Abstract

The Thorn Bird, a novel called the Australian Gone with the Wind, mainly depicts love，marriages and lives of the three female generations around the Clearys. This paper begins with a brief introduction to the author and this novel, and then analyzes the three different female images in The Thorn Birds：Fiona—faithful but silent, Meggie—brave and perseverant, Justine—independent and enlightened, and thereby further demonstrates the characteristics of three female images: they are all faithful to love and brave enough to fight against the fate.

Key word: The Thorn Bird; female images; characteristics

摘 要

《荆棘鸟》被称为澳大利亚的《飘》，主要讲述了克利里家族中三代女性的爱情，婚姻和生活。本文从简要介绍小说及作者生平入手，分析了小说中在男权社会下的三个不同的女性形象：费昂娜——忠诚却沉默，麦吉——勇敢而坚定，贾斯汀——独立而开明，进而分析了这三代女性共同的性格特征：忠于爱情，敢于与命运抗争。

关键词：《荆棘鸟》；女性形象；性格特征

1. Introduction：
Colleen McCullough was born on June 1, 1937 in Welling, New South Wales, Australia. She was raised chiefly in Sydney. Her father, James McCullough, was a sugar cane cutter and her mother, whose name was never given, a housewife. McCullough attended convent school for twelve years and then graduated from Holy Cross University. She was enrolled in the University of Sydney to pursue a career in medicine but her father, who opposed medical careers for women, made her give up. While in Australia McCullough did various kinds of work, including teaching, bus driving, and working as a librarian.
Later she returned to the University of Sydney and obtained a bachelor’s degree as a medical technician with a concentration on neurophysiology. In 1963, at the age of twenty-six, McCullough moved to England. For four years she focused on epileptic and retarded children at the Hospital for Sick Children in London. In 1967 she was offered a chance to manage the neurological research lab at Yale and moved to the United States. In her spare time she did a number of researches about writing The Thorn Birds. It was her way of achieving catharsis after an unhappy love affair.