The Thorn Birds

Plot summary

Mary Carson informs Father Ralph de Bricassart that her brother Paddy, and his wife Fee, and their children, are coming from New Zealand to help run Drogheda. Meggie meets Father Ralph de Bricassart, a young, capable and ambitious priest who as punishment for insubordination has been relegated to a remote parish in the town of Gillanbone, near Drogheda. Ralph has befriended Mary, hoping a hefty enough bequest from her to the Catholic church might liberate him from his exile. Ralph is strikingly handsome - “a beautiful man” - and Mary, who doesn’t bother to conceal her desire for him, often goes to great lengths to see if can be induced to break his vows. Ralph blandly shrugs off these attentions and continues his visits. Meanwhile, he cares for all the Clearys and soon learns to cherish beautiful but forlorn little Meggie. Meggie, in return, makes Ralph the center of her life.

Frank’s relationship with his father Paddy has never been peaceful. The two vie for Fee’s attention, and Frank resents the many pregnancies Paddy makes her endure. One day, after Fee, now in her forties, reveals she is again pregnant, the two men quarrel violently and Paddy blurts out the truth about Frank: he is not Paddy’s son. Long ago, Fee had been the adored only daughter of a prominent citizen. Then, she had an affair with a married politician, and the result, Frank, was already eighteen months old when her mortified father married her off to Paddy. Because he resembles her lost love, Fee has always loved Frank more than her other children. To the sorrow of Meggie and Fee, when Frank learns that Paddy is not his father, he runs away to become a boxer. Fee later gives birth to Hal, but shows little interest in him. Shortly afterward, Hal dies.

With Frank gone and Hal dead, Meggie clings to Ralph more than ever. This goes unnoticed by many as Ralph has now been her mentor for several years; however, as she ripens into womanhood some begin to question their close relationship, including Ralph and Meggie themselves. Mary Carson, meanwhile, has noticed their changing relationship and from motives of jealousy mingled with Machiavellian cruelty, she devises a plan to separate Ralph from Meggie by tempting him with his heart’s desire - a high place in the Church hierarchy. Although her will of record leaves the bulk of her estate to Paddy, she quietly writes a new one, making the Roman Catholic Church the main beneficiary and Ralph the executor.

In the new will, the vast nature of Mary’s wealth is exposed for the first time. Drogheda is not the center of Mary’s fortune as Ralph and Paddy have long believed but is merely a “hobby”, a diversion from her true financial interests. Mary’s wealth is derived from a vast multi-national financial empire worth over 11 million Pounds (about AU$85 million in modern terms). The sheer size of Mary’s bequest will insure Ralph’s rapid rise in the church. She also provides for her disinherited brother promising him and all his descendants a home on Drogheda as long as they wish. This seemingly benovelant bequest has a dark side. Since Drogheda will now be the property of the church and Ralph will be the executor, Mary has insured that Meggie will be forever dependent upon Ralph for everything.

At Mary’s seventy-fifth birthday party Ralph goes to great lengths to avoid Meggie, now seventeen and dressed in a beautiful rose-pink evening gown; later, he explains that others might not see his attention as innocent. Mary dies in the night; possibly by suicide. The lawyer, outraged, urges Ralph to destroy the will, but to no avail. The bequest of eleven million pounds works its expected magic, and Ralph soon leaves to begin his rapid advance in the Church.

Before he leaves Meggie confesses her love for him. Ralph refuses her because of his duties as a priest and begs Meggie to find someone to love and marry. The Clearys discover that Frank has been convicted of murder after killing someone in a fight, and he must now spend the rest of his life in prison.

Paddy and his son Stuart are killed much to Meggie’s distress since she and Stu were close (Stu was the only relative of Meggie aware of her feelings for Ralph); Paddy dies when a tree hit by lightning and set ablaze, falls on him killing him. Stu is gored by a wild boar shortly after he finds his father’s body. Ralph is on his way to Drogheda for a visit and when he arrives he is unaware of Paddy and Stu’s deaths. Ralph remains at Drogheda to conduct the funerals and then leaves for Rome.

Three years later a new ranch worker named Luke O’Neill begins to court Meggie. Although his motives are more mercenary than romantic, she marries him because he looks a little bit like Ralph. She soon realises her mistake. After a brief honeymoon, Luke, a skinflint who regards women as sex objects and prefers the company of men, finds Meggie a live-in job with a kindly couple, the Muellers, and leaves to join a gang of itinerant sugarcane cutters in North Queensland. Although Luke tells Meggie he’s saving money to buy a homestead, he quickly becomes obsessed with the competitive toil of cane-cutting and has no real intention of giving it up. Hoping to change Luke’s ambition and settle him down, Meggie purposely becomes pregnant and bears Luke a red-haired daughter, Justine. The new baby, however, makes little impression on Luke.

Father Ralph visits Meggie during her difficult labor; he has come to say goodbye, as he is leaving Australia for Rome. He sees Meggie’s unhappiness for himself, and pities her. Justine proves to be a fractious baby, so the Muellers send Meggie to an isolated island resort for a rest. Father Ralph returns to Australia and learns of Meggie’s whereabouts from Anne Mueller, and joins her for several days. There, finally, the lovers consummate their passion, and Ralph realizes that despite his ambition to be the perfect priest, his desire for Meggie makes him a man like other men. Father Ralph returns to the Church and Meggie, pregnant with Ralph’s child, decides to separate from Luke. The next morning, she tells Luke what she really thinks of him, and returns to Drogheda, leaving him to his cane-cutting.

Back home, she gives birth to a beautiful boy whom she names Dane. Fee, who has had experience in such matters, notices Dane’s resemblance to Ralph as soon as he is born. The relationship between Meggie and Fee takes a turn for the better. Justine grows into an independent, keenly intelligent girl who loves her brother dearly. However Meggie neglects Justine just as Fee neglected Meggie, for the exact same reasons.

Dane grows up and decides, to Meggie’s dismay, to become a priest. Fee tells Meggie that what she stole from God she must now give back. Justine, meanwhile, decides to become an actress and leaves Australia to seek her dream in England. Ralph, now a Cardinal, becomes a mentor to Dane, but somehow fails to recognise that the young man is his own son. Dane is also unaware of their true relationship.

Dane vacations in Greece and dies there when he drowns. His body is flown back to Drogheda, where Ralph conducts the funeral. In a moment of anger, Meggie tells Ralph the truth about Dane. He breaks down, with Meggie looking on. Fee and Meggie make peace after Fee finds out that Justine feels the need to stay at Drogheda. Meggie finally admits to Justine that she did purposely neglect her, although admitting that she loved her as well. The mother and daughter make peace. Justine, now the sole surviving grandchild of Fee and Paddy Cleary, finally accepts the advances of Rainer, a distinguished German politician who has loved her for years. She leaves with Rainer. In the flower garden, Meggie finds Ralph and they settle their differences. Ralph then dies with Meggie’s head in his lap.

The title refers to a mythical bird that searches for thorn trees from the day it is hatched. When it finds the perfect thorn it impales itself, singing the most beautiful song ever heard as it dies.

 

this article is taken from [here]

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Mengapa lelaki selalu egois, seegois wanita yang sedang keras kepala?

Lampu-lampu

lampu 3 bola

 

 

lampu gantung kaca

 

 

lampu jawa

 

 

lampu jawa antik (20''' Matador Brenner)

Renovasi Rumah (minggu ke 5)

lantai sudah mulai dipasang

 

tampak depan, udah agak mendingan

 

 

hayo lho, nyonyahnya dateng..

 

 

mulai pasang granit, aduh deg-degan

 

 

downlight juga sudah mulai terpasang

 

 

mandor banyak gaya..

 

sudah lebih rapi?

 

 

kalau perlu sampai lembur

 

 

bingung pilih pegangan untuk pintu

 

 

atau mau yang ini aja? *masih bingung*

 

ini pintunya, setelah dengan sedikit polesan warna

mulai garap kamar mandi depan

mulai pasang saklar juga

Renovasi Rumah (minggu ke 3 & 4)

tembok kamar didi

 

Satu sisi dicat dengan warna lain. Pilihan jatuh pada warna merah. Weewww.. gawat deh warnanya. Kaya warna partai boo..

 

tembok kamar mandi dalam

 

Sebagian besar tembok kamar mandi ini sudah terpasang. Tunggu seminggu lagi untuk menguji kerekatannya. Sapa tau aja yang coplok. Wakss..

 

tembok teras depan

 

Tembok teras depan diberi sedikit modifikasi supaya bisa ngintip ke sisi sebelahnya. 

 

instalasi listrik plafon

 

Sebelum ditutup dengan plafon, rangka baja dipasang sebagai ganti kaso. Kabel listrik juga sudah mulai diinstalasi di antaranya.

 

plafon mulai ditutup dengan gypsum

 

setelah beres, langsung tutup dengan gypsum. kabel-kabel listrik juga sudah mulai ditentukan titiknya.

 

lantai service area

 

sebagian lantai dapur sudah mulai terpasang. seluruh service area memakai jenis lantai yang sama.

 

tembok meja dapur

 

meja dapur dan temboknya pun sudah dipasang. tinggal variasi gambar (inserto)nya akan menyusul.

 

tiang tambahan untuk talang

 

di dalam tiang itu tersembunyi sebuah talang air untuk mengalirkan air hujan dari atap menuju ke bawah.

 

pintunya sudah datang

 

daun pintu depan sudah bisa sampai, tinggal diberi beberapa polesan, pasang kunci dkk. siap untuk dipasang. sipp..

 

jendelanya juga sudah dtg

 

daun jendela juga tinggal dipasang pada tempatnya. sebelumnya perlu dicat dulu ya..

 

mandornya

 

nah, yang ini mandornya. no comment ahh.. ;)  +tatutt+

 

-dd-