In the middle of this bloody war, you kept track?
I was really looking forward to seeing this iconic moment on screen - and also interested to see how the moment would be adapted for the TV series:
āSassenach, ye havena been a day late in your courses, in all the time since ye first took me to your bed. Ye havena bled now in forty-six days.ā
āYou bastard!ā I said, outraged. āYou counted! In the middle of a bloody war, you counted!ā
āNo!ā I hadnāt; I had been much too afraid to acknowledge the possibility of the thing I had hoped and prayed for so long, come now so horribly too late.
What was so interesting to me is that we got part of this verbatim - Claire says, āIn the middle of this bloody war, you kept track!ā
But - in a subtle, but tremendous shift from the source material - Jamie doesnāt ask Claire, āDidnāt you?ā
Rather, he asks - āHow long have you known?ā
Because he *knows* Claire would have counted. He *knows* she is in tune with her body, after Faith - just as she is in tune with his body.
I never quite believed that Claire wasnāt keeping track - I always saw it as further evidence that she is an unreliable narrator. So itās interesting that the series decided to take a different - more realistic? - view of the situation.
And on top of this - Jamie *knows* that she knows. He also knows why she hasnāt told him - because itās such happy news, at such a terrible time. Theyāve both been keeping this wonderful, precious secret from each other - and in the middle of the preparations for Culloden, he even smiles at her.
Finding a small moment of peace to connect - to celebrate.
And in yet *another* subtle, but tremendous shift from the source material - Claire admits she knows she is pregnant - even though itās āNot longā that sheās known.
Because she knows that he knows. She knows that he would keep track - she knows he is more attuned to her body than she is.
These subtle changes immeasurably strengthen the portrayal of Jamie and Claireās marriage in the series. Because it shows just how well they know each other - and the lengths they will go to ensure that the other is happy.
Because they (and we) both know - they are one body, one spirit. They know, and love, each other more than their own lives.
And, to quote one of Roger MacKenzieās more colorful remarks to Brianna in Drums of Autumn:
āDid that redheaded bastard not love your mother more than life? And love you enough to sacrifice even that love to save you?ā
kianamaiart
andulkaphoto
gummygunk
titsay
germansingergirl
ellievsbear
origamiaround
