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Outlander, and Why I Bounced off of it
Apr. 13th, 2021 08:22 amIn yesterday's post, I said I would discuss the series Outlander and my reaction to it.
For those not familiar, Outlander involves Claire, a British woman who, in 1946, is magically transported to the year 1743. Adventures and some hot sex follow. If, as discussed yesterday, Fifty Shades of Grey is an adult Cinderella story, then Outlander is an adult and female version of A Boy's Own Adventure. Claire was a nurse in WWII, and her medical skills are of great use in 1743. In the male version of the story, Cliff, our hero, would be a historian with great skills in using weapons of the period.
Looking at it through this light, I completely understand the attraction. Where the story fell down for me was not the adventure but Claire's decision to not go back to 1946, thus ditching her modern husband Frank. Now, IIRC, the relationship between the two moderns is painted as fading, but still, from Frank's point of view she's just disappeared. In more traditional Boy's Own stories, the boy is unencumbered.
But here, with Claire's decision to ditch Frank, I think we also see a more adult interest. For many adults, there's always a question about the path not taken. What would have happened if I'd done X instead of Y? Here, author Diana Gabaldon gets to explore some of that.
For those not familiar, Outlander involves Claire, a British woman who, in 1946, is magically transported to the year 1743. Adventures and some hot sex follow. If, as discussed yesterday, Fifty Shades of Grey is an adult Cinderella story, then Outlander is an adult and female version of A Boy's Own Adventure. Claire was a nurse in WWII, and her medical skills are of great use in 1743. In the male version of the story, Cliff, our hero, would be a historian with great skills in using weapons of the period.
Looking at it through this light, I completely understand the attraction. Where the story fell down for me was not the adventure but Claire's decision to not go back to 1946, thus ditching her modern husband Frank. Now, IIRC, the relationship between the two moderns is painted as fading, but still, from Frank's point of view she's just disappeared. In more traditional Boy's Own stories, the boy is unencumbered.
But here, with Claire's decision to ditch Frank, I think we also see a more adult interest. For many adults, there's always a question about the path not taken. What would have happened if I'd done X instead of Y? Here, author Diana Gabaldon gets to explore some of that.
