I’m currently forcing myself to read Outlander for research purposes. Not doing a real review on it given that I’m not remotely the target audience for the novel, but I do enjoy ranting about it.
The love interest, Jamie, is way too much of a woobie for me to like him on any level. He shows up injured, proceeds to get shot, then is given a good thrashing — all within a few chapters. In the meantime, his dialogue seems to revolve entirely around some horror story from his past, with plenty of scars covering his body to prove it (naturally the main character is there to tend to his wounds and listen sympathetically).
A story with the Woobie allows the audience to vicariously experience relief from some pain by fantasizing about relieving the Woobie’s pain. … Woobification can also tie into a disturbing hurt/comfort dynamic, in which fans enjoy seeing the Woobie tortured so they can wish the hurt away.
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Not my cup of tea.
On any level.
I actually find it a little sickening.
Perhaps it’s a generational thing, given that Outlander was originally published in 1991, but I can’t help but look at Jamie and think that he’s so pathetic, he wouldn’t do anyone any good in a post-2020 world. Like, if there was only one package of toilet paper left in the entire city, and Jamie had a family counting on him to come through for them, he’d probably get hit in the eye and be left completely incapacitated, thus failing miserably. Ain’t got time for that sympathy crap in this society. Toughen up, dude, and learn how to take care of yourself.
I prefer men who are capable of protecting babies against hordes of zombies during the apocalypse. Just sayin’.
By Autumn Rain 
Never heard of a woobie, and I’m glad I haven’t! I’m also glad I never managed to get past page 30 or 40 something in that book. Then again, I was only 13 at the time, but after hearing so much about what happens in that book and the rest of the series, I’m seriously questioning why my mom loves it so much and why she thought I would enjoy it. It completely boggles my mind how much people love it.
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I finally made it to page 100 today.
My best guess is that it’s got to be a generational thing. Though, I can’t understand why anyone would have thought that you’d like it at 13, given that the main character starts off married then goes after a younger man … not exactly the stuff of teenage fantasies, lol.
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A huge accomplishment! Just thinking of making it that far makes having my teeth pulled preferable. I can’t imagine how much worse those next 60+ pages I will never read must have been.
I tend to agree with you. My mom and I definitely had very different tastes and ideas in books. Though I’d like to believe she was more desperate to give me a book to read since she didn’t have time to take me to the library or bookstore. Haha, not exactly the stuff of my adult fantasies, either!
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Adult fantasy: Find a magic spell that gives you unlimited energy without ever having to sleep again, and use it to finally organize the coat closet and clean out the fridge. đŸ˜€
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Yesssss!! I’m still waiting to come into my magical powers. Goodness knows the fridge needs some attention!
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