When asked about the situation, Outlander author Diana Gabaldon confirmed that
It turns out that after recreating ether, an early form of anaesthetic, in the era she now lives in with Jamie (Sam Heughan), she's begun to self medicate to help her sleep.
“For Claire, the ether is not addictive in itself, but the feeling it gives you is. The idea of putting yourself to sleep and not having to deal with any of these feelings she's having inside, that is something Claire will become addicted to.”
"When that came up to use the ether," Davis continues. "What we loved about it was it's not addictive, but there is an addictive quality to numbing the pain. For Claire, who wears her heart on her sleeve, that's a pretty big statement for her to want to numb the feelings she's dealing with."
Answer and Explanation: Jamie doesn't physically cheat on Claire in Dragonfly in Amber, but he betrays her trust by hiding information from her. He visits a brothel with Prince Charles so he can keep an eye on their prospective leader.
Jamie marries Claire to keep her from falling into the hands of the evil Captain "Black Jack" Randall. They have one child, Faith, who doesn't survive birth; an adopted son named Fergus; and a daughter, Brianna.
Jamie denies having slept with her, but the damage to his and to Claire's reputation is done—and the bond between the Frasers and Malva is severed, until just a few weeks later, when Claire finds Malva murdered in the garden. “It's like the peak of the tragedy, and it's so visceral.
In the sixth season of the television adaptation of Outlander, Claire Fraser temporarily develops an addiction to ether while self-medicating for her PTSD-induced insomnia and nightmares.
We've seen Claire throughout the season have numerous hallucinations of Lionel Brown. In this episode, her hallucinations of Lionel frequently allude to witchcraft, selfish tendencies, or exploit the anger and betrayal she felt over Malva's false accusation of Jamie.
The odor of ether was often found irritating as well. With the release of more efficient anesthetics in the 1960s, the use of ether declined. It was quickly replaced by new anesthetics such as halothane and sevoflurane. Today, it is no longer used except in undeveloped countries, where it is a cheaper alternative.
About half way through the book, the protagonist, Claire, is violently beaten by her lover/husband, Jamie, as punishment for endangering him and his clan.
As ambitious and enormous as the world of Outlander is, it's the characters and their relationships that make the story so compelling. At its heart is the love shared between Claire and Jamie, two people who ultimately would not let time or distance—even hundreds of years—keep them apart.
“I curse you. I curse you with knowledge, Jack Randall. I give you the hour of your death. Jonathan Wolverton Randall, Born Sept 3rd, 1705, dies…” she whispers in his ear, and suddenly he knows that she's telling him the truth.
Given how close Lord John is with the Frasers, it seems likely at some point he will finally accept Claire and Brianna are time travellers even if he doesn't truly understand it. Aside from Lord John, Young Ian (John Bell) knows his aunt Claire is a time traveller, acutely aware she is not from this time.
This storyline is taken from the books. In A Breath of Snow and Ashes, Claire and Tom come down with the same sickness around the same time dysentery is traveling around the Ridge. Claire knows that she didn't have the same thing, but she can't get to the bottom of the cause. It's Tom who eventually finds out.
A Breath of Snow and Ashes
On a trip to the malting shed (where they are making their own whiskey), Claire is attacked and kidnapped by a group of criminals that includes a fellow time-traveler named Wendigo Donner from 1968. While captive, Claire is assaulted and raped.
Jamie: "Claire, it was you. It's always been you, and it always will be. Get into bed and put the candle out.
The mysterious Master Raymond is a "prehistoric time traveler." Not much is known about him, but he is thought to be a common ancestor of both Claire Fraser and Geillis Duncan.
After attending to Claire 24 hours a day for almost a week, Malva and housekeeper Mrs Bug (Sarah Collier) decided to cut her hair off, thinking it would help reduce Claire's temperature. Having to rock a much shorter hairdo for her character, Balfe, revealed she “wasn't a big fan,” of the shorter look.
After Claire sleeps with the King of France to save Jamie's life, when she leaves Versailles Palace, the last thing she does is pick up the orange and take it with her. It was a small gesture by Claire, a choice that symbolizes that she's leaving with her dignity.
Claire's PTSD Finally Leads to a Meltdown on Outlander—Diana Gabaldon Talks Season 6's Penultimate Episode! At the end of Outlander Season 5, Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan) dumped the body of Lionel (Ned Dennehy) at the feet of Lionel's brother, Richard Brown (Chris Larkin).
Rory faces no accountability for what he does. Embarrassed and scared, Claire cannot bring herself to call out her husband: He is too powerful and his psychological games have created a kind of Stockholm Syndrome, in which the victim, Claire, must depend on her abuser just to avoid beatings.
Claire eventually realizes that Malva is lying because she knows her husband well enough. Tom seems to question Malva's story.
Jamie does not sleep with Malva in Outlander
Malva makes her story about Jamie being the father of her unborn baby convincing. She shares that she knows about the scars on Jamie's back.
Allan began molesting his half-sister Malva from the time she was a young child and eventually, gets her pregnant.