The Thorn Birds

Before the wedding, Luke announces to Meggie that he intends to move to North Queensland; he also insists that Meggie sign over all her money to him. He tells her that he wants to cut sugar cane and to save money to buy his own property. Meggie agrees to his plans. Further complicating matters, Luke refuses to convert to the Catholic Church, dashing Meggie’s wedding plans.

After a grueling train rode to the town of Dungloe, Meggie is exhausted from sitting upright for the whole journey because Luke has refused to arrange sleeper cars for them. She sleeps for two days upon their arrival. When they first have sex, Meggie is unaware that Luke is wearing a condom. She screams out in pain, and he tells her to shut up. Luke acknowledges that sex is painful and unpleasant for Meggie, but during later sexual moments, he is just as cruel, and she is still in agony. She endures his advances hoping for a baby.

Luke announces that his new job will keep him away six days a week; furthermore, he has found a job for Meggie as a housemaid. He will keep her wages to save for the future. He has also taken a hundred pounds of cash from her purse, leaving her penniless. When Meggie asks what might happen if they have a baby, he says a baby will have to wait. Meggie laughs at the irony of her situation; she has married, but her husband is away most of the time and is not yet ready for a child. Luke laughs too, raising a toast to French letters, a slang term for condoms, but Meggie does not understand what he means.

While employed by Anne and Luddie Mueller, who live in Himmelhoch, Meggie waits for Luke’s promised weekly visits, but he neglects her for over a month. When he finally visits her at the Mueller house, he brags about his cane-cutting abilities and announces that he will now be working seven days a week for next few years. Meggie develops a genuine friendship with the Muellers, and they are concerned for Meggie when Luke visits her only six times in 18 months. During these visits, Luke engages in conversation only to brag, and he shows Meggie no interest in sex. Eventually, he makes a promise to Meggie: In one year, the two of them can take a three-month vacation in Sydney, and “Meggie relented, because she still wanted his babies” (352).  

Meggie receives news from home. Ralph has made an appearance, and although he knows that she is married, he did not request a forwarding address for her. Ralph travels to Athens with the Archbishop, and in Athens, Ralph thinks about Meggie, asking her a question in an imagined conversation: “Why did you marry this Luke O’Neill?” (357). Ralph learns that he will be promoted to Archbishop, and after six months of preparation in Rome, he will be posted again in Australia.

Luke, while recovering from a serious bacterial infection, takes Meggie on a vacation. He tells her that they are 5,000 pounds short of the sum they need to buy a property of their own; she tells him she can easily borrow the money for them, but he refuses the insult to his masculinity. Luke explains sex and procreation to her and tells her how the condoms work. Meggie thinks: “So that was it! He wore the thing, like a skin on a sausage! Cheat!” (362). When Luke next becomes amorous, she removes the condom; the sensation is new to Luke, and he cannot resist ejaculating inside her. When Meggie returns to the Mueller home, she discovers that she is pregnant. She informs Luke, who becomes furious. After a difficult pregnancy, Meggie nears delivery, and Ralph appears at the Mueller house. The Muellers tell him about Luke and his treatment of Meggie; he tells them about Meggie’s background.

A baby girl is born, and Meggie names her Justine. Luke sends a telegram to wish Meggie good luck, and he explains he is unable to leave his work. Ralph pines for Meggie, but he stays faithful to his priestly vows, and when he tells Meggie that he is leaving, she denounces him: “You say you love me, but you have no idea what love is; you’re just mouthing words you’ve memorized because you think they sound good!” (379). The Muellers convince Meggie to take a vacation, promising to take care of Justine while she’s gone. 

Meggie leaves for Matlock Island for her vacation, and she finds herself enjoying the solitude. While Meggie is away, Luke goes to the Mueller home, and when he sees his daughter Justine, he says: “She’s got the queerest eyes I’ve ever seen […] I wonder whose they are?” Anne confronts Luke about his intentions, insisting that he has married Meggie only for her money. She sends him away, and Luke leaves without any knowledge of Meggie’s whereabouts. Ralph appears in Himmelhoch, unannounced, and he helps Anne care for Justine. He explains to Anne that he wants to say goodbye to Meggie before he heads to Europe, where his language skills may be needed if there is to be a war. Anne mentions that Ralph can go to Meggie to say goodbye, and she gives him her address on Matlock Island.

Ralph finds his way to the island, pretending to be Meggie’s husband. They make love, and for the first time in her life, Meggie enjoys the sexual experience. In their ensuing discussions of love and sexuality, Meggie demonstrates a worldliness that far outmatches Ralph’s. He calls her wise, but she dismisses his compliment, believing her awareness to be a form of common sense.

After a brief stay on Matlock Island, Ralph tells Meggie that he has to leave for Rome. She, in turn, plans to return to Drogheda and to leave Luke. Ralph asks if he is to blame for her decision, and Meggie informs him that she had made this decision long before his arrival. Back in Himmelhoch, Meggie tells Anne that she is pregnant, and that she will have to have sex with Luke one more time to ensure no questions concerning the child’s paternity will follow her. After Meggie spends a night with Luke, she announces her plan to return to Drogheda. She tells Luke that he will receive no more money from her and that “[i]f there is another child, it's none of your concern” (424).