The Analysis of Female Characters in The Thorn Birds荆棘鸟中女性人物分析.docx

The Analysis of Female Characters in The Thorn Birds荆棘鸟中女性人物分析.docx

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TheAnalysisofFemaleCharactersinTheThornBirds荆棘鸟中女性人物分析

XX大学

本科生毕业论文（设计）

题目:

TheAnalysisofFemaleCharactersin

TheThornBirds

荆棘鸟中女性人物分析

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Iwouldliketotakethisopportunitytoexpressmyheartfeltgratitudetoallthosewhohavegivenmemuchhelpinmypursuitofthebachelor’sdegreeandinmythesiswriting.

Firstofall,IwouldliketoexpressmydeepestgratitudetomysupervisorMrs.Li,whohasofferedmeherinsightfulcommentsandenlighteningsuggestionsinthewholecourseofmythesiswriting.Withoutherpatientinstructions,Icouldhardlyhavecompletedmythesis.

Second,IwishtoexpressmysincerethankstoprofessorsandteachersattheDepartmentofEnglish,whohaveinstructedandhelpedmealotinmyEnglishlearning.Ialsoowemysinceregratitudetomyroommatesandmyfellowclassmateswhogavemetheirhelpandtimesinlisteningtomeandhelpingmeworkoutmyproblemsinthesefouryears.

Lastbutnotleast,mythankswouldgotomybelovedfamilyfortheirunderstandingandsupportwhichhaverelievedmeofalotofanxietiesandtensionsthathaveaccompaniedmystudiesallthroughtheseyears.

摘要

《荆棘鸟》为澳大利亚著名女作家考琳·麦卡洛所作，它于1977年问世后便在全球范围内引起极大的轰动，被誉为澳大利亚的《飘》。

在澳大利亚独特的文化背景中，该书以爱情和命运的主题，展现了克里利家族三代女性的坎坷的人生经历与丰富而复杂情感历程。

本文首先对这部小说和作者及荆棘鸟的含义做了介绍，然后对小说中四位女性：

玛丽·卡森、菲奥娜、梅吉及朱丝婷的人生历程进行剖析，探讨她们不懈地追求各自的爱情和对传统女性命运勇敢反抗的精神，以及在特定的时代中女性自我意识的觉醒。

由此通过分析得出结论：

女性只有树立正确的爱情观，勇于追求爱，挑战命运，坚持不懈，才能获得幸福，实现自我价值。

关键词:

荆棘鸟;女性角色;爱情观;命运;自我意识

ABSTRACT

TheThornBirdswrittenbyAustralianfamouswomanwriterColleenMcCulloughhascausedtremendoussensationthroughouttheworldsinceitwaspublishedin1977andiscalledAustralianGonewiththeWind.BasedontheuniquebackgroundofAustralianculture,thenovelunfoldslifeexperiencesandemotionaljourneyofthefemalesofthreegenerationsintheClearyfamily.First，thisthesisincludsabriefintroductiontothewriter,thenovelandthesymbolismofthethornandthethornbirds.Afterwardsitmakesadeepanalysisofthelifecourseofthefourfemalecharactersofthreegenerations-MaryCarson,Fiona,Meggie,Justin,andexploresthespiritoftheiruntiringpursuitforloveandbraveresistanceoftraditionalfemalefate,aswellastheawakeningoffemale’sself-consciousnessinacertainperiod.Aconclusionisdrawnthatwomencangainhappinessandrealizeself-value,aslongastheyestablishcorrectloveviewsandarebraveenoughtopursueloveandchallengethedestinies.

Keywords:

TheThornBirds;Womenimages;Loveview;Self-consciousness

CONTENTS

TheAnalysisofFemaleCharactersinTheThornBirds

1.Introduction

1.1Introductiontothenovel

TheThornBirdsisasaganovelaboutthreegenerationsofanAustralianfamily—-theClearysfrom1915to1965,andisalsoabeautifullovestorythattakesplaceintheoutbackofAustraliawithataleofastrongbondthatturnsintothestrongestlove.Hate,pain,love,andhappinessallinvolvedinthisbeautifultaleofMeggieClearyandRalphdeBricassart.

Theepicbeginswith"Meggie"Cleary,afour-year-oldgirllivinginNewZealandintheearly1920s.MeggielivestogetherwithherfatherPaddy,anIrishfarmlaborer,andFee,herharassedbutaristocraticmother,andthreeelderbrothersinNewZealand.Thelarge,poorfamilylivedahardlifeuntilonedaywhenPaddy’ssister,MaryCarson,oneoftherichestwomeninAustralia,wholivesonanenormoussheepstationcalledDroghedamailaletterinwhichshepromisestoofferPaddyajobonherestate.Paddyacceptstheinvitationwithdelight.ThenthewholefamilymovestotheDrogheda.

HereMeggiemeetsRalphdeBricassart,agoodfriendofMaryCarson,pickeduptheClearysfromthestation.Heisayoung,intelligence.andambitiouspriestwhoaspunishmentforinsultingabishop,hasbeenrelegatedtoaremoteparishinthetownofGillanbone,nearDrogheda.ThenRalphandthefamilybecomegoodfriends,whileheandtheten-year-oldClearydaughterMeggiebecomeveryclose.RalphtakesMeggietoschoolattheconventnexttothechurchheworksatandgivesheraprettyroomintherectorysothatshecanstaywithhim.Gradually,Meggiegrowsuptobeastunningyoungladyandfallsinlovewiththehandsomeandconsideratepriest.RalphlovesMeggie,too.However,heisfartooself-absorbedandambitioustoshowsomehumanityandadmithislovetoMeggie,soheistornbetweenhisloveforMeggie,hisloveforGodandhisambitiontoriseintheCatholichierarchy.

TheThornBirdscomposesamelancholyandmiserablebutalsosolemnandstirringsymphonybyfourcharacters（theClearywomen:

MaryCarson,Fiona,herdaughter,Meggie,andMeggie’sdaughter,Justine）whoareverybravetofightagainsttheirfateandsocialcustomfortheirfaith.Theenchantmentofthisbookfirstliesinitssubject—loveanddestiny,anditssymbol—thethornbird.Itshowsprofoundlytheimpermanenceandtheweirdtwistofthefate.BydescribingtheClearys’penetrative,frustratinglovejourney,theauthortriestoshowatruththatthetrueloveandthebeautyshouldbeattainedwithincrediblepainandunimaginablecost.Thisthesiswilldiscussthedifferencesamongthethreewomenandanalyzethewomenspiritstowardtheirloveandfate.

1.2Introductiontotheauthorandherworks

ColleenMcCulloughwasbornonJune1st,1937,inaCatholicfamilyinWellington,NewSouthWales,AustraliaandmarriedRicRobinson,onApril13,1984.ShegraduatedfromUniversityofSydneyandUniversityofSouthWales,B.S.（Withhonors）andgotherM.S.fromInstituteofChildHealthofLondonUniversity.From1958to1963,shewasafounderofandworkerattheDepartmentofNeurophysiologyattheRoyalNorthShoreHospitalofSydney.Andthenfrom1967to1977sheworkedatYaleUniversity,SchoolofInternalMedicine,inNewHaven,CT,associateinresearchneurologydepartment.Since1976,shehasalsoworkedasateacher,alibraryworker,abusdriverinAustralia’sOutback,andinjournalism.

Hisworkingexperiencesconstitutethemajorbackgroundofseveralofherfictions.McCulloughhasstronginterestsinreadingsinceshewasalittlegirlandshewassaidtobe“theonlybookishpersoninanathleticfamily”.Thebooksshereadcoveredfromromancestosciencefictionsthathelpedhertogetverywellpreparedforherlaterliterarycareer.

Nowadayssheiswell-knownforherfictions.Sheistheauthorofseveralextraordinarynovelssuchas:

Tim（1974）,AnIndecentObsession（1982）,ACreedfortheThirdMillennium（1985）,FortunesFavorites（1993）,Caesar’sWomen（1995）,TheSongofTroy（1998）,Morgan’sRun（2000）,TheOctoberHorse（2002）,TheTouch（2003）,andAntonyandCleopatra（2007）.Thebooksshereadcoveredfromromancestosciencefictionsthathelpedhertogetverywellpreparedforherlaterliterarycareer.Besidesnovels,shealsowritesprose,biography,andevenmelodrama.Asfarasherwritingoffictionisconcerned,shewritesavarietyofsortsoffiction,consistingofhistoricalnovel,lovestory,soonandsoforth,andaboveall,theworldwidebestseller,saganovel—TheThornBirds,soonafteritspublication,itbecameaninternationalbestsellerinover20languages.TimeMagazineequalsittoTheGodFather,LoveStoryandsevenotherstories,allofwhicharefamedasmoderntenclassics.Musical,filmsandTVseriesadaptedfromitalsohaveeverlastingcharmtotheaudience.

ColleenMcCulloughisfamiliarwithAustralia.InTheThornBirdsshegivesavividdescriptionofit.ThepicturesquesettingsofthestoryenablereaderstoenjoytheuniqueAustraliascenery.Withthisnovel,readerscanvisitthefarcornersoftheAustraliaoutbackandfeeltheloveandyearningthatMeggieandRalphexperienced.

2.Analysisofmajorcharactersinthenovel

2.1Fiona—silenced,constraining,obedient

AsthefirstgenerationofClearys,Fionaisaverybeautiful,gracefulbuttaciturnladyfromanoblefamily.However,herfateisanundoubtedtragicbecauseshefallsinlovewithanimpossibleman-Pakeha.Butsheforcedtomarrysomeoneunknownbecauseoffamily’sreputation.Aftermarriage,sheresignsherselftotheunfairfateandregardsitaspredestinate.Shepainedforretrospectionandcouldnotstepoutofthecircleofwaitingforsomeoneinnowhere.Asawoman,hervalueisstipulatedbythepatriarchalsociety.

2.1.1Fiona’sSubversiveLoveforPakeha

Fionalivesinthe19thcentury,andsheisgracefulladyandtheonlydaughterinanoblefamilyofNewlands.Insuchatraditionalfamily,herfatehasalreadybeendeterminedsinceshehasnoindependentpositionoreconomicincomes.Shehasnofreedomtochooseherownlife,whatshecandoistofollowherfather’sidea-atriptotheoldcountry,adebutatcourt,therighthusband.However,herfather’splangoesbrokebecauseFeefallsinlovewithPakeha,apoliticianwhohasalreadygotmarried.InTheThornBirds,Fiona’sloveforPakehaisdescribedinthefollowingway:

“Ilovethatman!

Perhapsitwasthecallofourblood,Idon’tknow.Hewashandsome,abigmanwithamopofblackhairandthemostbrilliant,laughingblackeyes.HewaseverythingPaddywasn’tcultured,sophisticated,verycharming.Ilovedhimtothepointofmadness.AndIthoughtI’dneverloveanyoneelse”.（P243,18）Afterthemarriage,shebecomesindifferencetoanyoneoranything,allherenthusiasmisputonherfirstson,Frank.Thechildstolefromherbelovedmanandbecomesherspiritualexistence.WhenFranklefthome,PadddyeversaidtoFatherRalph:

“I’vealwaysknownshelovedFrankmorethantherestofusputtogether,shemustlovehisfather”（p256,8）.IntherestofFee’slife,sheneverhasforgottenPakeha.