The Thorn Birds describes the Clearly family's story over three generations and the love affairs between Meggie and Father Ralph which portray the theme of love and destiny .The thesis first follows three women: Fiona, Meggie and Justine and set forth their views of love in their fights against fates. It then elaborates the comparison of the three heroines' views of love and their interior experience of awaking and growing. At last, the thesis tries to bring the roots of female's tragedy in the novel to light. The purpose of this thesis is to help the readers develop a correct view of love and understand such a truth:the true and beauty should be attained with unimaginable cost.
Key words：female fates; view of love; the thorn birds
Contents
1．Introduction 1
2. The main heroines' views of love 2
2.1 Fiona’s View of Love---Oppression 2
2.2 Meggie's View of Love—Resistance 3
2.3 Justine's Views of Love--Liberation 4
3. The Comparison of the Three Heroines' Views of Love 5
3.1 The Similarities of Three heroines' Views of Love 5
3.1.1 Strong Self-awareness 5
3.1.2 Unshaken Spirit of Resistance 6
3.1.3 Morbid Views of Love 7
3.2 The Differences of Three heroines' Views of Love 8
3.2.1 The Attribution to Love Tragedy 8
3.2.2 The Attitudes towards Marriage 9
4. The Origins of Different Views of Love 9
4.1 Subjective Reasons 9
4.2 Objective Reasons 11
4.2.1 Traditional religious and Moral Views 11
4.2.2 Western Feminist Movement 12
Conclusion 13
Acknowledgements 14
References 15
