Presented July 28, 12-1 Fremont Library Outlander is much more than a television romance about a World War II nurse and a Jacobite in a fetching kilt. The series has been categorized as a period drama, adventure saga, military history and fantasy epic. Inspired by the Irish legends of Fionn Mac Cumhaill and the prophecies of Brahan Seer, the storyline is also filled with mythology and symbolism from around the world, from the Fair Folk and the Loch Ness monster to wendigos, ghosts, zombies and succubae. The series is also rich with its own symbolism: heather and white roses, the dragonfly in amber, Claire’s blue vase and wedding gown, her wedding rings and pearl necklace. This presentation by Valerie Estelle Frankel (author of five books about the Starz series and novels) untangles the myriad of myths, legends, symbols and literary references found within.

1. Symbols of
Outlander

2. Cross-Stitch
 Diana Gabaldon named her first book Cross Stitch, which, as she
calls it, is “a play on ‘a stitch in time,’” also referencing Claire’s
occupation as a healer and seamstress of wounds (Outlandish
Companion 323).
 If Claire had time traveled both ways in book one, as first planned,
the story would have made a cross shape of perfect balance, going
and reversing.
 Crossroads, a moment when one must decide which way to turn.
 Small descents into the unconscious
 The X’s four legs represent the four elements of matter.

3. Outlander
 Sassenach was proposed for a book title, but as
it was difficult to spell and pronounce, Gabaldon
and her publisher settled on Outlander, the
translation. (Nonetheless, episode one of the
show is “Sassenach” in a possible homage).
 “‘Sassenach.’ He had called me that from the
first; the Gaelic word for outlander, a stranger.
An Englishman. First in jest, then in affection”
(Dragonfly in Amber, ch. 5). Jaime indeed seems
to regard Claire as his Sassenach, his English
wife. Pet names like this one are both
affectionate and proprietary – Jaime is the only
one to call Claire this, and he uses it almost
constantly (though there are various Gaelic
endearments as well). As such, the word
emphasizes their special bond as well as its
constancy through the series.

4. Dragonfly in Amber
 Hugh Munro gives Claire a piece of amber with a dragonfly
inside it in chapter nineteen of the first book and episode eight
of the show. Gabaldon notes that the dragonfly in amber
symbolizes Jamie and Claire’s marriage “not only via the token
Hugh Munro gives Claire – but as a metaphor; a means of
preserving something of great beauty that exists out of its
proper time” (Outlandish Companion 368).
 Amber symbolized frozen tears of the gods in Norse and Greek
myth, indicating the sorrow of this precious time that will soon
end (Bruce-Mitford 38).
 The moments with amber symbolism are precious but also
heartbreakingly short. Jaime gives Claire a second piece of
amber to celebrate a year of marriage near Hogmanay, “a good
time for beginnings” (Dragonfly in Amber, ch. 33). This is their
last time of safety together before the Uprising.

5. Dragonflies
 Dragonflies are a symbol of evanescence, fragile beauty that will shortly
be lost. As such, they parallel the clan way of life and Jaime and Claire’s
love, all under terrible threat. The dragonfly also symbolizes free will, as
the glistening creatures fly wherever they wish. Incredibly swift, they
can move in all six directions, radiating a sense of power and poise.
 He had been fixed in my memory for so long, glowing but static, like an
insect frozen in amber. And then Roger’s brief historical sighting, like
peeks through a keyhole; separate pictures like punctuations,
alterations; adjustments of memory, each showing the dragonfly’s
wings raised or lowered at a different angle, like the single frames of a
motion picture. Now time had begun to run again for us, and the
dragonfly was in flight before me, flickering from place to place, so I
saw little more yet than the glitter of its wings. (Voyager, ch. 26)
 The chalice on the book’s cover has a whiff of Gethsemane, as Jaime
wishes the cup would pass to another. With a faint Celtic pattern, the
cup also suggests royalty and kingship, linking to the Cup of the Druid
King in The Scottish Prisoner.

6. Voyager
 To me, Voyager conjured up not only the superficial
meanings of journey and adventure – and the very
concrete reference to an ocean voyage – but
something a bit more. Growing up in the sixties as I
did, I was exposed to the U.S. program of space
exploration in a big way, and found the whole notion
unspeakably romantic. Of all the different missions,
Voyager was one that particularly caught my
imagination. This was commitment to the dark
unknown, in the search for unimagined knowledge.
Courage and daring, in the service of hope. Very
suitable, I thought, for a book dealing with dangerous
journeys in search of self and soul. (Outlandish
Companion 326)

7. Iconic Symbols

8. Wedding Dress
 The ornate wedding gown is silver and white with
a pattern of acorns and falling leaves that
resemble rising birds). Acorns and oak leaves are
a symbol of strength and fidelity in a marriage,
the costume designer says in the accompanying
podcast.
 “It was as if I stepped outside on a cloudy day
and suddenly the sun came out,” Jaime says
sweetly.
 The gown gleams with endless layers of glittering
mica as well as silver embroidery. As Dresbach
describes it:
 I had really had gotten directions from Ron that
this needed to be a fairy tale; a beautiful moment
that cements and entire book series and an entire
television series. It’s a series about a marriage
and the foundation is this moment, but it’s two
people who didn’t know each other and who
didn’t plan to be married and are being forced
into this. And yet, we had to make it so
impossibly romantic that we could believe that
our heroine and our hero could just fall in love so
completely at that moment.

9. Modern Suit
 Costume designer Terry Dresbach comments:
 Claire and Frank are getting married just as the war is
breaking out, and while there is still optimism in the
air, it is a more somber time. Ron [Moore, the show’s
creator and Dresbach’s husband] wanted the clothes
to be very faded as in an old photo, so we used tones
of grey and brown. But Claire is in love, and it shows
up in her jaunty little hat, tipped over one eye.
 It’s stark compared with the luxurious period gowns.

10. Geillis
 “Monkey fur jacket” worn backwards for more
jarringness. A touch of the forest-wise wizard about
it
 “I designed Geillis as if she was always playing dress
up, always playing a part. That is why not of her
costumes connect as if they belonged to one
person. There only theme would be that they make
people slightly uncomfortable, but they are not
entirely sure why.”
 At home she wears a bad woman’s red shoes.
 Her mourning dress is textured like feathers.
 “I was in a fabric store in London, and this fabric got
up off of the shelf, and said, ‘HEY!!! I am Geillis’s
widows weeds’ … It looks like feathers … I knew I
wanted it to be the most outrageous mourning
gown one could imagine. And I knew I wanted white
in it. Lots of it.”

11. Geillis
 Geillis’s gray dress has a touch of Gandalf. Her Gathering
outerwear resembles a filmy Greek tunic. As Dresbach
notes:
 Geillis is wearing an Arisaid, a Scottish woman’s
plaid…clasped at the shoulder with a Lovers Eye brooch. I
used a man’s leather belt, with a jeweled buckle, at her
waist, as both a nod to Highland men, and as a way to
provide contrast to her delicate, translucent costume.
Feminine, but dangerous.
 The eye comes from a portrait of Bonnie Prince Charlie, a
secret paraded in public.
 The disembodied eye seems a guardian for Geillis,
suggesting occult powers of perception.
Flaunting this at the gathering, she stands
out in her contrasting color.

12. Jamie’s Kilt
 When asked about the appeal of a man in a kilt,
Gabaldon notes that while “really tired” she said, “Well, I
suppose it’s the idea that you could be up against a wall
with him in a minute” As she adds:
 A man who you know is running around with his dangly
bits so immediately accessible is plainly a bold spirit, up
for anything at the drop of a hat (or some more
appropriate garment) and entirely willing to risk himself,
body and soul. The English Government understood this
very well; hence the DisKilting Act, passed after
Culloden, which – as part of a program of cultural
punishment and ethnic cleansing – forbade Highland
men to wear the kilt or possess tartan.
 Kilts are a romantic image, seen on many novel covers
as a departure from dull, mannerly trousers.

13. Jamie’s Kilt
 Some years ago a sculptured stone was dug up from the ruins of the
Roman Wall (which was constructed in the year 140), representing
three figures dressed exactly in the ancient garb of the Highlanders.
 In a song composed to commemorate the battle of Harlaw in 1411,
M’Mhuirich, bard to the Lord of the Isles, describes the rest of the
Highland dress item by item: “A jacket, vest, and feile-beag or kilt; a
belted plaid or breacan-feile, a full-trimmed bounet, set of belts, a pair
of tartan hose made of cloth, a pair of knitted hose, a pair of garters, a
silver-mounted sporran, a targe [Scottish shield], with spear, a
claidheamh-mor [great sword], brace of pistols, dirk, with knife and
fork, a sgian-dubh [sock knife], a powder horn, and shoulder brooch”
(“The Highland Garb”).
 It was not until the 16th century that a simple length of cloth, belted
round the waist, came into use. The “feileadh breacan” or “feileadh
mor” (the great kilt) was several yards long:
 “It’s a bit undignified to get into, but it’s verra easy to take off”
 “How do you get into it?” I asked curiously.
 “Well, ye lay it out on the ground, like this” – he knelt, spreading the
cloth so that it lined the leaf-strewn hollow – “and then ye pleat it every
few inches, lie down on it, and roll.” (Dragonfly in Amber, ch. 36)

14. Frasier
Tartan
 Jaime typically wears the blue and brown
MacKenzie tartan, presumably because he’s
hiding among them. His wedding tartan in
Fraser plaid is mostly blue-green with a little
red. The costume designer describes making
the Fraser tartan similar to the MacKenzie one
to show the relation between the families – the
Fraser tartan has only a thin red stripe in an
homage to the traditional red tartan (Podcast
107). The MacKenzie tartan in “earth colors” was
also created by the design team – neither is the
authentic clan pattern.

15. Standing
Stones
 While stone circles appear across Britain and beyond,
Craigh na Dun itself is fictional.
 Scotland has many stone circles, while over 900 remain
today across the British landscape.
 Some standing stones were said to dance or move
about the land, while others made noise, much like the
roaring Claire hears each time. Old Irish and Welsh
tales describe stones that could speak or move,
especially at the Fire Feasts and Solstices.
 Around the world, people would walk through the
stones seeking healing or regeneration.

16. Travelers
 Now this one is about a man out late on a fairy hill on the eve
of Samhain who hears the sound of a woman singing sad and
plaintive from the very rocks of the hill. “I am a woman of
Balnain. The folk have stolen me over again,” the stones seemed
to say. “I stood upon the hill, and wind did rise, and the sound
of thunder rolled across the land. I placed my hands upon the
tallest stone and traveled to a far, distant land where I lived for
a time among strangers who became lovers and friends. But
one day, I saw the moon came out and the wind rose once
more. So I touched the stones and traveled back to my own
land and took up again with the man I had left behind.”
(Episode 103)
 In book and show, the story is meant to parallel Claire’s own
situation and also provide her with hope – after their travels, the
women usually return home.
 The wife of the Laird of Balnain may be on a mission to save her
child, another common staple of fairy kidnapping tales. Some
young men are stolen as well, to become great poets or
musicians like Thomas the Rhymer.

17. Fairies
 “Some say the hill is enchanted, others say it is cursed. Both are right,”
Claire notes in the prologue to Dragonfly in Amber. In folklore, the fairies
live under the artificial hills that are manmade cairns or burial chambers
from the ancient peoples of the land – many believe the tiny folk who
could not abide iron are in fact memories of primitive civilizations. Sidhe
is also the Gaelic word for the treasure-filled barrow-mounds, as fairies
are said to live “under the hill.” Prehistoric flint arrowheads scattered
throughout Scotland were always known as elf-shot – proof of the
primitive fay who refused to use iron. Exploring the land around
Lallybroch, Roger discovers an ancient chapel and feels the presence of its
ancient builders.
 Scottish tales often take place in a particular century, rather than a
nebulous “Once Upon a Time.”. (The only place where 200 years appears
is the popular fifties musical Brigadoon). In Gabaldon’s work, the two
hundred years seems to be common knowledge to the Scots. As Joan
MacKimmie describes tiny fairies, “They give you food and drink…But if
you take any, you lose time…there’s music and feasting and dancing. But
in the morning, when he goes back it’s two hundred years later” (“The
Space Between” 234).
 In fact, stolen children may be boys but stolen adults are often young
women, taken as brides or wet-nurses for the fairies.

18. Selkies
 The selkie legend describes “mythological creatures said to live
as seals in the sea but to become humans on land” (Outlander,
ch. 24). These traditional stories all go the same way: A man
steals a selkie’s sealskin, and she turns into a woman and weds
him. Eventually, however, she discovers the stolen skin and
returns to the sea.
 This story parallels Claire’s own – a magical woman is trapped
in Scotland, unable to return to her birthplace and forced to
marry a Scottish man of the time. He’s able to keep her for a
while, but eventually must let her return home. Jaime seems to
realize this on some level as he guides Claire to the standing
stones in the first book and season.
 From the male teller’s point of view, this type of romance
reflects a desire to connect with the world of nature, and
particularly the threshold to the magical world, as heroes court
nymphs of the wild feminine oceans, streams, forests and
skies” – these semi-divine women offer a bridge from the
human world to that of the unconscious (Frankel 306).

19. Loch Ness
Scotland has always teamed with memorable
folktales: of kelpies, selkies, and of course, the Loch
Ness Monster, who appears in the books.

20. Jewels
 “In most symbolic traditions, jewels signify spiritual
truths” (Cirlot 163)
 In the books, Jaime gives Claire a dagger with a
moonstone in the hilt. “Camillus Leonardus says it is
powerful in reconciling lovers, and helpful to
consumptives when the Moon is increasing in light, but
when the Moon is waning, its stone will only enable its
wearer to foretell future happenings” (Thomas and Pavitt
182-183). A gift of love, healing, and foretelling.
 From Geillis after their adventure in the third book, Jaime
keeps an emerald, opal, turquoise, golden stone, and the
black diamond. While the last of these, like its fellows, is
intended for time travel, it has further significance as
Jaime notes the adamant gives its owner “The knowledge
of joy in all things” (Voyager, ch. 63). While he sells the
other jewels, Jaime keeps this one for Claire so she can
return to the future, suggesting his love and joy in her.

21. Sapphire and Diamonds
 For many years, Lord John keeps the sapphire he confiscates
from Jaime. When pressed, he doesn’t return it, but instead gives
Jaime the sapphire ring his first love Hector left him – he
considers his talisman from Jaime more significant. Lord John
makes a sapphire paperweight that always journeys with him.
 Sapphires symbolize a higher spirituality with “truth, chastity,
and contemplation,” since they’re the color of the heavens
(Bruce-Mitford 40). John uses his path with sapphires to show his
growth toward a more elevated love.
 The “Star Sapphire was much valued by the Ancients as a love
charm; they considered it peculiarly powerful for the procuring
of favours, for bringing good fortune and averting witchcraft”
(Thomas and Pavitt 156). Both his sapphires bring him love and
luck in the accompanying relationships.
 In the seventh book, Lord John gives Claire diamond earrings.
These are the hardest stone, as well as one of the most beautiful
and expensive, and thus, a salute to her strength.

22. Pearl Necklace
 “The pearl signifies humility, purity, innocence,
and a retiring spirit” (Jones 94). In fact, these last
do not well describe pale Claire, or indeed Ellen
MacKenzie, who eloped and returned pregnant.
 “Since the neck has an astrological association
with sex, the necklace also betokens an erotic link”
(Cirlot 227). Pearls symbolize beauty and “have
long been the jewel of love” (Bruce-Mitford 87).
They were a combination of masculine and
feminine, male fire and female water.
 In the episode, Claire describes forgetting her
previous life, losing the incidents like “pearls on
a string…rolling into dark corners.” While this
links with the pearls, in fact they are an
heirloom, kept intact as a reminder.
 Pearls also signify tears for their partings.

23. Rings
 Claire’s wedding rings: a gold one for Frank and a silver for Jaime.
 Gold symbolizes the sun, patriarchy and masculine principle. Thus is apt
for Frank, in his world of military hierarchy in which Claire learned to
operate. Only her trip through the standing stones saves her from a
future as housewife to an Oxford Don, another masculine order.
 Gold is popular for wedding rings because of its sunny, undimmed color,
suggesting untarnished joy. Malleable as it is, gold is a symbol for
adaptability as well as untarnished constancy and the indestructible –
gold buried for millennia will emerge from the earth in the same state it
was buried. Frank is frozen waiting for Claire in the future, a lightpost to
guide her home if she chooses to return.


24. Rings
 Silver is the less expensive, simpler metal. It represents the
feminine principle – emphasizing that Claire can take the
dominaent role. As Caitriona Balfe describes Jaime:
 His emotional intelligence is what, for me, stands out. In this
very rough and barbaric world, here’s a young guy who’s,
emotionally, so much more modern. And he’s willing to learn
and he’s looking for that guidance. And I think that’s the
beautiful thing that they find in each other. I truly believe that
she was very much in love with Frank, but I think that this is
something that she has never experienced before… (Prudom,
“Strong Female”)
 In the book it’s a delicate thistle pattern, on the show, it’s from
the key to Lallybroch – coarser but a link with her new home.


25. Works Cited
Bruce-Mitford, Miranda. The Illustrated Book of Signs and Symbols. USA: DK Publishing, 1996.
Cirlot, J.E. A Dictionary of Symbols. New York: Routledge, 1971.
Dresbach, Terry. Terry Dresbach: An 18th Century Life. 2014. Blog. http://terrydresbach.com.
Frankel, Valerie Estelle. From Girl to Goddess: The Heroine’s Journey in Myth and Legend. Jefferson, NC: McFarland and Co., 2010.
– . The Symbolism and Sources of Outlander. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2015.
Gabaldon, Diana. A Breath of Snow and Ashes. New York: Random House, 2005.
– . Cross Stitch. London: Arrow Books, 1994
– . Dragonfly in Amber. New York: Random House, 1992.
– . “The Doctor’s Balls.” Chicks Unravel Time: Women Journey Through Every Season of Doctor Who. Edited by Deborah Stanish
and L.M. Myles. USA: Mad Norwegian Press, 2012. Kindle Edition.
– . Outlander. New York: Bantam Dell, 1992.
– . The Outlandish Companion. New York: Delacorte Press, 1999.
– . “The Space Between.” The Mad Scientist’s Guide to World Domination: Original Short Fiction for the Modern Evil Genius. John
Joseph Adams, ed. New York: Tor, 2013. 161-243.
– . Voyager. New York: Random House, 1993.
Jones, William. History and Mystery of Precious Stones. London: Richard Bentley and Son, 1880.
“The Highland Garb.” The Gaelic Society of Inverness. Electric Scotland. http://www.electricscotland.com/history/articles/garb.htm.
Prudom, Laura. “‘Outlander’: Ron Moore on Adapting the Bestseller for Starz, Dispelling ‘Game of Thrones’ Comparisons.” Variety 6
August 2014. http://variety.com/2014/tv/news/outlander-ron-moore-starz-book-game-of-thrones-1201277009.
– . “Starz’s ‘Outlander’ Woos Women with Strong Female Protagonist.” Variety 7 Aug 2014. http://variety.com/2014/tv/news/starz-
outlander-woos-women-with-strong-female-protagonist-1201277091.
Thomas, William and Kate Pavitt. The Book of Talismans, Amulets and Zodiacal Gems. London: William Rider & Son, Ltd., 1922. The
Sacred Texts Archive. http://www.sacred-texts.com/sym/bot.

26. Check out more books by
Valerie Estelle Frankel