Some thoughts about the ring
Here are some more thoughts about Claire's wedding ring as shown in Episode 107 of the OUTLANDER TV series, titled "The Wedding".
*** SPOILER WARNING!! ***
There are SPOILERS below! If you don't want to know yet, stop reading now.
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In my recap of Episode 107, I made the following comments:
Unfortunately, it turns out I was wrong. This ring (or rather, a sterling silver version of the ring shown in Episode 107) is now being offered for sale as "Claire's Wedding Ring Replica" on the official Outlander Store.
It's selling for $249.99, which seems really excessive to me (do they really think the fans will love it enough to pay that much??), but that's not the main reason I'm mentioning it here.
The photo above shows Claire's ring from the Author's Attic site. (The direct link to the Claire's Ring page is here. As you can imagine, that site has been overwhelmed with traffic in the last couple of days, so if you can't get to it, please try again later.) The design for this ring was used with Diana Gabaldon's permission. It's based on a sketch that appears on page 349 of the OUTLANDISH COMPANION, and it matches the description in the scene where Jamie gives Claire the ring:
That scene has always been one of my favorites. Listening to it in the audio version often brings tears to my eyes. And as anyone who's read the books will recall, the silver ring goes on to be even more important as the series progresses. During those long, aching years of separation, it was one of Claire's very, very few tangible reminders of Jamie:
The silver ring with the Celtic interlace pattern is beloved by OUTLANDER fans around the world. Why would they mess with that in the TV adaptation?
The answer, according to Ronald D. Moore and Terry Dresbach in the Episode 107 podcast, was that they wanted to give Angus and Rupert a role to play in the wedding preparations. And the key from which the ring was made is apparently supposed to be the key to the front door of Lallybroch, or something like that.
To say that I am disappointed with this decision is a severe understatement! This ring made from an old iron key is, frankly, not aesthetically appealing. I've seen comments calling it ugly; I wouldn't go that far, myself, but I certainly don't find it attractive. It might be something that Rupert or Angus would consider fitting for a Sassenach, but to say, "This is what Jamie wants"?? No. The Jamie we know from the books would want a ring as beautiful as Claire is!
And on a lighter note: Did no one point out to them that iron rusts? Considering how often Claire bathes or washes her hands, I'm betting that it will rust to pieces within a year. <g>
But there it is. This is the design they chose to use, we're stuck with it whether the majority of fans like it or not, and I suppose we'll get used to it in time.
I still loved the wedding episode. I think they did a fantastic job adapting it for TV, and I am determined not to let my disappointment with the ring affect my view of Episode 107 as a whole or the series in general.
And it's worth remembering that for those TV viewers who have not read the books, this IS Claire's ring, and always will be. The look of it, the details of its composition, are not nearly as important as the symbolic value of it <understatement!!>, and I'm quite sure that this ring will be just as meaningful as the original, to both Jamie and Claire. In the end, that's what matters.
*** SPOILER WARNING!! ***
There are SPOILERS below! If you don't want to know yet, stop reading now.
S
P
O
I
L
E
R
S
In my recap of Episode 107, I made the following comments:
I am not unduly worried about the ring. It seems pretty clear to me that this is a "placeholder" ring, just something temporary that she can wear until Jamie manages to buy her something better. They must have decided that TV viewers needed a visual reminder of Claire's divided loyalties, and it's going to be a while yet before they get back to Leoch and Jamie can buy her a decent ring with his own money. I am confident that he WILL do that, when the time comes. Claire isn't going to go through the whole series, multiple seasons, wearing a crude iron ring fashioned from an old key. <g> Don't worry. The people in charge of this show are fans (this episode made that abundantly clear!); they know very well how important that silver ring is going to be, and they won't forget it.
Unfortunately, it turns out I was wrong. This ring (or rather, a sterling silver version of the ring shown in Episode 107) is now being offered for sale as "Claire's Wedding Ring Replica" on the official Outlander Store.
It's selling for $249.99, which seems really excessive to me (do they really think the fans will love it enough to pay that much??), but that's not the main reason I'm mentioning it here.
The photo above shows Claire's ring from the Author's Attic site. (The direct link to the Claire's Ring page is here. As you can imagine, that site has been overwhelmed with traffic in the last couple of days, so if you can't get to it, please try again later.) The design for this ring was used with Diana Gabaldon's permission. It's based on a sketch that appears on page 349 of the OUTLANDISH COMPANION, and it matches the description in the scene where Jamie gives Claire the ring:
Reaching, he took the package from my lap and tore away the wrapping, revealing a wide silver band, decorated in the Highland interlace style, a small and delicate Jacobean thistle bloom carved in the center of each link.
So much I saw, and then my eyes blurred again.
I found a handkerchief thrust into my hand, and did my best to stanch the flow with it. “It’s…beautiful,” I said, clearing my throat and dabbling at my eyes.
“Will ye wear it, Claire?” His voice was gentle now, and his use of my name, mostly reserved for occasions of formality or tenderness, nearly made me break down again.
“You needna do so,” he said, looking at me seriously over his cupped palm. “The marriage contract between us is satisfied--it’s legal. You’re protected, safe from anything much save a warrant, and even from that, so long as you’re at Leoch. If ye wish, we may live apart--if that’s what ye were trying to say wi’ all yon rubbish about Laoghaire. You need have little more to do wi’ me, if that’s your honest choice.” He sat motionless, waiting, holding the tiny circlet near his heart.
So he was giving me the choice I had started out to give him. Forced on me by circumstance, he would force himself on me no longer, if I chose to reject him. And there was the alternative, of course: to accept the ring, and all that went with it.
(From OUTLANDER by Diana Gabaldon, chapter 23, "Return to Leoch". Copyright© 1991 by Diana Gabaldon. All rights reserved.)
That scene has always been one of my favorites. Listening to it in the audio version often brings tears to my eyes. And as anyone who's read the books will recall, the silver ring goes on to be even more important as the series progresses. During those long, aching years of separation, it was one of Claire's very, very few tangible reminders of Jamie:
His fingers touched the silver ring and stopped there, holding the metal lightly between thumb and forefinger.
“I never took it off,” I blurted. It seemed important he should know that. He squeezed my hand lightly, but didn’t let go.
(From VOYAGER by Diana Gabaldon, chapter 24, "A. Malcolm, Printer". Copyright© 1994 by Diana Gabaldon. All rights reserved.)
The silver ring with the Celtic interlace pattern is beloved by OUTLANDER fans around the world. Why would they mess with that in the TV adaptation?
The answer, according to Ronald D. Moore and Terry Dresbach in the Episode 107 podcast, was that they wanted to give Angus and Rupert a role to play in the wedding preparations. And the key from which the ring was made is apparently supposed to be the key to the front door of Lallybroch, or something like that.
To say that I am disappointed with this decision is a severe understatement! This ring made from an old iron key is, frankly, not aesthetically appealing. I've seen comments calling it ugly; I wouldn't go that far, myself, but I certainly don't find it attractive. It might be something that Rupert or Angus would consider fitting for a Sassenach, but to say, "This is what Jamie wants"?? No. The Jamie we know from the books would want a ring as beautiful as Claire is!
And on a lighter note: Did no one point out to them that iron rusts? Considering how often Claire bathes or washes her hands, I'm betting that it will rust to pieces within a year. <g>
But there it is. This is the design they chose to use, we're stuck with it whether the majority of fans like it or not, and I suppose we'll get used to it in time.
I still loved the wedding episode. I think they did a fantastic job adapting it for TV, and I am determined not to let my disappointment with the ring affect my view of Episode 107 as a whole or the series in general.
And it's worth remembering that for those TV viewers who have not read the books, this IS Claire's ring, and always will be. The look of it, the details of its composition, are not nearly as important as the symbolic value of it <understatement!!>, and I'm quite sure that this ring will be just as meaningful as the original, to both Jamie and Claire. In the end, that's what matters.
Of course, I could be entirely grasping at straws here. LOL
Okay, got that all out of my system.
:-)
--Amy in Atlanta
Second and hardest to swallow, if they were meeting Franks' parents for lunch...What??????? what happens to Reverend Wakefield and Rogers' relationship?
It's getting harder not to think "Oh what a tangled web we weave when we practice to deceive."
Count me in as one who does not like the ring. If the sole purpose was to give Angus and Rupert and activity then WTH? I love those guys but this was the Wedding episode!!
As you said, the scene in the book where Jamie gives Claire the ring holds so much meaning and was so beautifully written. All along the way Claire makes choices that take her farther away from Frank and her 20th century life. They are all critical to the development of her relationship with Jamie and the producers just tossed this one out the window. Och.
And you hit the nail on the head when you you mentioned that iron rusts. Claire is an avid hand washer. Maybe the ring will rust off and Jamie will get her a new one. Or maybe there is some other treatment regarding the ring down the road that the producers haven't told us about. We can always hope. :)
I do have another issue with the ring in the book with Roger where she found out about the inscription as she claimed she never took it off. Wouldn't she have to when prepping for surgery? Would she have worn surgical gloves over the ring? This seems very unlikely to me.
Having said that, people who decide to read the books after watching the shows are certainly in for a pleasant surprise.
I also disliked the broken up aspect of the episode itself, but on my 2nd and 3rd viewing, I really enjoyed the episode more.
2 thumbs down!
The ring. The pearl necklace. The church versus registry office. There was a perfect flashback set up. But would they use it? Nooooo! I could go on ad nausium about this, but I won't.
Loved: how beautiful Claire and Jamie are together, clothed or not.
I really, desperately hope this is still a placeholder ring but now I'm worried.
Especially after they left out the honesty speech in last week's episode, which is something I did NOT see coming at all. Up until today I really believed that the Starz production team would always at least keep the most important aspects of the story and characters in place.
"Fool me once..." is beginning to come to mind, but I hope I'm incorrect about that.
If so, I think that is a gorgeous twist and am eager for April 2015 to find out.....
As for not taking it off to scrub, it depends on hospital policy. Also my own ring with stones on them don't rip my gloves so a band wouldn't either. Studies have shown that bands don't really carry a appreciable amount of bacteria with them, so it wouldn't have been much less sanitary. Especially at a time when Dr's weren't really even washing the blood off between patients, Claire was leaps and bounds cleaner than other Dr's at the time. Germ theory wasn't even a thing yet, lol. I shudder to think!
n their wedding night when Clair asked Jamie what the key was for, he was like oh nothing.Just something I had in my sporran. And I too wondered about how that story line would play out. But I've seen the trailer where Jamie and Claire are at Leoch and he is holding her hands and says to her, "You are my home now" I wonder if he's explaining to Clair that the ring was made from the key to his home, Lallybroch..but now she is his home?? Just a thought. :) Only a few more days til we find out for sure!! Yippee
Also my opinion - I was so disappointed in the pearls! Where are the lovely "gold rondels" (sp?) and weren't they freshwater pearls? They wouldn't have been perfectly round. Just a minor disappointment relative to my satisfaction in the development of the show.