Claire and Jaime Want Much More than this Conventional Life in Episode 3 of Outlander

By Morgan Barker

In the third episode of Outlander, Claire is struggling to find her role in the midst of eighteenth century Paris. She likes to stand out and forge her own path. Last season, we saw Claire serve as a nurse during World War II prior to being dropped into the past, where she stood as an individualistic woman with a profession in the Scottish highlands.

Through the first few episodes, Claire is visibly set apart from the other women. In a sea of pastel dresses and fair hair at Versailles, Claire is unforgettable in her red silk dress and dark locks. This episode opens with her in a gold brocade dressing gown, and then a mustard dress. She seems to pop off the screen in front of the neutral street backdrop as she heads to the apothecary shop. In spite of her visual distinction, Claire feels like she blends in. She is growing tired of the conventional life she’s fallen into in France. “I am an unusual lady, at least I used to be,” Claire says, wistfully.

Claire decides she needs something to give her day meaning. At the hospital, she works with the sick and poor. She even gains the approval of the formidable Mother Hildegard when she sniffs and then tastes urine (apparently a form of medicine known in the 18th century as urinoscopy).

Jamie is less enthused by Claire’s adventures at the hospital, “I had the most wonderful day. I lanced two boils, changed filthy dressings, and saw my first case of full blown scrofula,” Claire reports when she returns home. Jaime is not impressed by her day, which comes as a serious blow to Claire. Her work at the hospital is fulfilling to her, just as fulfilling as her relationship with Jamie and her unborn child. She expects Jamie to share in the highs and lows of those aspects of their life, it’s only natural that Claire would also want to share her profession with him.

Jamie is a great character and the perfect match for Claire (plus a gorgeous heartthrob) because he is incredibly supportive, believes in Claire no matter what, and is totally cool with her being an independent woman. Consequently, it’s both surprising and upsetting that Jamie is angry with Claire’s choice to volunteer at the hospital and accuses her of being selfish.

Jamie and Claire’s spat is representative of the larger conflict their relationship faces this season. Jamie is still grappling with sexual trauma. While Jamie and Claire appear to be on the same page when it comes to plotting the downfall of the Bonnie Prince Charlie, their sex life has come to a screeching halt and it’s caused a major disconnect between the two of them. While Claire and Jamie have always been intimate, emotionally and physically, the decline in their sex life is part of a larger disconnect they are experiencing.

In Season One, Claire describes rekindling intimacy with her first husband, Frank, saying, “Sex was our bridge back to one another.” This has been true of her relationship with Jamie as well — sexual intimacy is vitally important to their relationship.

Honesty has also played a major role in their relationship. Jamie and Claire have always been completely candid with one another even when the truth is painful (Jamie describing how he acquired the scars on his back) or when the truth is unbelievable (Claire telling Jamie about the future).

Part of their tension also stems from Claire’s lie of omission. She has decided not to tell Jamie that she discovered Black Jack Randall is still alive. Murtagh is also in on the lie and he encourages her to tell Jamie, but Claire holds back out of love. She sees the memory of a dead man tormenting Jamie, how would he respond if he found out the man still draws breath?

With some deep relationship intrigue, it’s easy to forget that Outlander is actually a genre show with time travel. So, the Black Jack Randall news has an extra layer of complexity as Frank Randall’s (Claire’s future husband) ancestor. If Jack Randall is dead, then Claire’s husband doesn’t exist. Learning Randall lives is very bitter, yet sweet news for Claire.

While Claire and Jamie are in need of relationship counseling, there are a number of plot points in this episode that could spell trouble for the Frasers.

• Remember that guy Claire pissed off in episode one? He’s still mad and probably wants some revenge. The Frasers are so good at making enemies!
• Claire and Jamie thought it would be easy to stop the rebellion if they could prevent the Prince from amassing funds. But, the Prince claims to have British nobles as backers. Jamie and company believe their old friend, the Duke of Sandringham, is at the center of the money.
• Jamie adopts a pickpocket. One of the items he pickpockets is a message coded in music. Mother Hildegard (who was also a music prodigy and friends with Bach) helps decode it.
• Mary Hawkins is also Frank’s Grandmother (add a few greats in front of that).

How does this episode rate on my feminist meter?

This episode gets four and half out of five Ruth Bader Ginsburgs. In my opinion, Outlander is consistently, one of the most feminist series on television. In addition to Claire’s zeal take up a profession, this episode is notable because Claire spends her time looking out for other women.

Claire takes it upon herself to educate young Mary Hawkins. When Louise (Paris’ resident mean girl) laughs at Mary’s rudimentary understanding of sex. Claire decides that she needs to have a chat about the birds and the bees (still forthcoming).

Claire also looks out for her maid. She ventures into the apothecary shop to purchase a contraceptive. The apothecary points out that its typically the maid who performs this for her employer. Later in the hospital, Claire and Mother Hildegard care for a female patient with diabetes.

Caring is a trait that is closely tied to Claire’s character, but in the past most of her patients have been men. We’ll see if this is a continuing theme this season.

File these items under fun, but not that important:

• Louise offers some much needed humor in this episode.
• There could be a whole separate article on early forms of contraception. Claire has to buy some for her lady’s maid, who is hooking up with Murtagh. Apparently, everyone in France has lots of sex.
• You might recognize Mother Hildegard (Frances de la Tour) from the Harry Potter series. She played Madame Maxime.

Next: “La Dame Blanche”

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