Top Ten Tuesday: Ten Reasons Why I Love The Thorn Birds

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

This week's topic is just what I needed. I've been re-watching clips from The Thorn Birds mini-series for a couple weeks--a nice distraction when my mind is wandering. I think once Massachusetts gets closer to normal it will help. Our offices are due to open next week with some strict restrictions.

But, I digress...

I pulled out my old copy of The Thorn Birds--the one that belonged to my mother. The front cover is long gone because a) this is a first edition copy, so it's over 40 years old, and b) I've read it multiple times. I bought a new copy with Richard Chamberlain and Rachel Ward on the front cover, but for the life of me I can't find it.

Considering it has been decades since I read the story, this list will combine reasons I love The Thorn Birds book and mini-series.

The Scenery

I am a simple little girl from New England. Especially when the mini-series came out in 1983, I had no idea what New Zealand, Australia, or Rome looked like.  Between the book and the mini-series, a corner of New Zealand filled with thick, wavy red-headed Clearys came to life. As they made their way to school with young Meggie, the Cleary boys walked the wheel-rutted Wahine road where white calla lilies and orange nasturtiums flowered the high grass and wooden fences bordered properties.

As Father Ralph drives the road from the presbytery in Gillanbone to Mary Carson's Drogheda homestead, clouds of dust trail behind him and he must avoid flocks of sheep roaming the pastures. He steps out of the car and opens twenty-seven gates leading to Drogheda, his patience waning with each gate, and the impressive sheep station looming in the distance. The brown landscape is dotted with sparse trees, Close to the house the roses in a variety of colors bloom. Contrast that against the opulence of the Vatican with its stunning artwork, plush furniture, mosaics on the floor, and elegant chandeliers. Only Drogheda comes close in comparison in this story, but even Mary Carson's wealth can't compete with that of the Catholic Church.




The Music (mini-series)

Henry Mancini--one of my father-in-law's favorites--is the genius behind the musical arrangements for The Thorn Birds mini-series. From the theme song to Meggie Grows Up, from Paddy and Fiona to Ralph and Meggie, and from Forbidden Love to Goodbye, Dane and beyond, it is no wonder the music won Grammy Awards in 1983 and again in 1988. Even now, I can hear the music and know that it goes to the movie.

Paddy (spoilers in white)

We quickly learn that the Cleary patriarch does not fear hard work. While his wealthy sister doesn't save him from it, he never expected her to when he came to Drogheda. Hat in his hand, head bowed, he expresses his gratitude for what Mary has done for him and his family. He also knows that one day, his beloved wife Fiona (Fee) will take her rightful place in society. In the book and the mini-series, we learn more about his tense relationship with Frank, their oldest son. We are also saddened to know he will never hear Fee tell him what was truly in her heart.

Stuart or Stu (spoilers in white)

Easily overlooked, this quiet, sensitive young Cleary is closest to Meggie, the only Cleary daughter. They pal around together as the younger two siblings. After Frank goes away, Stu and Meggie grow even closer. It is he who shares her secret that she is in love with Father Ralph, but he is also the one who encourages her to move on because he can't ever stop being a priest ... even for her.

Strong Female Characters (spoilers in white)

With Mary Carson, Fiona (Fee) Cleary, Meggie, and Justine there is no end to the strong female characters. Amazingly, all want nothing to do with the church for one reason or another. 

My favorite scene is when Justine is in Rome with Dane. Excited to show her his world, Justine is stuck meeting people at the Vatican. When she sits down to tea with Cardinal Ralph and Cardinal Vittorio Contini-Verchese, the latter notices how uncomfortable she is there and she makes a comment that except for the Virgin Mary women are relegated to the cheap seats in the upper balcony. Without missing a beat, Vittorio responds, "but you are forgetting that we call the upper balcony 'Il Paradiso.' Paradise." 

As they are saying goodbye, Ralph walks Justine out. He says the Cleary women always pit themselves against God and the church. Justine says they have Dane to pray for their redemption. He mentions how protective she is of Dane and that she seems to fear for her brother among the "red-robed vultures." She says it is pretty fast company for "a boy whose only ambition is to give his soul to God." Touche! 



The Complexities of Ralph de Bricassart (spoilers in white)

I'm always fascinated by what motivates characters. Ralph is motivated by one thing--ambition. His ambition leads him to make choices--or not make choices--that torture him until the very end.

Instantly taken with young Meggie Cleary when she arrives at the Gilly Station, she becomes his special project. He can love her because she is a child. Problem is she grows up. Not only does she grow up, but he has fallen in love with her and knows she loves him. Since he considers himself above mortal men, he simply can't give into his yearnings for Meggie. Besides, he wants to be pope one day, so he must deny his feelings. 

For decades, Ralph fights his desire for Meggie while he rises through the hierarchy of the Catholic church. Trying to forget him, Meggie starts a life of her own. Destiny, however, will bring these two together again. 

Anne & Luddie Mueller (spoilers in white)

Having been blessed with in-laws who treated me more like a daughter than a daughter-in-law, I've always been drawn to the caring couple living at Himmelhoch.

After Meggie marries Luke O'Neil, they move to Queensland. Unable to buy a station of his own, Luke sets up a place for Meggie to stay while he works. This childless couple takes to her instantly and treats her more like a daughter than a servant. They love Meggie; perhaps more than her own parents ever will.

Fee as a Grandmother (spoilers in white)

As a mother, Fee left a bit to be desired. She gave all her love to Frank and ignored her only daughter. One would think Paddy's death would soften her, but it made her harder, more stubborn. It isn't until Justine and Dane grow up on Drogheda that we get a sense of the loving side of Fee. It is her love of Dane that brings her to tears when they learn he has drowned (the first tears she has shed since Paddy died), and it is her love of Justine that brings her to beg for Meggie's forgiveness and pleads with her to help her daughter before it's too late.

Love Triumphs (spoilers in white)

Richard Chamberlain, who played Ralph de Bricassart, said in an interview that The Thorn Birds was the biggest tragedy-driven soap opera. It's true: bad stuff happened to these people all the time. Not just Meggie and Ralph. The author truly put most of these characters through the ringer. The reason it remains so popular, however, is that Meggie and Ralph's love for each other triumphs despite all of it. Ralph comments on it more than once in the mini-series, that despite all she has lost, Meggie never loses her ability to love. After losing Frank, her father, Stu, and Dane, Meggie still loves. She loves "with a singleness of mind and heart." Ralph even tells Vittorio he wishes he could love like that.

It doesn't seem possible Justine could ever find love either. It's not like she has a great example considering her parents are no longer together, and her mother has always mistreated her for being Luke's daughter. Yet, Rain is determined to be with her. Justine refuses to believe it could ever work out, and uses Dane's death as an excuse to pull away from him. In the end, Rainer begs Meggie's help so that Justine doesn't waste her life on Drogheda trying to make it up to Meggie for living while Dane died. 

How the Book was Adapted to a Mini-series (spoilers in white)

Many times the book is better than the movie or mini-series it is based on. In the case of The Thorn Birds, both are equally good. I do, however, prefer the mini-series in many ways to the book.

Having seen the mini-series before reading the book, I simply can't imagine a twenty-eight-year-old Father Ralph with dark curly hair versus Richard Chamberlain's features, but many of the changes made sense.

One thing I didn't remember from the book is that Ralph actually dies before Vittorio, and the latter admits he always figured Dane was his son; whereas in the mini-series Vittorio dies before Ralph. The words Ralph utters to Meggie right before he dies, actually belong to Meggie in the book. Since it truly was Ralph and Meggie's love story that propelled the plot forward once the Cleary family came to Drogheda, it is fitting that the last scene in the mini-series is of Justine's plane flying overhead off to her future with Rain while Meggie rests her head in Ralph's lap after her has died. 

While there is so much more I could say about The Thorn Birds, I don't want to make this post into a novel in and of itself. I hope you'll decide to read it if you haven't.