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2.5 The faint voice of Meggie
Just as what it says at the end of the novel, “At the very instant the thorn enters there is no awareness in it of the dying to come; it simply sings and sings until there is not the life left to utter another note. But we, when we put the thorns in our breasts, we know. We understand. And still we do it. Still we do it.”[16] Meggie creates her own thorn, never stops to count the cost. All she can do is to suffer the pain, and to tell herself that it is well worth it. However, she does not sense that her voice is not only beautiful but also faint, so do the writer and the readers. Living in the traditional society, dominated by men, Meggie is still unable to persuade the society to attach great importance to her faith, and it is impossible for her to make the society accept her faith. She has challenged God, but she fails, and if she challenges the traditional society, there is no doubt that she will be beaten, too. Because her voice for love is too faint to overstep men’s authority, and too faint to change the custom of the society, as her aunt and her mother, Meggie’s love tragedy is also unavoidable, no matter how much hardship she suffers and how great efforts she makes. Moreover, the more perseveringly she strives for perfection of faith, the more sorrow she will suffer. Meggie’s peak of poetic perfection shakes up many other women a lot, but to arouse the society’s reverence for female’s faith is still beyond her power. Though she does her utmost to raise her voice, it’s still too faint.
3. Men’s faith in The Thorn Birds （转载自http://zw.NSEAC.com科教作文网）
Either in reality or in literature, there are always countless tragedies about love between men and women. It’s natural for most women to equate love with their valuable life wholeheartedly, while it seems so difficult for men, who welcome love, but can’t value love as the most important and essential thing in their life. They think that the need of women is a kind of weakness, and they often choose anything but love at a critical moment, which the novel also proves so comprehensively.
3.1 Ralph’s faith
No matter who meet Ralph for the first time, they will never forget his beauty.
“the height and perfect proportions of his body, the fine aristocratic features, the way every physical element had been put together with a degree of care about the appearance of the finished product God lavished on few of His creations. From the loose black curls of his head and the startling blue of his eyes to the small, slender hands and feet, he was perfect. ”[17]
But there is an aloofness about him, which makes him never be enslaved by his beauty, nor ever will be. Besides, he has barded and subtle mind, outstanding political consciousness and remarkable diplomatic talent. He is brought up from his cradle to be a priest, and he is filled with God. He is sure that no earthly things come between him and his state of mind—not love of a woman, nor love of money. He accepts chastity without finding it difficult to maintain. Truly he will make a magnificent cardinal before meeting Meggie.
However, when little Meggie looks up at him with silver-grey eyes of such a lambent purity, like melted jewels, he cannot help falling in love with her at first sight, which becomes to waver in his former determination, vowing to give his life to God. Meggie has moved him unbearably, and he doesn’t really know why. He views her as a perfect female, having the gift of acceptance. He has to admit that Meggie fills an empty space in his life, which his God cannot. Therefore, he becomes to battle with his own thoughts. He starts to be puzzled by the confrontation between his divinity and his humanity; he begins to be afflicted with the dispute between his demand for love and his lust for power. However, he just tries his best to deceive himself that Meggie is only the rose of his life, and only an idea, but not a lover. Finally, he accepts Mary’s will, which relates to the fate of his life and his soul. Between God and Meggie, he chooses the former; between authority and love, he chooses the former. Though he still loves Meggie so much, he chooses to forsake her, selling her for thirteen million pieces of silver. Before saying goodbye, he suggests Meggie search for another man as her husband and love her children, but he is clear that it’s his punishment. The pain of love does not fade, and it seems to grow worse, which makes him unable to be fully pious to God. When he hears that Meggie has married Luke, he is upset, spitting mad. He decides to go to Matlock Island to see her.
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