Chapter 5: The MacKenzie

In this chapter, Claire meets Colum MacKenzie, who is not impressed.

Claire wakes up at Castle Leoch, disoriented, but safe (for the moment).

I sipped it, feeling like the survivor of some major bombing raid.

I'm glad that the book continually reminds us that even though Claire is having a hell of a time at the moment, her travels are somewhat analogous to her recent experiences in WWII. She is in a crisis, but she is familiar with a long-running state of emergency, even if the particulars are unfamiliar.

This is the scene where Mrs. Fitz dresses Claire. One of my favorite scenes from the show. I grew up in a family that spent summers on the "living history" circuit, so I am intimately familiar with ye old undergarments. Fun fact: women used to wear split-crotch drawers. They are . . . breezy. This is an important scene for Claire's transition — you really do feel different in the clothing of a different century. Here she is, stripped down to nothing and rebuilt. Beyond that, I loved the way the TV show showed female nudity in a way that was just normal, everyday life, not a sex scene (or even a sexy scene). She was just getting dressed and it was no big deal, but that sort of scene was so different from most of the female nudity I've seen on TV.

In fact, this may have been the scene where I realized that I was watching a TV show aimed at ME (demographically speaking, at least — I imagine that historians of the early modern Atlantic are quite a small audience). I have watched and enjoyed shows like Game of Thrones and Breaking Bad. But there's always a step of removal watching them, just little things that are alienating, or, at least, not particularly speaking to my experiences/problems/interests. This scene — Claire naked because she's getting dressed, not because somebody wants to fuck her — made me sit up and take notice of this show.

Anyway.

Mrs. Fitz clucks over Claire's hair just as Mrs. Baird did, though with some extra rape talk thrown in there. Not threats, just observations about the safety of traveling openly as a woman.

Castle Leoch is a refuge from the Redcoats, but Claire's problem now is dealing with "Himself," Colum MacKenzie. Or rather "Colum ban Campbell MacKenzie." Does that mean that Colum and Dougal's mother was a Campbell? That could be important at some point.

Recalling Frank's advice about the importance of sticking to the truth (as far as possible) during an interrogation, Claire feeds Colum MacKenzie the same story about traveling to France via Inverness. Which, frankly, sounds as bullshitty as it is.

Colum believes her no more than he should, but focuses in on her state of undress:

"And even with such things as I've heard of Captain Randall, I'd be surprised to hear that an officer in the English army was in the habit of raping stray travelers."

Really, Colum? I mean, surely he has heard a version of the story of Black Jack's attack on Jenny. Is he really surprised, or just trying to mess with Claire?

He blinked, taken aback by my language.

Atta girl Claire. Just keep that foul mouth running and you'll be ok.

Anyway, Claire ends up as a guest/prisoner at Leoch and I don't have much more to say about this chapter. Other than noting that I think the TV dialogue was better: "Is there ever a good reason for rape, Master MacKenzie?" It makes a good point and offers us something to ponder as we discuss the many, many rapes in this book.

Body Count:

Jamie: 3