Outlander cast discuss Young Ian's season four proposal
We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info
WARNING: This article contains spoilers from An Echo in the Bone and possible future Outlander spoilers
Season seven of Outlander is expected to be coming out later this year and will be taking its cue from Diana Gabaldon’s sixth and seventh novels A Breath of Snow and Ashes and An Echo in the Bone. An Echo in the Bone starts to delve more into Claire Fraser’s (played by Caitríona Balfe) family history with the arrival of a mysterious character called Percy Beauchamp. Many viewers may be wondering why English woman Claire has a French surname.
Why does Claire have a French surname in Outlander?
In Outlander, Claire is a distinctly English character and is referred to as “sassenach” by Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan).
The term was a derogatory term for English people during this era but also meant outsider or outlander.
She also has a very clipped British accent, which taps into her Englishness and sense of identity.
Claire served in the British Army during the Second World War as a nurse on the frontline, tending to the wounded and dying men on the battlefield.
Interestingly, Claire was later stationed at Caen and a field hospital in Amiens, France, which took her back to French roots.
When Claire first went back in time, she used a cover story and her maiden name of Beauchamp to hide her true identity.
Claire said she was an English widow travelling to France to see her family, knowing the Beauchamps were there at this point in time.
Beauchamp gave her safety from her real married name Randall and also Captain Black Jack Randall (Tobias Menzies), who would be quizzing her about the pair being related with Claire unable to reveal the truth.
However, her maiden name is French and her family came from France to England at some point.
In An Echo in the Bone, Claire muses on whether Percy could be one of her ancestors or connected to her family in some way.
Unknown to her, Percy had taken his wife’s family name due to the association of wealth and social standing it brought with it.
Nonetheless, Claire knew her family did move from France to England during this period and was curious to find out more details about this.
Gabaldon often refers on her official website to the character by her full name: Claire Beauchamp Randall Fraser, so it’s clear names are important to her.
Similarly, Jamie has many names which have a part in the story and are important to the character’s identity.
Quentin Beauchamp (Prentis Hancock) was Claire’s paternal uncle and cared for her following her parents’ tragic death in a car accident but beyond this, viewers haven’t really encountered her family in the story.
The name Beauchamp is likely to come full-circle in the story with Percy trying to find Fergus Fraser (César Domboy), whom he knows as ‘Claudel’.
Don’t miss…
Antiques Roadshow guest hides behind iconic painting after valuation [VIDEO]
The Apprentice star believes eight boys would have been in the final [INTERVIEW]
Laura Kuenssberg faces calls to ‘step down’ over Lineker impartiality [LATEST
There’s a chance Claire and Fergus could be related with the Comte St Germain (Stanley Weber) being the father of the street urchin while Amelie Beauchamp was his mother.
This would mean, Fergus and Claire share a family name and there’s a good chance this could be addressed later on.
Moreover, Outlander could finally see why the Beauchamp family moved from France to England.
Claire’s family history and even her time travelling abilities could also be addressed as Outlander comes to a close after season eight was confirmed to be the last outing.
Outlander season 7 will air later this year and seasons 1 to 6 are streaming on Lionsgate+ now
Source: Read Full Article