Characters
I thought Claire was a strong character. She was very much a white woman though. Had all the typical white woman tendencies. Very strong willed, very pro woman in a white woman way, dismissive and, independent. While she had these traits, I found them digestible because she read differently. She wasn’t annoying with it. She wasn’t whiny. She had some spunk to her. She was witty, calculated, and smart. She could use her brain and not have to have everything spelled out for her. She’s also sharp and can be somewhat funny at times. That doesn’t mean she couldn’t be a little irritating. The situations she found herself because she had to put herself first was almost hard to read. But it was nice to be invested in a characters decisions. I always understood completely why she did those things but I still found myself caring enough to be disappointed in how her actions would affect other characters around her.
Her journey of self was kind of interesting to see. When we first met Claire, she was a restricted professor’s wife. She was curious, still just as dismissive, and in the shadow of her husband’s desires. She really wanted to have kids but hasn’t been successful and that seems to burden her. She seems very proper and put together when she’s with Frank. A stark contrast to who she is in the 1700s. After she time travels, you can see her express a different side of herself. She’s sharper, harsher, a bit more rugged or jaded, a lot more outspoken and self driven. It doesn’t take her that long to adapt to the way of living than I thought it would’ve. I think meeting Jamie and just being forced to count on no one but herself, really helped bring those traits to the forefront of her personality. They would eat her alive if she was the meek English woman she portrayed herself to be with Frank.
The most interesting take I found with Claire’s character was that she was a nurse during WW2. At first it doesn’t seem like anything, but it feels like Gabaldon actually did something with this to somewhat add to the story. Instead of just making it seem like it was a small tidbit of Claire’s past, we actually make it important. It’s nice that we continue to see her as a nurse. If she wasn’t important or central to the story in that way, I’m not really sure how story would’ve played out. She didn’t really have any other special traits besides her knowledge of future events. But that information would’ve killed her as we saw in the books.
I think her time as a nurse also helped add to that extra layer of her character. She’d seen people die on the battlefield. Tended to their wounds, heard their lasts words and breaths. I can’t imagine that not changing a person. I think it hardened her a bit as a person. I think it made it easier for her to fit in with the band of rugged men she met on the road as well adapt to the people and situations around her. She had to be sharp, calculated, and cunning. Her survival and reputation depended it. They already suspected her to a spy because she’s English, she’s literally some rando who was in the middle of an active war zone, and some may think she’s a witch due to her nursing abilities.
I think her relationship with Young Jamie also kind of helped with her journey of self. First of all he’s super hot lmao. He’s pretty attractive in the show too. He seemed to really understand her on a level that Frank had not. He accepts her hot headed and curious nature and doesn’t try to change her. He meets her head-on and challenges her if he finds her being too arrogant or selfish. He’s not afraid of the “wildness” in her. He lets her be and embraces her. It’s the same wildness in him, in all the Scotts. He understands her coldness because he too was/is an “outlander” to some degree. He’s of the family but not of the clan. He too has to be cautious and cunning and sharp or the clan politics will eat him alive. He’s not afraid to express himself and does so freely even if it’ll cause him pain or discomfort. I think they both had a profound impact on one another. I think Claire learned not to be so selfish, arrogant and stubborn. Also not to be so judgmental, that everything isn’t so black and white.
Young Jamie is a romance novel wet dream. An accent, young and strong, good looking, not sexist, and is supportive. If you’re looking for a well rounded wet dream, look no further. It’s very evident to me that the author really wanted to be with Jamie if you were in this world and it’s hard to ignore.
Despite that, I do like Jamie. Not really a fan of the beating that he gave Claire but I have no others qualms with him. He’s tortured and has a haunted past yet still wants to love. He’s incredibly loyal and firm in his beliefs. He’s protective and gentle at times. He’s not boring, and it’s nice. I’m more intrigued by Jamie’s story than whatever Claire is doing. She’s kinda boring.
The Abode 