BLACK JACK RANDALL - A STUDY IN TRAUMA
I've always been intrigued by this Outlander character, so I'd like to share my thoughts on the origins of his depravity. My opinion is based mostly on the TV series (to me, show Jack's character is more fully fleshed out and it's easier to draw some conclusions).
He's emotionally immature and dependent. All this edgelord-y talk about "darkness", evil world and cruel God feels more appropriate for a teenage boy than a 40-year-old man. His reaction to Alex's death is also very selfish and juvenile. These are signs of trauma, as if someone was very intent on wiping his personality in his childhood and adolescent years.
He gives me the impression of a very romantic (as in Romantic/Byronic hero) person, "all-or-nothing" kind. I think that as a child Jack did not particularly aspire to become a military man. He would have preferred to draw beautiful things and read Le Morte d'Arthur, but his father (or older brother, or both of them) didn't like that and constantly belittled him for being too dreamy, wimpy and unprepared for a military career.
In terms of sexuality, BJR is on the queer spectrum. In the 18th century, this could have caused serious distress in and of itself. He may have suffered sexual abuse during some of his encounters with men in his younger days. And then we have the Duke of Sandringham, an extremely manipulative man who must have taken advantage of Jack's vulnerability. I believe they had sex, but even without that, the Duke could have done a great deal of psychological harm to Randall.
Jack is virulently jealous of women. It is easier for a woman to seduce a man, and society's attitude even towards a promiscuous woman is somewhat more relaxed than towards a man (homosexual or bisexual) who enjoys being on the receiving end of penetration. By attempting to rape a woman, Jack seeks to assert his masculinity. This suggests that he has some "unmanly" urges or that his masculinity has been challenged in the past.
Does Randall suffer from antisocial personality disorder? I don't think so. He's emotional, he's desperate, he hates himself - such behavior is hardly typical of sociopaths and psychopaths. BJR has self-esteem problems, abandonment issues, possibly narcissistic tendencies, but I don't consider him a psychopath.
Yes, the title is intentionally similar to the title of Diana Gabaldon's "Black Jack Randall - A Study in Sadism" essay from Outlandish Companion, vol. II. This essay confirms some of my assumptions and generally does not contradict them.
P.S. I have no intention of whitewashing BJR, his actions are heinous and being traumatized is not an excuse at all. It is just that I have no doubt he's a victim, but DG didn't tell us much and that is why it's so interesting to speculate on the subject.
