally, I'm not big on war. I have a hard time trying to determine what a "just cause" is. Typically, the truth of any conflict rarely surfaces until it's over, and the form and shape of the war simply follows base ethics of the participants. That probably comes across sounding pretty liberal for someone who is most certainly more conservative than most, and who served four years in the US Air Force, but, there it is. Time molds and changes our opinions as we grow, to be sure.

Continuing on, as they travel all night toward the Red Boar at Bargrennan, Jamie opens up and begins to reveal some of his own childhood thrashings. Jamie's intentions are to remove the sting of Claire's own predicament (no pun intended) by sharing some of his own self-deprecating moments, yet there's a ring of authenticity to his overall message. I was sensibly repulsed by his revelation of Randall's true intentions with him when he was a prisoner at the Fort, yet captivated by the story of his father's death during Jamie's flogging.

Through all of this, Claire finally comes to a measure of understanding regarding the motives behind Jamie's actions, and while she ultimately forgives him, she makes it clear that she will not be tolerant of Jamie laying a hand on her again. Although in Jamie's oath to her (upon her dirk), he simply says he would never lay a hand on her "in rebellion or anger". That certainly doesn't preclude another episode of defiance on Claire's part.

Chapter 13 - A Marriage is Announced

Wow, what an interesting chapter. This one definitely runs the gamut from disorientation, to pain and suffering, to, well, let's just say unusually motivated legal agreements.

At first I couldn't figure out what Dougal was doing. Obviously he was taken aback by the bitter cruelty of Randall punching Claire. But why in the heck would he be taking Claire out into the the woods essentially to tell her the story about Jamie?

...hereabouts, ladies are generally not exposed to such sights as floggings. Have ye ever seen one?”"

No, nor do I much want to,” I responded sharply. “I can imagine what it would take to make marks like the ones on Jamie’s back, though.” 

Dougal shook his head, flipping water out of the pool at a curious jay that ventured close. “Now, there you’re wrong, lass, and you’ll pardon my saying so. Imagination is all verra well, but it isna equal to the sight of a man having his back laid open. A verra nasty thing—it’s meant to break a man, and most often it succeeds.”  

And on it goes; the nerve-wracking anticipation, the defiant endurance, all to demonstrate a wickedness in Randall that we could already guess at, but there it was, spelled out in all of its bloody cruelty for all to see. As profoundly moving and heroic as that story about Jamie being flogged was, it made no sense to me why Dougal was telling Claire all of that back story, until she asked him that very same question.

Everything was quiet in the small glade except for the faint rush of wind through the leaves of the rowan tree. I closed my eyes and listened to it for some time. “Why?” I asked finally, eyes still closed. “Why did you tell me?”

Dougal was watching me intently when I opened my eyes. I dipped a hand in the spring again, and applied the cool water to my temples. “I thought it might serve as what ye may call a character illustration,” he said.

"Of Randall?” I uttered a short, mirthless laugh. “I don’t need any further evidence as to his character, thank you.”

“Of Randall,” he agreed, “and Jamie too.”  

So here it comes: the Plan. In order to spare Claire from having to be delivered to this maniacal Randall, who now (and I'm sure in greater detail to come) is even more confirmedly wicked, Dougal suggests that she marry Jamie to become a Scot and avoid being handed over to his evilness. It keeps her safe and gets him off the hook for not delivering her, and Jamie...well, Jamie gets, y'know...Claire.

What?! Married?! Okay so let's just pause here for a moment and reflect. When you have finished pausing and reflecting, please come back and finish reading.

Are you done now? Okay, good. (If you did get a snack, be sure to clean your fingers so the keyboard and mouse don't get sticky).

So, if you remember, I originally agreed to read at least 200 pages of this book, for I was told by Debby Kennedy that by then I would be hooked. In good faith, not only did I commit to read the whole book, I also agreed to document my thoughts through each chapter. So, here I am, only a hundred and seventy-seven pages into this thing, and already Claire and Jamie are getting married!! I mean, in any other story, we're basically done! Just get Claire back to the stones, a heart-breaking scene where she can no longer stay with Jamie who rescued her from the evil Randall, and be sucked back through the time-hole thing to be reunited with her true husband Frank, only to reminisce longingly about her adventures in the 18th century, where, as the story closes, now in her old age, Frank has died, and in a fit of aged introspection she travels back to Craigh na Dunh only to find a now-ancient carving of Jamie's undying love for her for all time, aaaaaaand fade to black. End of story.

Yeah. Not with Diana. I can see how this is going to go. This is why she couldn't sell the movie rights to just have this story be a 2-1/2 hour movie, because we're already there, done! The whole story up to this point is a complete whole (with the modified, truncated ending, of course).

Um, I'm pretty sure with 7 more books already written (who knows how many more on the way), Diana's just getting warmed up. At this point in this first book, she hasn't even gone through her first bottle of Rhenish yet. With all of the background and history groundwork already laid, this story still has a million places to go. It's just like my eight-year-old daughter's really long feet; she's got to grow into them.

So, after all the wrangling that Dougal has done, they draw up the paperwork with the help of Ned Gowan:

...Dougal removed a chamber pot from its resting place on the table and fanned the sheets of paper out ceremoniously on the rough oak surface. “All done,” he said, with the pride of one who has shepherded a difficult project to a successful conclusion. “Ned’s drawn up the papers; nothing like a lawyer—so long as he’s on your side, eh, Ned?” 

The men all laughed, evidently in good humor. 

"Not really difficult, ye ken,” Ned said modestly. “It’s but a simple contract.”

A simple contract, yes, but a massive shift in the plot of the story, to be sure. Of course, Jamie's response to all of this Plan is just priceless:

“Did you know that Dougal wants us to marry?” I demanded bluntly.

His expression cleared. “Oh, aye. I knew that.”

"But surely,” I said, “a young man like yourself; I mean, isn’t there anyone else you’re, ah, interested in?”

He looked blank for a moment, then understanding dawned. “Oh, am I promised? Nay, I’m no much of a prospect for a girl.” He hurried on, as though feeling this might sound insulting. “I mean, I’ve no property to speak of, and nothing more than a soldier’s pay to live on.” He rubbed his chin, eyeing me dubiously. “Then there’s the minor difficulty that I’ve a price on my head. No father much wants his daughter married to a man as may be arrested and hanged any time. Did ye think of that?”

I flapped my hand, dismissing the matter of outlawry as a minor consideration, compared to the whole monstrous idea. I had one last try.“Does it bother you that I’m not a virgin?”

He hesitated a moment before answering. “Well, no,” he said slowly, “so long as it doesna bother you that I am.” He grinned at my drop-jawed expression, and backed toward the door. “Reckon one of us should know what they’re doing,” he said.

The door closed softly behind him; clearly the courtship was over.

What more can be said to that wonderful exchange? On to the wedding!

Chapter 12 - The Garrison Commander

I liked Claire's ponderings at the opening of this chapter. It helps me keep my bearings in the story as the plots begin to thicken and intertwine. One of my favorite aspects of good literature is to see inside the characters' heads so I can know not only what they're doing, but why they are making the choices they are. This is a little more difficult to accomplish with TV and movies, though, so it will be interesting to see how this  is carried off in the production.

As Claire considers her various options and opinions about who others think she might be, she begins to wonder if Column actually considered her to be a spy for the English, or not:

...I was patently not a Scot myself; surely he [the garrison commander] would not be inclined to think me a spy of some sort? That was evidently what Colum and Dougal thought—that I was an English spy. Which made me wonder what I was meant to be spying on? Well, unpatriotic activities, I supposed; of which, collecting money for the support of Prince Charles Edward Stuart, pretender to the throne, was definitely one. But in that case, why had Dougal allowed me to see him do it? He could easily enough have sent me outside before that part of the proceedings. 

These definitely are some of the thoughts I considered about her predicament, as well. I also reasoned that if Colum really thought she was a spy, he had been pretty free with her seeing the inner workings at the castle. 

Probably a staircase similar to this
where Jamie tried to sneak and sleep

As they journeyed to the inn at the village, I was struck with the stark baseness of 18th century life; the unsanitary conditions in her "room" if you could call it that, the need for a flint-box and candle, fumbling around in the dark, all very genuine for something as simple as trying to get a good night's sleep. Although, when her intruder tried to sneak upstairs, I did feel it was a little predictable that it would be Jamie.

What it did remind me of, though, is that there have been many times that I have tried to be quiet early in the morning getting ready for work, when invariably I will step on every squeaky floorboard or trip on the unexpected toy left in the hallway. Do you know how screechingly loud a bureau drawer can be when you are trying so hard to open it silently? Why is it that when you are trying to stay quiet that the simplest task makes the most excruciatingly loud noises that would otherwise be unnoticed during the day? It's like trying to open up a cellophane candy mint in church; who ever knew those things made that much noise?

 As to why Jamie would be up there, well, my first thought, actually, was one that Jamie voiced about wanting to stay away from the English.

“It isna entirely disintested kindness on my part, ye ken,” he observed. “I’d as soon avoid notice myself.” I had forgotten that he had his own reasons for keeping away from English soldiery. It did not escape me, however, that this could have been much better accomplished, not to say more comfortably, by his sleeping in the warm and airy stables, rather than on the floor before my door. “But if anyone does come up here,” I protested, “they’ll find you then.”

It made sense to me that he wouldn't want to be seen by them, for sure. But the mix up regarding the propriety of Jamie spending the night in her room as a guard was mildly amusing.

“Won’t they wonder, though, what you’re doing up here in the dark?” I could see nothing of his face, but the tone of his voice told me he was smiling. “Not at all, Sassenach. They’ll just think I’m waiting my turn.” I laughed and went in then. I curled myself on the bed and went to sleep, marveling at the mind that could make such ribald jokes even as it recoiled at the thought of sleeping in the same room with me.

Okay, then, the next day, Claire is brought before the garrison commander. Randall?! Seriously, I did NOT see that coming. I probably should have, but I think I was too busy trying to figure out how Dougal was going to try to expose her as a spy and I wasn't sure what he was up to. In the end everyone's motives become clear enough.

He drew back his arm and hit me in the pit of the stomach. I made no noise, because I had no breath. I sat on the floor, doubled over, struggling to draw air into my lungs. I was shocked far beyond the actual pain of the blow, which was beginning to make itself felt, along with a wave of giddy sickness. In a fairly eventful life, no one had ever purposely struck me before.

Wow. Did this strike anybody else as being absolutely repulsive? Certainly, if you want to have a main character become really despicable, have him punch a woman. Full force. In the pit of the stomach. Oh, and then have him say: “I trust you are not with child, Madam...because if you are, you won’t be for long.” *Shudder* I'm sure there's more to come.

One funny thing I read about Diana is how she was with a group of women who were commiserating with each other at how absolutely heinous they thought Jack Randall was, and then she thought to herself: "If they only knew; I am Jack Randall." Ha. Brilliant.

Could this be Frank's alter-ego
in the monster world?

Then, a new thought occurred to me: why is it that the bad guy is named Randall? Could it have anything to do with the kids movie Monsters Inc.? Think about it; the bad guy in that story was also called Randall (voiced by Steve Buscemi, my wife's OTHER favorite Steve). Coincidence?

Let's see, if the character association works out, that would make Sully Jamie, and Mike Wazowski, well, he would have to be Claire. But that means that Sully and Mike Wazowski would have to...um, ok, maybe it doesn't work.

But you get the idea: Randalls of all kinds should most likely be avoided, just in case.

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." :)

Chapter 2 - Standing Stones

Well, if nothing else, I must say the pace of the story is moving right along. I would have thought we would have had more back story to wade through before getting to Claire's experience at the stones.

Favorite quote:

"Life among academics had taught me that a well-expressed opinion is usually better than a badly expressed fact, as far as professional advancement goes." - Claire

No doubt Diana is writing this from her long association with academia. I would definitely agree (not that I have had a long association with academia), but I have also found that simply stating something with confidence goes a lot farther to convince others than those who can quote fact after fact yet with an unconvincing lack of passion.

Favorite scene:
I was mildly amused at Claire's lack of interest in the discussion between Frank and Reverend Wakefield discovering all of the history surrounding Black Jack Randall. I certainly would have been eager to join in their discussion. I was a little sad when Claire left the room to have tea with Mrs. Graham...

Additional comments:
While obviously the Druidic elements are critical to the story, I'm finding it difficult to connect there. Before you start throwing stones, I get it; it's cultural and very historically accurate, yes. I'm just not sure if it's a guy thing or if it's just me, but the tea leaves and palm reading stuff (yes, I understand it's important foreshadowing in the story), just makes me kind of, well, roll my eyes. Let me hasten to add: I AM NOT DISLIKING THE STORY, I am merely trying to be honest in my perspective on the book. If my wife knows anything about me, it's that if you ask my opinion you're usually going to get it. :)

Ok, from what my wife told me about the series, Frank and Claire's "roll in the hay" (or in this case, "cow parsley") leaves me wondering how many episodes of this I will have to endure in the rest of the book. Yes, I'm sure most guys would be, like, "My wife knows that I'm reading this book, and they have excerpts from Penthouse letters in here? Dude, I am stoked!" But, seriously, is it really necessary to have the lovemaking scenes described in such detail? For me, and this is obviously just me, it totally distracts me from the story itself. Yes, I know Frank and Claire are married, but that doesn't mean I want to peek in on their bedroom while they're, y'know...right? Let's let them have their moment, and understand they've had their moment, while not experiencing their moment with them. Kinda creeps me out. K?