Abstract:

The Thorn Birds is the representative work of Australian writer Colleen McCullough. The paper mainly focuses on the research of the heroine Meggie in the novel. Through the analysis of her different images: little girl, lover and mother, it reveals Meggie’s strong will and self-respect when she confronts hardships, her bravery and rebelliousness when she pursues love, and her maternal love when she raises her children. It concludes that Meggie has persevering will and beautiful soul under her soft appearance, which shows readers a great woman of strengthening self-consciousness and independence.

Key words: The Thorn Birds; Meggie; image of character

摘要:

本文主要以澳大利亚著名作家考琳•麦考洛代表作《荆棘鸟》中女主人公梅吉为研究对象，通过描述其作为小女孩、爱人、母亲这三种角色时所表现出的不同性格特征，展现出梅吉在遭遇磨难时的坚强自尊，在追求爱情时的勇敢叛逆，在抚育儿女时充满母爱的人物形象，从而揭示她柔弱外表下坚忍的意志和美好的心灵，并向读者展示一个自我意识不断加强、人格逐渐独立的伟大女性形象。

关键词：《荆棘鸟》；梅吉；人物形象

1. Introduction
1.1 Introduction to Colleen McCullough
Colleen McCullough is one of the most influential writers in contemporary Australia. She was born on June 1st, 1937, in a Catholic family in Willington, New South Wales. During her childhood, her family moved around a great deal and finally settled in Sydney. Before entering tertiary education, she engaged in a variety of works, for example librarian, teacher, and journalist and so on. She graduated from Sydney University. At the beginning of studying at the University of Sydney, she dreamed of becoming a medical doctor, but because of suffering dermatitis from surgical soap, she had to give up her dream and instead of switching to neuroscience. As a neurophysiologist, she set up the department of neurophysiology at the Royal North Shore Hospital in Sydney. Then she went to the United Kingdom and got a research associate job at Yale University. She spent ten years from April 1967 to 1976 researching and teaching in the Department of Neurology at the Yale Medical School in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. She wrote her first two books during this time. She got married at the age of 46 and now, she lives with her husband, Ric Robinson on Norfolk Island in the South Pacific. She is a member of the New York Academy of Sciences as well as a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.