Romance is a tenderness of the heart. That is
disappearing even from the movies. Tenderness of heart is not a virtue anymore;
it is a weakness. Who is an ideal man in today’s world? Shakespeare’s Romeo and
Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s Devdas would be considered as fools in today’s
world in which the wealthiest individuals appear on elite lists, ‘strong’
leaders are hailed as nationalist heroes, and success is equated with anything
other than traditional virtues.
The protagonist of Colleen
McCullough’s 1977 novel, The Thorn Birds [which sold more than 33
million copies], is torn between his idealism and his natural weaknesses as a
human being. Ralph de Bricassart is a young Catholic priest who is sent on a
kind of punishment-appointment to a remote rural area of Australia where the
Cleary family arrives from New Zealand in 1921 to take care of the enormous
estate of Mary Carson who is Paddy Cleary’s own sister. Meggy Cleary is the
only daughter of Paddy and Fiona who have eight sons (some of whom are born
after their arrival in Australia). This 10-year-old little girl with her titian
hair catches the fancy of the young priest. The girl is happy to have a friend
in the priest because her family members don’t care a bit for her.
The novel tells the story of the
peculiar relationship that grows between Meggy and Ralph as they grow older. The
priest is Meggy’s friend and mentor. When her first menstruation descends on
her, it is to the priest she rushes rather than to her mother. “Father, I’m
dying! I’ve got cancer,” she cries, “… a lot of blood runs out of my bottom.”
Ralph overcomes his initial embarrassment and teaches Meggy what her mother
should have taught her long ago. Soon, the love of the child grows into an
adolescent girl’s romantic feelings. Meggy is in love with Father Ralph who is
18 years her senior. Ralph has a soft corner in his heart for Meggy and the
unwholesomeness of that tenderness doesn’t escape Mary Carson’s notice. Mary is
more jealous than morally indignant, though she is an old woman with one leg in
the grave. Ralph thinks of her as “an old spider weaving a web.”
Mary does weave a web in which Ralph
is caught inescapably. Mary’s new will bequeaths her monumental wealth to the
Catholic Church provided Ralph will be its caretaker. The Cleary family is well
taken care of too. Mary dies soon after preparing that will. Her lawyer asks
Ralph to destroy the will and let Paddy Cleary inherit the wealth as was
planned in the original will. But Ralph has ambitions. He wants to rise in the
clerical hierarchy of the Church. This fabulous wealth left by Mary will surely
get him high positions. He is caught in the web woven by Mary. He moves out of
Meggy’s world.
Meggy marries Luke O’Neil who turns
out to be the obverse of Ralph. If Ralph wants to become the perfect man for
the sake of God, Luke thinks he is the perfect man who doesn’t need any God,
let alone women. But Meggy’s physical charms are irresistible. Her inheritance
of a huge monthly sum from Mary Carson is even more irresistible. Luke marries
Meggy on the condition that her monthly income will go to his account and he
will decide their future course completely. He is a man and it is a man’s
world. Meggy agrees because that is the world she knows too. Men decided
everything including what the women should do with their lives.
What Luke offers Meggy is a pathetic
life. She is treated like a maid in her own house and made to work as a maid in
another household to earn money for her own needs. Luke is not interested even
in the child that is born to them. Meggy decides to give up Luke and return to
her mother and brothers who welcome her whole-heartedly.
But, just before that return, Ralph
had found her out and they had a passionate physical relationship. Dane is the
outcome of that relationship, a boy who resembles Ralph so much that any
careful observer could guess the paternity easily. Only Ralph doesn’t see it.
When Dane grows up into a young man and wants to become a priest, Ralph agrees
to take him to the Vatican where Ralph is a Cardinal now. Dane will rise high
too. But tragedy strikes.
There are too many tragedies in the
lives of the women in this novel because of the utter lack of romance in the
hearts of the men who matter.
God kills the romance in Ralph’s
heart. “You’re a fraud, God,” Meggy complains. She was a very devout Catholic
who wouldn’t dare to question anything of what the Church taught her until life
taught her better (and bitter) lessons. She is unable to understand how someone
as good at heart as Ralph could love God. “I don’t see what there is to love,”
she says about God.
Luke, the man Meggy marries, has no
romance because of his self-centredness. He thinks he is the centre of the
universe. Meggy’s father, Paddy, is the average man who loves his wife as best
as he can. He is very understanding towards Fiona whom he married knowing that
her love affair with a rich politician had given her nothing but a son whom
Paddy accepted as his own. Even when he blurts out the truth to that son in a
moment of helpless anger, he is struck by remorse and apologises profusely to
Fiona and tells the son that he was just lying. Paddy is good at heart. But
there is no romance in that heart. People like Paddy, burdened with life’s
endless demands, have no time for romance.
There comes a moment when Meggy tells
Ralph about Luke, “He’s like you. He doesn’t need women, either.” But Paddy
needs his woman. He loves her. He has tenderness in his heart. Romance will
have to wait; Paddy has no time for it. No one will accuse Paddy of
self-centred pride.
Ralph’s love of God cleanses him of
self-centredness. But what about pride? “I know you very well,” Cardinal
Vittorio tells Ralph when he confesses to him about his broken chastity. “I
know you to be proud, very much in love with the idea of being a priest, very
conscious of your exclusiveness.” The cardinal tells Ralph that this sin of
adultery that he has committed should teach him a lesson in humility. That he
is a man first, not as exclusive an angel as he thinks. “I aspired to be God
Himself,” Ralph confesses. No, Ralph, you are a man and be a man. Then there will
be romance in your life and the world will be a better place. The tenderness of
romance can work more miracles than the austerity of spirituality in the world
of ordinary mortals.
The Thorn Birds is a massive novel running
into nearly 700 pages. I have only touched upon just one theme of this complex,
yet simple work. Complex, because of the plot and characters. Simple, because
all these characters and their deeds belong to the real human world of the
first half of 20th century. The story ends more or less with the
fall of the ‘strong’ men, Mussolini and Hitler. The tenderness of love has a
chance to bloom again through Meggy’s daughter, the only surviving offspring of
the Cleary family.
PS. This is not a book review. Nor is it a literary essay
on the theme of romance in the novel. I wanted to write a post on romance based
on a popular novel for the Bookish
League blog hop hosted by Bohemian Bibliophile. I read The Thorn Birds some time around 1990
while travelling by train from Ernakulam to Guwahati [a 3-day journey which
usually prolongs to 4 days] after my winter vacation from St Joseph’s School,
Shillong. I reread it a few years back and loved it again. I’m sure I’ll relish
it again; but I can’t find my copy now. I had a glimpse through the PDF version
available here to refresh my memory of some quotes and other details.
My mother loves the miniseries. Every time it comes on TV she'll watch it. It had quite the cast. It sounds like they didn't change much from the book.
ReplyDeleteI don't know about the series. I normally prefer books to screen shows.
DeleteWhen real men are like this, I'll stick to my book boyfriends and simple happy endings ~
ReplyDeleteYou are safer!
DeleteHari Om
ReplyDeleteIt is a true epic... though not one I would chose to re-read. YAM xx
Some books bring certain nostalgic feelings back.
DeleteThat was quite an epic book covering two generations. Quite a dexterous plot and hard-hitting too.
ReplyDeleteA charming work, no doubt.
DeleteI recall it as mini series.
ReplyDeleteI understand the series is good too.
DeleteJust reading this makes me more grateful to have a romantic husband. Lol
ReplyDeleteYou're lucky 👍
DeleteAh this blog post reminded me of the time when I had read this book in my 20s on my mother's insistence. I remember being so angry for most of it, wondering why she wanted me to read it so much, before the bulb went off and I understood the why. Now I really, really want to re-read it!
ReplyDeleteI'm sure you'll enjoy it now.
DeleteThe intricate dynamics between Meggy, Ralph, and Luke serve as a microcosm of the societal pressures and power struggles that often dictate the course of our lives. Meggy's journey, from seeking solace in Ralph's mentorship to enduring the tyranny of Luke's dominance, reflects the stark realities faced by many women in a patriarchal world.
ReplyDeleteYes, the novel can be critiqued from a feminist viewpoint.
DeleteThis certainly sounds like a book that would be criticised in today's age. Also wow, 700 pages sounds a bit daunting and this book isn't entirely up my alley but you wrote an interesting post on it.
ReplyDelete700 pages can be charming too 😊
Delete'People like Paddy, burdened with life’s endless demands, have no time for romance.' What a profound observation! I also liked how you said, 'life taught her better (and bitter) lessons.' Because we do learn our best lessons through our failures and tribulations. This sounds like a thought-provoking read and your review has made me curious. Will check it out
ReplyDeleteI was wondering why you have written a post on the tenderness in the hearts of men after swearing off romance :). I read Thorn Birds, when I was a teenager, I do not know if I understood the story, I certainly don't remember much of it. I liked the way you drew out the harshness in each man. Even 100 years later, even though the edges might have softened, it is still a man's world.
ReplyDeleteI read Thorn Birds a very long time ago, and I remember just how desperately unhappy the women were. It’s an interesting point you make, on the death of romance, especially in the current milieu. Though if we look at Thorn Bird, the unromantic man is very much a product of patriarchy, no?
ReplyDeleteI'll be honest, I'd never heard of the book nor about the series before your post. The Thorn Birds, as per your marvellous summation seems ike a long and complex read. "The Fountainhead' by Ayn Rand is one such book of that time and era which I've read and enjoyed alot. Will surely try reading this book.
ReplyDeleteGosh, I can feel the weight of this book from your review. Thank you so much for highlighting the elements and themes found in this book. It works as such a great trigger warning. Gosh, my heart feels a little heavy from what the book is trying to say… even with time sometimes these things don’t change and that’s heartbreaking.
ReplyDelete"Then there will be romance in your life and the world will be a better place. The tenderness of romance can work more miracles than the austerity of spirituality in the world of ordinary mortals."
ReplyDeleteHa ha when Hitlers and Mussolinis are still receiving acclaim for power on humanity’s stage,, romance remains still in captivity.
I haven't read this book but I've heard of the author.
ReplyDeleteI thought the plot was interesting (I almost rushed to check its availability on Kindle) ―I liked how you described Meggy and Ralph bonding, but then as this article moved forward, it seemed like a longish book, and then you say 700 pages. :)
I’m not sure if I'd like this book (as I am a very impatient reader) but it's a nice article.
I just took out my copy from my cupboard, I think I read it over 30 years back. I could never forget Maggie's pain.Maggie was so beautifully portrayed as a loving child. Her growing up was heartbreaking; not to experience kindness of heart.
ReplyDeleteSorry, typo in name * Meggy.
ReplyDeleteI had not heard of this book before but I am sure to pick this really soon for your post is so comprehensive and impressive.
ReplyDeleteThe Thorn Birds - You read in 1990 and reread after re read it clearly indicates that you was in absolute love with the book. See even 2024 you remember how was the story and the characters. It means the book was indeed good. Very Impressive Sir.
ReplyDeleteHeard about the book that it was - First published in 1977, the novel became an instant classic, selling more than 30 million copies worldwide and inspiring one of the most-watched television miniseries of all time. The historical epic follows three generations living on a sheep ranch.
ReplyDeleteBut never read.
It's disheartening to see traditional virtues like kindness and compassion labeled as weaknesses in a society that often prioritizes power and success above all else.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your thoughts on this timeless tale – it's a reminder of the enduring power of literature to explore the depths of the human experience and touch our hearts in profound ways. 📖❤️
Men (and sometimes women) do not allow tenderness and love to thrive in their hearts because there are more things of consequence in this world. This was truer in the bygone eras. Have seen several such archetypal portrayals in books and cinema. In real life too.
ReplyDeleteLike you, I read this book ages ago and then re-read it recently. I love it for the complicated relationships it explores. It has so many flawed yet loveable characters. Fiona, Paddy, Frank of course Meggy and Ralph. Oh and I loved Justine. Although men emerge as the powerful ones, women remain at the centre of the narrative. Something that irked me was that Meggy always missed Fiona's attention but then ended up meting out the same treatment to her daughter. That was ironic.
ReplyDeleteI really appreciate the way you have penned down the minute details of the book and made it a captivating post. I have never heard about the book but after reading your post I will definitely add it to my TBR.
ReplyDeleteoh what an old classic :) I also remember reading it sometime in the 90s and understanding some of it, but making sure to complete it as it was THE Book to read at the time! lol! Your post was a nice reminder of the book and the story itself :)
ReplyDeleteI felt the emotions when she cried out i have cancer. But i would definitely love to flip through this.
ReplyDeleteIn the world of mortals love is more than even spituality I think this is because you understanding spirituality is harder then understanding love
ReplyDeleteYour post brought back memories of reading Thorn Birds many moons ago, as I was growing up. I don't remember the story well but I remember it being quite a page-turner and a hit.
ReplyDeleteI read Thorn Birds years back and at that time, didn't quite like it. I have grown as a reader (and am a lot older too) and will probably appreciate it more now.
ReplyDelete