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| It's hot. And I'm tired. And thirsty. And I don't like anyone. They're all a bunch of meanies. |
And if one subscribes to this type of notion...one MUST admit the fact that William is the way he is due to the way he was raised. And to this I say "Thank you, Lord John and family. YOU have made this kid into the whiny, spoiled little brat he is today. I hope you're proud of yourselves."
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| Bet thy has never seen me like this, has thee? |
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| Hal and I could drink a mean Earl Grey out of this, no?!? |
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| Now what is you doin' having yo'self a big ol' party without ME, bitch? |
So...alas...I will just have to continue reading about Willy...hoping upon hope he's going get stuck with Jamie at some point. I mean totally stranded for days (or dare I dream weeks...months?!)...learning to combine the upper crust intelligence he's acquired from his adoptive family with the brawn of one James Alexander Malcolm Mackenzie Fraser. (NOT that Jamie isn't wicked intelligent, duh.)
Bottom line...I want William to MAN UP. There. I said it. (If Dianne Feinstein can say it...so can I.) I want him to jump into any given situation and use his noodle to take charge of said situation...and pay no attention to the fact that the aforementioned situation may suck.
Just do it, William. Just do it.
Bottom line...I want William to MAN UP. There. I said it. (If Dianne Feinstein can say it...so can I.) I want him to jump into any given situation and use his noodle to take charge of said situation...and pay no attention to the fact that the aforementioned situation may suck. Just do it, William. Just do it.
There's a book about the Revolutionary War that I read in school called, "The World Turned Upside Down." So far, William is the product of his upbringing but he's still very young. One can hope that his upside down world will teach him the lessons he needs to learn to be come a truly good man. It would be great if Jamie could guide him as his own father guided him, but it would be just as great if William got there on his own.
ReplyDeleteI have a feeling that Book 9 will find Bree giving William a dose of reality (and possibly a swift kick in the arse) and straightening his Lordship out on several key points.
ReplyDeleteTotally agree with this post as well as the 2 comments above re some future influence from Jamie and Bree. Personally, I think William is likely to listen to Claire...he respects and possibly even cares for her. Still, whenever I got tired/frustrated/annoyed with William in this book, I just reminded myself that 50% of his genetics come from Geneva Dunsany, that blackmailing, scheming, spoiled rotten wench. It's going to take more than just his Fraser genes and upbringing-by-Greys to straighten this young man out! His character has made me roll my eyes more than anyone else in this series.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Carol and Tracey-he's easy to sort of dislike. But there are flashes of honor and I also think Jamie was a bit self absorbed (and busy feeling sorry for himself) at that age (in 'Virgins') So I think William has a chance to 'man up' before long.
ReplyDeleteCarol,
ReplyDeleteI found your blog during my Outlander depression/withdrawal a few weeks ago after finishing MOBY. I love it! I love to laugh at your insights and 80s-90s references, and I usually agree.
Wholeheartedly, I am with you on this one. William does not please me, but I love John and Hal. Reading BOTB, I love the whole family! Plus Percy! Someone made a good point above regarding Geneva Dunsany and her contribution to William's personality.
Please indulge me with one of my favorite Jamie Fraser quotes. It's from Outlander, when Claire is being whipped as a witch. Jamie has just drawn his sword.
"I draw it in defense of this woman, and the truth,"he said. "If any here be against those two, they'll answer to me, and then God, in that order."
(The judge demands that Jamie surrender Claire.)
"As to that, sir, I swore an oath before the altar of God to protect this woman. And if you're tellin' me that ye consider your own authority to be greater than that of the Almighty, then I must inform ye that I'm no of that opinion, myself."
That's good stuff!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I can't wait to read your reactions to the rest of the book, and I can't wait for August 2nd to watch the Outlander premiere online!
Wow! I've been spending way too much time on the other big Outlander Forums reading folks analytically dissecting the books. You two gals do such a wonderful job of getting to the HEART of the characters and the events surrounding them. Reading your blogs I actually get the sense of the characters as real people and can experience the events as if I were there. Great job!
ReplyDeleteOMG! No kidding! I love this place. I found it 3ish years ago and have been so excited for this book to be released but probably even more excited about Carol blogging about it and T and C's videos!
DeleteLOL! I check every day for some new little tidbit and I simply CANNOT watch a T&C video without a glass of wine or a boat drink in my hand :-)
DeleteThe Carol and Tracey videos are great! The next video I watch I'm trying the glass (or two) of wine suggestion. I always am ready for an hour or so of wit and repartee.
DeleteNote: 'Repartee' is today's word of the day!
We've been judging (yes, *judging*) William by 21st century standards & comparing him to man who has been through a LOT more & seen a lot more of the world than he has. William's experience to date has been that of a little lord-to-be, where everyone defers to him. His place in the upper reaches of society was assured & therefore defined him as a person. It has never occured to him to view it any other way. Now that has all been ripped away from him, he believes, because he now knows he is the BASTARD son of a SCOTTISH criminal. All this amid the turmoil of war. I think the kid deserves a little slack. He needs a little time to figure things out. The signs of a good person are in there. I think his Fraser genes will ultimately win out. And I do agree that his path to acceptance will come through Bree. She knows better than anyone else what it feels like to have the rug pulled out from underneath when learning the father she knew & loved wasn't really her father. But he's young & bull-heided, so it will take him a while to get there.
ReplyDeleteI keep hearing folks talking about how young William is. I wanted to take a moment to put his age into perspective. Lafayette was born 4 months before William. At 14 he joined the army. At 16 he was married. MOBY takes place in 1778 - at 21 Lafayette is a successful Major General on the field. I'm with Carol and Tracey. Willie needs to man up for his own sake and for his own safety.
ReplyDeletePeople mature at different rates and marriage doesn't make someone an adult. That Lafayette was successful in the field says that he was well suited/trained for the army. It says very little about what he was like as a person. We've known since the beginning the circumstances of William's birth. In the real time of the books, Willam has known about it for a very short time. He has no one to talk to about it and is still trying to take it all in. He feels his life has been a lie and the future he once thought was secure is now in jeopardy. I don't think he can be expected to immediately square his shoulders and say, "Let's get on with it." We know his real father is a good man but William doesn't know that yet. I think it's very similar to Jamie's reaction to his belief that Jenny had sex (and got pregnant by) Randall to save his life. He was just as ornery and pig headed about it as William has been.
ReplyDeleteCarol, these posts are so darned entertaining! Dare I say that I'm more entertained by these than the actual book. *GASP* Yeah, I went there (snapping my fingers in the Z formation). :) I LOVE how you can make a mainly serious book so funny. I wish I could climb inside your head. Is that creepy? Whatevs. Some people are way too serious about this on other boards. It's good to have some fun with it over here.
ReplyDeleteAnyhow, I LOVE William. I get what you're saying and I agree. Even though he needs to Man Up, his inner conflict is enormously fun to read. I enjoyed every scene he was in. He still breaks my heart, that sweet, spoiled brat. :) Also, I'm finding Hal and Dottie far more enjoyable now that I've read your descriptions of them than I did while reading the book. That being said, I still wish Hal would take me on the hearth rug.
HEY, amiga.....
ReplyDeleteThere are many descended from U.E.L.s equally courageous and patriotic and decent.....the shades of grey number more than fifty in this situation, which could have gone the other way under a variety of circumstances.
Oh HOOKAH! I almost want to see Lord John portrayed by Nelson Ellis! Sure, he's physically NOTHING like LJG, but it would be hilarious!
ReplyDeleteOn a side note, I'm going to miss Lafayette Reynolds when TB ends. :(
I have great hope for William. We got glimmers of where things might be heading (fingers crossed!) in the scenes near the end of MOBY where 1) he approached Jamie for help finding Jane (sad, that); 2) brought Fanny to the Frasers to raise; and - frigging best of all - 3)confronts Jamie about his relationship with Geneva. The moments where 1) William says "I have a sister?" to which Jamie offhandedly replies "You've met her." and 2) Jamie tells William that while he'll always regret his part in Geneva's demise but, caressing William's face says "No, I am not sorry!" to answer William's question if he's sorry for all that happened ... OMFG!! Guts are heaving, utterly heaving!!
ReplyDeleteI cannot wait to see where that relationship will go. I just can't see William keeping away from the Frasers for long; and now that Bree and family are back (of course, William doesn't know that; but still).... Crazy, bold prediction: William and Fanny end up together (nuts, huh?) Anyway, we should all live so long to see if THAT happens. What do you think?
I just want to say that I rilly, rilly like you guys. I've been casting about for an Outlander blog that feels like "home" for me; and I always come back to you. I particularly like your welcoming ways and your focus on the books; not that the Starz series isn't great. But lately I've despaired of myself deteriorating into total Sam Heughan fangirl-hood; when it's really Duncan Lacroix I should be lusting after!!!
LOL Thanks Anon. :) I have to get my butt in gear and blog about the rest of MOBY!! Starz came along with that dang series (tongue in cheek) and totally messed with my Moby mojo!!! ;)
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DeleteThanks Carol - I'm having so much trouble with my stuff. I'm Jane (AKA Anon)
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