An Analysis of the Characteristics of Female Characters in the Thorn Birds

Abstract

Published in 1977, The Thorn Birds was written by Colleen McCullough, a famous Australian writer. It is also reputed as Gone with the Wind in Australia. It deals with love and fate, taking the love story of Father Ralph and Maggie as the main clue and describing the Cleary family’s saga about the three generations. The thesis focuses on the characteristics, love and fate of the three female characters in the Cleary family. Based on these, one can draw a conclusion that under the male and religion-oriented society women should pursue their love bravely and challenge themselves so that they can truly master their own fates.