Abstract: The Thorn Birds is the masterpiece of a contemporary Australian female writer Colleen McCullough（1937-2015). Since its publication in 1977, it has become one of the bestsellers in the world. The whole saga of the novel The Thorn Birds is set at Drogheda, a vast pasture with typical Australia color. With the love between Meggie and Ralph as its main clue, the novel tells a story, which lasts more than a half century, about love and fate of the three generations in the Cleary family. The heroine Meggie falls in love with the father Ralph, who is desperate for the religious power. He abandons the worldly love in order to follow the “God”. If Meggie is the most prominent thorn bird, Ralph is the toughest thorn stabbing into her heart. Such factors as lack of care and love from family, religious restraint, and contradiction in her own personality lead to Meggie’s tragedy. Through the analysis of the causes shaping Meggie’s tragedy, this paper aims to probe into the destiny of females in the patriarchal society. The first part is the introduction to Meggie’s tragedy. The second part is the analysis of the internal causes of Meggie’s tragedy. The last part discusses the external causes of her tragedy.

Keywords: Meggie, love, tragedy，fate

CONTENTS

Abstract

摘要

1. Introduction .1

2. Meggie’s Tragedy.2

  2.1 Her Falling in Love with Ralph

  2.2 Her Getting Married to Luke

  2.3 Her Losing Dane

3. The Internal Causes of Meggie’s Tragedy4

  3.1 Her Family

  3.2 Her Personality

4. The External Causes of Meggie’s Tragedy.6

  4.1 Social Environment

  4.2 Religious Restraint

5. Conclusion8

Bibliography.9

Acknowledgment10