A Breath of Snow and Ashes

Claire is the main narrator of the novel; her sections are the only ones told in first person perspective. Married to Jamie Fraser, the leader of Fraser’s Ridge, Claire is a fiercely intelligent and beautiful Catholic woman in her 50s who comes from the future. A doctor, Claire is constantly trying to treat her patients using her modern medical knowledge and the limited resources at her disposal. Many in the colony see her as a witch, but her unchallenged skill and marriage to Jamie protect her from being overly vilified—for the most part. Claire is deeply in love with Jamie but had a previous husband in the future who helped raise Brianna, her daughter with Jamie.

Claire’s oath as a doctor informs much of her character. Although she finds herself in many dangerous situations throughout the novel, she only kills out of self-defense, often trying to treat her enemies out of her overwhelming sense of compassion and duty. After being abducted and brutalized by bandits, Claire experiences PTSD symptoms but seems to recover by the end of the book. Also near the end of the book, Claire shoots a man who is trying to gain entry into her house through a window.