I used Outlander for one of my MA classes called Romance and its Remediation. We looked at romance tropes in medieval romances, and how they have been remediated in several more contemporary novels, graphic novels, TV series, movies and even video games. Of course, because I’m such a huge fan of the Outlander series, I wanted to use it for academic reasons, and I really enjoyed working on this. Today, I give you my introduction, and for the next few Fridays, I will also discuss the novel, the graphic novel and the TV show.
Outlander: Same Story – Different Media?
The first novel in Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander saga was published in 1991, and the story of Claire Randall Beauchamp and Jamie Fraser immediately became very popular. Outlander can be included in novels that remediate the romance genre for several reasons, one of these reasons is the supernatural aspect. At the beginning of the novel, Claire inadvertently travels through time, 202 years into the past.
Introduction:
When Claire is introduced in the story, she is on a second honeymoon in Scotland, with her husband, Frank Randall, and it is just after the ending of the Second World War in 1945. During the war, Claire was an army nurse, and Frank was a pilot, and they did not see each other for the duration of the war and need to reconnect. They had chosen Scotland for their trip partly because Frank wanted to continue his genealogy research into his family, and also because Claire wanted to continue studying medicine, and had a big interest in using plants for their healing properties. Soon after they arrive in Scotland, however, they go to the local Stonehenge at dawn to watch as some local druid women dance and sing to welcome the sun. During this, Claire more feels than hears a strange buzzing noise, and when she comes back on her own later in the day to collect some flowers, she touches one of the stones and is transported 202 years back in time. As in medieval romances, the base of Claire’s time travel is coincidence or fate, as if she was indeed meant to travel back in time both in order to meet Jamie, and to help him and his clan in their quest to fight for a free Scotland.
Once Claire realises and admits to herself that she is indeed in the past, her quest to go back to her own time starts. The quest is also an aspect that was present in medieval romances, and while Claire’s quest happens because of an accident, it is still a quest. Her quest is not an easy one, especially because some Scots who want to protect her against the English soldiers who are roaming the Highlands soon take her in. Jamie Fraser is among the younger of these Scots, and it is apparent that he will become very important to the story unfolding. Jamie is on his own quest, too, as he is on the run from the English, and hiding with part of his clan in another part of Scotland from where he grew up. Because of the harsh environment, and the patriarchal society where she has ended up, Claire also has to stay close to the Scots in order to stay safe, and it is difficult for her to adhere to the rules of the clan of men who are used to women obeying them.
This brings about yet another aspect that mirrors the romance genre: the love triangle. However, the love triangle in Outlander is not as innocent and unobtainable as love triangles sometimes were in medieval romances, as Claire ends up marrying Jamie to survive, and they grow to love and respect each other. And while Claire is technically married to two men, at the same time she isn’t, as Frank lives on in the 20th century, and she continues to evolve in the 18th century. For quite some time, Claire is the only character who is aware of the fact that there is a love triangle, because her story seems so unreal, even to herself, she doesn’t find a good way to share her time travel with Jamie in a way that will not make him think she is insane or making things up. As the story unfolds, Jamie’s love for Claire is part of what makes him take action in different situations, and this can been seen as yet another characteristic which is important in medieval romances.
One of the aspects of the Outlander saga that is very appealing is that Claire is a very strong female character. She is definitely out of place in 18th century Scotland, but she was also seen as a feminist in the 20th century, because she spoke her mind, participated in the war, and did not obey any man who tried to tell her what to do. This brought the struggle women are still fighting today into the story as well, and seeing how Claire mostly managed to get her point across, even with the Scots who were not used to a woman taking charge and telling them what to do made the story as well as the characters complex and multi-faceted. This anachronism is important during the whole saga, as Claire often depends on her 20th century knowledge in order to solve problems, both historical and medical, in the 18th century.
Readers may have very different experiences when reading the novel, both because they bring their own real life experiences with them when they read, and because of their knowledge of history and human nature. The fact that Outlander now exists in three different media can both enhance and remediate the story, as impressions coming from the words on a page differ from the drawings in a graphic novel, and this is even more changing when it comes to a TV show. In each instance, there are more senses being involved in the experience of the story. In a novel, the words on a page or e-reader count, and the writing itself is what is important. The way the narration is done, the character development, the plot points as well as the storyline and the story time all participate in making a novel an experience for the reader.
In a graphic novel, the characters and the setting are partly brought to life through drawings and colours on the page. The layout of the page is different, and the illustrator can help draw the reader’s attention to one part of the page rather than the other, or try to make the reader’s attention go to one point before it is brought to another. The experience changes even more when the story moves from the page to the screen, because there are actors interpreting the characters, and a director is making decisions about lighting, which scenes to include, music, costumes and what perspective to use.
While the media can change, it appears that Outlander stays close to the story that unfolded in the novel, both in the graphic novel and in the TV show, the characters behave in the same way, and are recognisable to the audience no matter the media through which they first got acquainted with Outlander in.
About Linda @ (un)Conventional Bookworms
Linda is an English as foreign language teacher and has a Master's degree in English Language and Literature. She's an avid reader, blogger, compulsive one-clicker and a genre omnivore. Ever since she learnt how to read she has been seen with a book or two in her hands everywhere she goes.
Twitter: bmreviewsohmy
Oh boy, we get to be in your class…lol. I have this one in ebook and audio but still not read it….lol. It intimidates me with it’s length. 🙂 Though I did get to see the first half of season one on STARS during a free preview and enjoyed it but it hasn’t got me to read the book yet…one day. 🙂
I loved what I’ve seen of the TV show Stormi! And I’ve read all the books in the series – I just love it. I do think this is one of the times having a kindle is really handy, since I didn’t realize how many pages there were to read before I was well into the story 😀
The TV show is really very close to the novel, and that’s one of the things I loved so much about it, of course, the TV show Jamie is really hot, too, which doesn’t hurt 😉
Twitter: bmreviewsohmy
Even when there on my kindle I can tell they are long by how large the numbers are on it…lol. I agree Jamie is hot and a probably the one reason I decided to try the show…hehe. 🙂
Hehe, I think that’s a valid reason 😉
Nice post! I watch the tv show but I haven’t read the books yet even if I have them, I need to try them!
I got so obsessed by the series I bought the graphic novel as soon as it was released, Melliane 🙂
I can’t wait to read Outlander, Lexxie…even if I’ve been waiting and waiting for some reason. I think it’s because it’s a huge book and a big time commitment. But I know I’m going to love it. And I’m so happy you’re sharing your project with everyone! 😉
I hope you’ve had a fab week! Enjoy the weekend! **BIG HUGS**
Now that my project has been approved, it is OK to share it. Before then, I didn’t want my professors to google a sentence and think I had plagiarised myself 😉 And once you get started on Outlander, you’ll see that even though those books are HUGE, it doesn’t take forever to read them, they are so entertaining! *BIG HUGS*
Interesting. I haven’t seen the graphic novel. Is it hefty? I also haven’t watched the show as I was worried they would change it too much and ruin it. Now that Know they are staying true to the book, I might have to do some binge watching.
The graphic novel covers only a quite small part of the first Outlander novel, Heidi, and it’s more about Jamie than Claire, even if she’s definitely present for parts of it as well 🙂 And the TV show is very close to the novel (I’ve only watched the first half of the first season). It’s worth watching for Jamie alone 😉
Looking forward to this series of posts. 🙂 May inspire me to continue on; I’m still stuck in holding. I realize now that it is mostly because i want the story to go in a certain direction and it isn’t. I’m just so annoyed they went and trusted that witch! 🙁
Thanks, Xyra! Where did you stop reading? And where did you want the story to go? Oh… if you’re talking about the witch I think you’re talking about, you really need to continue reading.
I think I am poised to start book 3 or 4. You know me, I’m all about happy endings with little separation. 😀 And I’ve seen a few tidbits about what happens in later books that seem to indicate feet of clay on Claire’s part. Of course, they may have been out of context. Yes, I am sure we are talking one in the same witch; what you may indicate is intriguing. 🙂 I will have to lower my reading expectations for this year.
LOL Xyra 🙂 I think seven books were already released when I started reading, and I read those all in one go, then I went on to Lord John, and the graphic novel 🙂
And I can’t wait to see what you think about the rest of this series 🙂
Very cool post! I hadn’t realized it was a graphic novel as well. I have the books and want to read them. At least the first couple because I also really want to watch the show!!
I think this is actually one of the very few instances where you could watch the show before you start reading, Grace, that’s how good I think the TV show is! Gabaldon has spent a lot of time on set, and consulting about the script, so it’s really very close to what happens in the novel.
The graphic novel is from a different perspective than the novel, though, but it’s really good! Stay tuned 😉
Twitter: talksupeblog
That’s comforting. I haven’t read the books and have only seen a few episodes. I like it and I have a girl crush on the girl playing Claire hihihi.
You have to read the books, Braine! They are so, so good 🙂 And I agree, Claire in the TV show is very cute 😉
I didn’t know there was a graphic novel, but I love the show and have read the novel so many years ago that I’ll have to re-read it. Thanks for sharing, I’m looking forward to reading the rest 😉
Thanks, Iza 🙂 The graphic novel is really well done! I enjoyed the drawings, and the way the story wasn’t exactly the same as the one in Outlander, even if it happens in the same time frame.
I just love this story. I have read the book, listened to the audiobooks, and watched the first season of the show. I think that each way of experiencing the story brings its own magic. I may have to check out the graphic novel. Great post!
I agree, each way of experiencing the story brings out the aspects differently, and so it enhances the experience 🙂 Thanks for stopping by, Carole.
How cool! I wish my university had a class like this.
We are very lucky, Jennifer, we have a lot of very interesting classes each year, sometimes, it is really difficult to choose, I’d take too many 😉
This is a SUPER cool project Lexxie^^ Thanks for sharing it with us! I have yet to read Outlander though I was gifted the first three books last Christmas. It’s not that I’m waiting because the books are big and it’s a long series, it’s that I already have soooo many series on the go at the moment. As soon as I make progress with those – a resolution this year – I plan on jumping into these! The way you described the main character Claire, her adventures and her romances sounds really fascinating to me…and hey: it’s in Scotland so I AM IN ♥
Having too many series and other books to read is the bane of the bookworm, Micheline. I hope you’ll be able to start Outlander soon, though, it’s really one of my favorite series! Claire is amazing, and following her over several years is magical.
I think I just may be the ONLY person who isn’t interested in Outlander. *hides head* I just have ZERO interest in watching it, reading it, or knowing about it. Strange, right?! Everyone LOVES Outlander. I’m totally the black sheep here. LOL
What a great topic! I haven’t read this book since 1999, I bought my copy on holiday in Australia and back then the book was called Cross Stitch rather than Outlander, I enjoyed it from what I remember but I never got on to the others. Of course now it is everywhere, there is even a colouring book, I think I need a revisit! Good luck with all your studying!
Twitter: Mollykatie112
I admit to both wanting to read this book and to being turned off by the length. However, when it came on TV, I loved the whole thing. Recently, we were deciding to turn off some of the movie channels and I voted to keep Starz only for Outlander. I wish some of my classes in college had been this interesting! Great introduction!