How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
It quickly became apparent that this was the regular occasion on which the laird of Castle Leoch dispense justice to his tacksmen and tenants, hearing cases and settling disputes. (6.41)
The system of power and justice is a little different in 18th-century Scotland than it is anywhere else. Each of the Scottish clans have a leader, or laird, and that man is kind of like the Judge Judy of the castle—what he says, goes. We're not sure how this dictatorship is different from the tyrannical rule of the English king, but little details make huge differences, we guess.
Quote #5
Bluff called, I had little choice but to mutter something of the yes-well-perhaps-later variety, and excuse myself hastily on the pretext of visiting the necessary facilities before the singing should start. Game and set to Colum, but not yet match. (8.29)
Any lesser person would feel helpless going up against Colum, the chieftain of clan Mackenzie. But not Claire. She has power in her wits, and in her knowledge of the future. She's not a helpless woman, even when standing up to a very powerful man.
Quote #6
From the little I remembered of Bonnie Prince Charlie, the Young Pretender to the throne, part of his support had come from France, but part of the finances behind his unsuccessful rising had come from the shallow, threadbare pockets of the people he proposed to rule. (11.65)
When Claire learned all this in school, it was history, but now that she's living in it, it's politics. And it's shady politics, too. It's like if a politician raised campaign funds solely from people who are being served in soup kitchens.