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Chapter 7
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Thorn Birds, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Forbidden Love and Desire
Religious Duty
Gender Roles and Limitations
Loss and Grief
Ambition and Personal Sacrifice
Summary
Analysis
The move to the big house at Drogheda remains unfinished as the new year arrives. Fiona insists the drawing room be properly renovated first, and though no one hurries, everyone looks forward to the change. The house, still without electricity and full of flies, offers much cooler shelter in the heat, thanks to its thick walls and surrounding ghost trees. Its real luxury is a bathhouse with hot water, a rare amenity for the area.
The size and elegance of the big house suggest wealth and prestige, but the lack of electricity and the constant presence of flies highlight the limitations of rural life. Fiona’s insistence on renovating the drawing room first illustrates her desire for comfort and status—she wants the most public part of the house to reflect refinement.
Themes
In December, Paddy receives a check from Ralph for £5,000. Stunned, he gives it to Fiona, who feels elated at the money, which feels so real—unlike Mary’s distant fortune. Paddy suggests Fiona spend it on clothes and furnishings, so Fiona immediately leads Meggie, Mrs. Smith, Minnie, and Cat to inspect the big house. Energized, Fiona criticizes the house’s gloomy furnishings and declares her intention to completely refurnish the drawing room. She immediately phones Harry Gough and orders samples of fabrics, wallpapers, and furnishings from Sydney.
Ralph’s check of £5,000 transforms the abstract wealth of Mary’s fortune into something tangible. For Fiona, this money is an opportunity for control and expression. Her decision to refurnish the drawing room becomes an act of self-assertion, a way to shape the environment around her. By involving Meggie, Mrs. Smith, Minnie, and Cat, Fiona transforms the renovation into a social event, presenting herself as a figure of authority and taste.
Themes
Fiona supervises the removal and burning of the heavy brown velvet curtains, determined to let light into the room. Painters, upholsterers, and decorators soon arrive, and Fiona’s vision comes to life. By mid-January, the transformed room is breathtaking, with cream and gold paint, rose-patterned wallpaper, plush cream carpets, Waterford lamps and chandeliers, and comfortable seating arranged in cozy groups. A portrait of Fiona’s grandmother and a youthful Mary complete the setting. Fee announces that they can now move into the big house, with other rooms to be redecorated later.
Themes
A few days before the move, Fiona cheerfully wraps china while Meggie heads to the henhouse to collect eggs. On her way there, Meggie reflects on her mother’s happiness and the excitement of moving; it is a side of Fiona she is not used to seeing. She also knows that Paddy has secretly bought Fiona a pearl choker and matching earrings as a gift to present during their first dinner in the new house. Meggie feels thrilled to see her mother blossoming in ways she never had before. When Meggie arrives at the henhouse, she is annoyed to see that her chickens have not laid any eggs.
Themes
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Returning to the kitchen, Meggie finds Fiona frozen and pale, staring at a newspaper. Frightened, Meggie calls for Paddy, who comes running with the older boys behind him. Paddy reads aloud the article that has stunned Fiona: Frank has been sentenced to life imprisonment for killing a man in a drunken brawl three years earlier. The newspaper reports Frank’s violent act in brutal detail, ending with Frank’s plea to the court not to tell his mother what happened. The family listens in silence, shattered by the news.
Fiona, numbed and barely able to speak, insists that she must not visit Frank, believing it would destroy his pride to see her. Paddy, more for Fiona than Frank, suggests writing to Ralph, so he can look after Frank without revealing the family’s knowledge. Fiona agrees and the idea makes her feel slightly better. Though Fiona resumes her activities in the big house, the cheerful spark she had begun to show disappears again. She focuses solely on redecorating, indifferent to her family’s emotional needs, while her sons, led by Paddy, quietly vow to protect her from further hurt.
Themes
The Cleary males unite in their devotion to Fiona, treating her with a tenderness they had not fully shown before. Paddy presents Fiona with the pearl jewelry, but her reaction is brief and expressionless, weighed down by grief for Frank. Meanwhile, Meggie starts to resent Fiona, sensing Fiona’s growing detachment from Jims and Patsy, leaving much of their care to Mrs. Smith. Though Meggie understands Fiona’s grief, she vows to treat her own future children with equal love rather than favoring one over the rest.
Themes
Life in the big house proves luxurious compared to the old stockmen’s quarters. Each family member has a private room, and most household duties fall to Mrs. Smith and the maids. A letter from Ralph explains that the income from Mary’s estate is enormous, and Paddy’s yearly wages, along with the entire family’s allowances, are assured indefinitely. Ralph also tells them he will be sure to look after Frank the best he can. Encouraged by Ralph’s generosity, Paddy decides it is time to formalize their finances and assigns new responsibilities within the family.
Themes
Paddy announces that Fiona will manage the station’s books, with professional training from Harry’s office. Bob will assist as station foreman, and Jack, Hughie, and Stuart will continue working the paddocks. Meggie, expecting to be tasked with household duties, is surprised when Paddy gives her the responsibility of managing several inner paddocks and the Home Paddock. Overjoyed, Meggie eagerly accepts. Fiona and Meggie also learn to drive the new Rolls-Royce, expanding their independence.
Themes
Though happy working in the paddocks, Meggie still aches for Ralph. Hoping Ralph might someday visit Drogheda, she persuades Paddy to keep Ralph’s mare. She rides the mare regularly alongside her own gelding. As the dry summer deepens, Meggie takes solace in her new work, loving the land and its creatures. Despite the scorching heat and relentless flies, she finds beauty in the landscape—the birds, the trees, the wildlife, and the ever-changing face of the bush.
Themes
Often alone in the paddocks, Meggie dreams about Ralph. However, her innocent longings, filled with images of marriage and companionship, offer her little comfort. She struggles to understand the impossibility of her feelings, imagining a life where Ralph could choose her over the Church. One day, while riding home, Meggie asks Paddy why Ralph never visits. Paddy explains gently but firmly that Ralph has moved on, and Meggie must accept that he will never leave the priesthood to marry her.
Themes
Meanwhile, in Sydney, Ralph oversees the discipline of a young priest caught in a scandal and reflects on his own longing for Meggie. Afterward, Ralph has tea with Archbishop Cluny Dark and the Archbishop Papal Legate, Vittorio di Contini-Verchese. Ralph’s charm and intelligence impress the Papal Legate, who has been tasked with evaluating him. Though Ralph appears calm and neutral on the outside, inside he feels lonely and thinks constantly about Meggie.
Themes
