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** In one scene, Ralph is seen sternly chastising a priest who broke his vow of chastity, despite the fact that he's in the exact same situation.
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* CloudCuckoolander: Stuart, Meggie's brother who is closest to her in age. He lives in his own world, seldom speaks and takes whatever abuse or tragedy life offers him stoically. Shortly before [[spoiler: he is gored to death by a boar he realizes that he never made any plans for himself because he somehow knew he was fated to die young.]]
* ClingyJealousGirl: Mary Carson is so enamored with Ralph that she outright admits that she dislikes Meggie simply because Ralph is fond of her--Meggie is still a ''child'' at this point. Even in death, she invokes this, leaving her fortune to Ralph so that he'll advance in the Church--but be separated from his beloved Meggie.
* CloudCuckoolander: Stuart, Meggie's brother who is closest to her in age. He lives in his own world, seldom speaks and takes whatever abuse or tragedy life offers him stoically. Shortly before [[spoiler: he is gored to death by a boar he realizes that he never made any plans for himself because he somehow knew he was fated to die young.]]
* CloudCuckoolander: Stuart, Meggie's brother who is closest to her in age. He lives in his own world, seldom speaks and takes whatever abuse or tragedy life offers him stoically. Shortly before [[spoiler: he is gored to death by a boar he realizes that he never made any plans for himself because he somehow knew he was fated to die young.]]
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* HeroesWantRedheads: Ralph and Meggie, Rain and Justine
to:
* HeroesWantRedheads: Ralph and Meggie, Rain and JustineJustine.
** Mary Carson is so incensed that Ralph doesn't return her affections that she engineers things to ensure that he and Meggie will be separated.
** He's also rightly pissed off when Meggie tries to pull TheBabyTrap on him, given that he made it clear that he wanted to wait until they were financially secure before having children, which she completely disregarded.
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* OedipusComplex: Fee and Frank, to a downright disturbing level. Reversed with Meggie and Dane--though she actually wants to her son get married and have children, rather than keeping him to herself (though she still sees his decision to become a priest as an attack on her). Ralph and Meggie can be seen as a gender swapped version as well.
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* OedipusComplex: Fee and Frank, to a downright disturbing level. level--the animosity between him and Paddy is outright described as "the rivalry for Fee".
** Reversed with Meggie and Dane--though she actually wants to her son get married and have children, rather than keeping him to herself (though she still sees his decision to become a priest as an attack onher). her).
** Ralph and Meggie can be seen as a gender swapped version as well.
** Reversed with Meggie and Dane--though she actually wants to her son get married and have children, rather than keeping him to herself (though she still sees his decision to become a priest as an attack on
** Ralph and Meggie can be seen as a gender swapped version as well.
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* SomeoneToRememberHimBy: A rare case where the "someone" is alive. Fee and Meggie dote on sons Frank and Dane, respectively, as they and the boys respective fathers cannot be together.
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* AuthorAvatar: Justine is based on Colleen [=McCullough=] herself who also had a difficult relationship with her mother [[spoiler: and whose brother drowned when young.]]
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* AuthorAvatar: Meggie and Justine is are both based on Colleen [=McCullough=] herself who also had herself--an Irish father and mother of part-Maori ancestry (Meggie), and a difficult relationship with her mother [[spoiler: and whose brother drowned when young.]]]](Justine).
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** Luke demonstrates this too. Already displeased when Meggie gets pregnant, he's even moreso when the child is a girl. Later, after Meggie leaves him, he still writes to her occasionally to ask if their last interlude resulted in a son.
*** In the midquel too--Luke only resurfaces in Meggie's life when he hears about Dane, assuming the boy is his. He pays little attention to Justine during the following weeks, and when Meggie kicks him out for good after he slaps her, it's Dane he snatches and seeks custody of.
*** In the midquel too--Luke only resurfaces in Meggie's life when he hears about Dane, assuming the boy is his. He pays little attention to Justine during the following weeks, and when Meggie kicks him out for good after he slaps her, it's Dane he snatches and seeks custody of.
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* CaliforniaDoubling: Literally. While set in Australia, the miniseries was filmed in. . .California, though the Matlock Island scenes were shot in Hawaii.
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A Man Is Not A Virgin is no longer a trope.
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-->'''Ralph:''' "There's a story... a legend, about a bird that sings just once in its life. From the moment it leaves its nest, it searches for a thorn tree... and never rests until it's found one. And then it sings... more sweetly than any other creature on the face of the earth. And singing, it impales itself on the longest, sharpest thorn. But, as it dies, it rises above its own agony, to outsing the lark and the nightingale. The thorn bird pays its life for just one song, but the whole world stills to listen, and God in his heaven smiles."
-->'''Meggie:''' "What does it mean, Father?"
-->'''Ralph:''' "That the best... is bought only at the cost of great pain."
-->'''Meggie:''' "What does it mean, Father?"
-->'''Ralph:''' "That the best... is bought only at the cost of great pain."
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-->'''Meggie:''' "What
'''Meggie:''' What does it mean,
-->'''Ralph:''' "That
'''Ralph:''' That the best... is bought only at the cost of great
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* AManIsNotAVirgin: Averted, as it's heavily implied that Ralph was--the morning after sleeping with Meggie, he muses to himself that he's "never awakened next to another person". Dane remains as such also, and given that they never marry or even date, so do the Cleary brothers.
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** Perhaps it's payback for when they got started, His reaction upon seeing her naked is to exclaim, "Good God! You really ''are'' a redhead!" To which she snaps, "What did you expect? Purple feathers?"
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* UnbalancedByRivalsKid: Though he gets over it and is more upset with Meggie about it, Ralph is initially rattled when he meets Dane, assuming him to be ''Luke's'' son, not realizing he's ''his''.
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* YourSonAllAlong: Although in this case, Ralph adored Dane the moment he saw him (only after Dane's death does he admit that deep down, he probably knew all along), and instead harbors some resentment towards his mother Meggie, assuming that despite their passionate interlude (when Dane was conceived), she returned to her neglectful husband Luke.
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* AdaptationalVillainy: Mini-series Meggie is incredibly negligent of Justine, to the point where she even finally admits--to Justine herself--that she loved Dane more. In the book, will she has a better relationship with Dane given his easy-going, Ralph-like personality, in contrast to Justine's argumentative, abrasive one, she genuinely loves them equally. If anything, after getting pregnant with Dane, Meggie tries repeatedly to bond with Justine (no doubt to make up for neglecting her during her post-partum depression), only for Justine to be the one to rebuff ''her''.
to:
* AdaptationalVillainy: Mini-series Meggie is incredibly negligent of Justine, to the point where she even finally admits--to Justine herself--that she loved Dane more. In the book, will while she has a better relationship with Dane given his easy-going, Ralph-like personality, in contrast to Justine's argumentative, abrasive one, she genuinely loves them equally. If anything, after getting pregnant with Dane, Meggie tries repeatedly to bond with Justine (no doubt to make up for neglecting her during her post-partum depression), only for Justine to be the one to rebuff ''her''.
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* AdaptationalVillainy: Mini-series Meggie is incredibly negligent of Justine, to the point where she even finally admits--to Justine herself--that she loved Dane more. In the book, she genuinely loves them both equally, but has a better relationship with Dane given his easy-going, Ralph-like personality, in contrast to Justine's argumentative, abrasive one. If anything, after getting pregnant with Dane, Meggie tries repeatedly to bond with Justine (no doubt to make up for neglecting her during her post-partum depression), only for Justine to be the one to rebuff ''her''.
to:
* AdaptationalVillainy: Mini-series Meggie is incredibly negligent of Justine, to the point where she even finally admits--to Justine herself--that she loved Dane more. In the book, will she genuinely loves them both equally, but has a better relationship with Dane given his easy-going, Ralph-like personality, in contrast to Justine's argumentative, abrasive one.one, she genuinely loves them equally. If anything, after getting pregnant with Dane, Meggie tries repeatedly to bond with Justine (no doubt to make up for neglecting her during her post-partum depression), only for Justine to be the one to rebuff ''her''.
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* Irony: meta version. In the story, Meggie marries Luke in an attempt to move on from her love for Ralph. In real life, Rachel Ward (Meggie) and Bryan Brown (Luke) were the ones who fell passionately in love on set; they've been happily married since 1983.
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* Irony: {{Irony}}: meta version. In the story, Meggie marries Luke in an attempt to move on from her love for Ralph. In real life, Rachel Ward (Meggie) and Bryan Brown (Luke) were the ones who fell passionately in love on set; they've been happily married since 1983.
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* Irony: meta version. In the story, Meggie marries Luke in an attempt to move on from her love for Ralph. In real life, Rachel Ward (Meggie) and Bryan Brown (Luke) were the ones who fell passionately in love on set; they've been happily married since 1983.
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* NotEvenBotheringWithTheAccent: Likely owing to the rampant FakeNationality. With the exceptions of Christopher Plummer (Cardinal Vittorio), and Richard Kiley (Paddy), none of the actors make any attempt at sounding the way their characters should, given where they're from.
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* NotEvenBotheringWithTheAccent: Likely owing to the rampant FakeNationality. With the exceptions of Christopher Plummer (Cardinal Vittorio), and Richard Kiley (Paddy), and Ken Howard (Rainier) none of the actors make any attempt at sounding the way their characters should, given where they're from.
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* AdaptaionalVillainy: Mini-series Meggie is incredibly negligent of Justine, to the point where she even finally admits--to Justine herself--that she loved Dane more. In the book, she genuinely loves them both equally, but has a better relationship with Dane given his easy-going, Ralph-like personality, in contrast to Justine's argumentative, abrasive one. If anything, after getting pregnant with Dane, Meggie tries repeatedly to bond with Justine (no doubt to make up for neglecting her during her post-partum depression), only for Justine to be the one to rebuff ''her''.
to:
* AdaptaionalVillainy: AdaptationalVillainy: Mini-series Meggie is incredibly negligent of Justine, to the point where she even finally admits--to Justine herself--that she loved Dane more. In the book, she genuinely loves them both equally, but has a better relationship with Dane given his easy-going, Ralph-like personality, in contrast to Justine's argumentative, abrasive one. If anything, after getting pregnant with Dane, Meggie tries repeatedly to bond with Justine (no doubt to make up for neglecting her during her post-partum depression), only for Justine to be the one to rebuff ''her''.
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* AdaptaionalVillany: Mini-series Meggie is incredibly negligent of Justine, to the point where she even finally admits--to Justine herself--that she loved Dane more. In the book, she genuinely loves them both equally, but has a better relationship with Dane given his easy-going, Ralph-like personality, in contrast to Justine's argumentative, abrasive one. If anything, after getting pregnant with Dane, Meggie tries repeatedly to bond with Justine (no doubt to make up for neglecting her during her post-partum depression), only for Justine to be the one to rebuff ''her''.
to:
* AdaptaionalVillany: AdaptaionalVillainy: Mini-series Meggie is incredibly negligent of Justine, to the point where she even finally admits--to Justine herself--that she loved Dane more. In the book, she genuinely loves them both equally, but has a better relationship with Dane given his easy-going, Ralph-like personality, in contrast to Justine's argumentative, abrasive one. If anything, after getting pregnant with Dane, Meggie tries repeatedly to bond with Justine (no doubt to make up for neglecting her during her post-partum depression), only for Justine to be the one to rebuff ''her''.
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* HotForPreacher:
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* HotForPreacher:HotForPreacher[=/=]SoBeautifulItsACurse: Mary and Meggie aren't the only ones who lust after Ralph. Dane has his admirers too--two girls almost drown because they're so enamored of him that they follow him out for a swim, only to get caught in the strong current.
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* SoBeautifulItsACurse: Ralph. Mary Carson and Meggie aren't the only women who lust after him. And Dane of course, though it's even more dramatic in his case--while he's at the beach, two young women follow him into the water and nearly drown in the strong current. He rescues them, all the while blaming ''himself'' for them being in danger, feeling that they wouldn't have come into the water were they not attracted to him.
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* AdaptaionalVillany: Mini-series Meggie is incredibly negligent of Justine, to the point where she even finally admits--to Justine herself--that she loved Dane more. In the book, she genuinely loves them both equally, but has a better relationship with Dane given his easy-going, Ralph-like personality, in contrast to Justine's argumentative, abrasive one. If anything, after getting pregnant with Dane, Meggie tries repeatedly to bond with Justine (no doubt to make up for neglecting her during her post-partum depression), only for Justine to be the one to rebuff ''her''.
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* AManIsNotAVirgin: Averted, as it's heavily implied that Ralph was--the morning after sleeping with Meggie, he muses to himself that he's "never awakened next to another person". Dane remains as such also, and given that they never marry or even date, so do the Cleary brothers.
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* Homage: Ralph and Meggie's romantic beach interlude has been described as the most passionate such scene since ''Film/FromHereToEternity''
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* Homage: {{Homage}}: Ralph and Meggie's romantic beach interlude has been described as the most passionate such scene since ''Film/FromHereToEternity''
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** Aside from his hair color, Dane bears a strong resemblance to Ralph, has many of his characteristics, and becomes a priest like he was.
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** Aside from his hair color, Dane bears a strong resemblance to Ralph, has many of his characteristics, and becomes a priest like priest--''also'' adored by his female contemporaries--like he was.
* Homage: Ralph and Meggie's romantic beach interlude has been described as the most passionate such scene since ''Film/FromHereToEternity''
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* {{Hypocrite}}:Meggie. Spends years lusting after a priest, wanting him to forsake his vows to be with her. Denounces the church constantly, seeing it as the reason she and the man she loves can't be together and blaming it for for her son wants to be a priest also. Ultimately commits adultery with said priest and passes his child off as her husband's. Blasts her mother for neglecting her and her siblings and blatantly favoring her oldest son. But she won't divorce her husband even though she's left him because she's a "good Catholic" and she neglects her daughter in favor of her son just as her mother did to her.
to:
* {{Hypocrite}}:Meggie. Spends years lusting after a priest, wanting him to forsake his vows to be with her. Denounces the church constantly, seeing it as the reason she and the man she loves can't be together and blaming it for for costing her son wants to be a priest also.both of the men she loves--Ralph and Dane. Ultimately commits adultery with said priest and passes his child off as her husband's. Blasts her mother for neglecting her and her siblings and blatantly favoring her oldest son. But she won't divorce her husband even though she's left him because she's a "good Catholic" and she neglects her daughter in favor of her son just as her mother did to her.her.
** She also blasts Ralph for failing to realize that Dane was his son, overlooking the fact that ''she herself'' never told him.
** She also blasts Ralph for failing to realize that Dane was his son, overlooking the fact that ''she herself'' never told him.
** In the interquel, upon finding out that Dane is Ralph's son and not his, Luke blasts Meggie as a "lying bitch" and Ralph as a "fornicating priest". It sounds harsh until you realize that Meggie did in fact cheat on him with Ralph and then allowed him and Dane to bond for months while knowing full well that Dane wasn't his.
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* PedophilePriest: Subverted with Ralph, who is implied to have feelings for Meggie from the moment they meet, when he's 28 and she's ''10'', but nothing happens between them until she grows up. Even then, she's still quite young.
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* PedophilePriest: Subverted with Ralph, who is implied to have feelings for Meggie from the moment they meet, when he's 28 and she's ''10'', but nothing happens between them until she grows up. Even But even then, she's still quite young.
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* SeriesContinuityError: Results from the plotline of ''The Missing Years''. Among many examples is that in the original, Ralph meets Justine and Dane as young adults and the dialogue makes it quite clear that this is for the first time, whereas in the interquel, he meets them as children and spends considerable time with them. They are far too old to have simply forgotten this by the time they meet in the original and even if not, Ralph certainly wouldn't have.
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** Dane also. Fitting as he's Ralph's son.
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* SoBeautifulItsACurse: Ralph. Mary Carson and Meggie aren't the only women who lust after him. And Dane of course, though it's even more dramatic in his case--while he's at the beach, two young women follow him into the water and nearly drown in the strong current. He rescues them, all the while blaming ''himself'' for them being in danger, feeling that they wouldn't have come into the water were they not attracted to him.
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* LoveWillLeadYouBack: At the end of the first episode, as Ralph leaves Meggie to begin his ascent in the church, she declares, "Go on to that God of yours, but you'll come back to me, because I'm the one who loves you."
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** Aside from his hair color, Dane bears a strong resemblance to Ralph, has many of his characteristics, and becomes a priest like he was.
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* NotEvenBotheringWithTheAccent: Likely owing to the rampant FakeNationality. With the exceptions of Christopher Plummer (Cardinal Vittorio), and Richard Kiley (Paddy), none of the actors make any attempt at sounding the way their characters should, given where they're from.
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* ManipulativeBastard: Mary Carson, so incensed when Ralph rebuffs her and so jealous of his feelings for Meggie that she seeks to control his destiny from beyond the ''grave'' and prevent them from ever having a chance to be together--she wills her fortune to Ralph, thus improving his stance with the church, knowing full well that the prospect of advancing his career will outweigh his desire to be with Meggie.
to:
* ManipulativeBastard: Mary Carson, so incensed when Ralph rebuffs her and so jealous of his feelings for Meggie that she seeks to control his destiny from beyond the ''grave'' and prevent them from ever having a chance to be together--she wills her fortune to Ralph, thus improving his stance with the church, knowing full well that the prospect of advancing his career will outweigh his desire to be with Meggie.Meggie--but also that he'll simultaneously be miserable without her.
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* LikeASonToMe: Ralph says this about Dane after hearing that he's died, not two seconds before Meggie drops the bomb on him that Dane WAS his son.
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* {{Hypocrite}}:Meggie. Spends years lusting after a priest, wanting him to forsake his vows to be with her. Denounces the church constantly, seeing it as the reason she and the man she loves can't be together and blaming it for for her son wants to be a priest also. Ultimately commits adultery with said priest and passes his child off as her husband's. Blasts her mother for neglecting her and her siblings and blatantly favoring her oldest son. But she won't divorce her husband even though she's left him because she's a "good Catholic" and she neglects her daughter in favor of her son just as her mother did to her.
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* IdiotBall: Ralph not realizing Dane was his son despite their strong resemblance and common talents and interests. It's subverted after Dane dies when he admits that deep down, he probably knew all along but was in denial.
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* FlashbackWithTheOtherDarrin: Ralph has one of Meggie in ''The Missing Years'', with Amanda Donohoe replacing Rachel Ward in the below-mentioned GrandStaircaseEntrance.
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* AmbitionIsEvil: Ralph befriends wealthy widow Mary Carson even though he dislikes her in the hopes that her wealth and influence can help him get back into the church's good graces and eventually advance his career. When she dies, she does make a huge donation on his behalf and even though by now he's fallen in love with Meggie Cleary, the prospect of advancement is too tempting for him and he leaves her—and continues to leave her in order to continue rising in the ranks of the church. By the end of the book, he admits that deep down, he always knew that he was the father of Meggie's son Dane, but taunts himself by referring to himself as "Cardinal deBricassart", because he is also forced to admit that advancing his career was more important to him than being with the woman he loved and building a life with her.
* JerkassHasAPoint: Mary Carson is a wretched person, but she picks up on Ralph's feelings for Meggie almost instantly, calls him out on the impropriety of them, and scoffs at his protestations of "I'm a priest", reminding him, "You're a man first." Her assessments may be motivated only out of jealousy, but they're still correct.
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* ManipulativeBastard: Mary Carson, so incensed when Ralph rebuffs her and so jealous of his feelings for Meggie that she seeks to control his destiny from beyond the ''grave'' and prevent them from ever having a chance to be together.
to:
* ManipulativeBastard: Mary Carson, so incensed when Ralph rebuffs her and so jealous of his feelings for Meggie that she seeks to control his destiny from beyond the ''grave'' and prevent them from ever having a chance to be together.together--she wills her fortune to Ralph, thus improving his stance with the church, knowing full well that the prospect of advancing his career will outweigh his desire to be with Meggie.
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* NonIndicativeName: "The Missing Years", referring to the roughly 15-20 years skipped over by the original series, only covers approximately ''one'' year of that time, if even that much.
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* DawsonCasting: Rachel Ward was in her mid-20's when cast as the teenaged Meggie, but this is justified in that she continued to play Meggie even as the character aged. Additionally, in ''The Missing Years'', a ''17''-year old Olivia Burnette is cast as the ''pre-teen'' Justine. Ironically, her petite stature initially does her make her look much younger that she is, but her, er, development gives away the fact that she's older.
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* FakeNationality: All over the place. The only Australian-born actor in a major role is Bryan Brown, who played Luke. Meanwhile, Americans and Brits play characters from Australia (Justine and Dane), Ireland (Ralph, Paddy, Mary), and New Zealand (Fee and most of the Cleary children), while Canadian Christopher Plummer plays an Italian cardinal.
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* HeyItsThatGuy!: [[Film/TheCountOfMonteCristo Edmond Dantes]] is a priest, [[Anime/HowlsMovingCastle Sophie]] is a housewife, [[Franchise/StarTrek Q]] is a toff who rides horses and [[TheSoundOfMusic Captain von Trapp]] is a cardinal.
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* TheOtherDarrin: ''Everyone'' in "The Missing Years", except for Richard Chamberlain as Father Ralph'
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* RomanceOnTheSet: Rachel Ward (Meggie) and Bryan Brown (Luke) fell in love while working on the show (ironic, as they were playing people trapped in a loveless marriage). They have been married nearly 30 years and have three children. Meanwhile, [[StraightGay Richard Chamberlain]] met his partner while on set, an actor playing a priest who like Ralph, broke his vow of chastity.
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* WifeHusbandry: Ralph's known Meggie since she was ten and when [[spoiler: they make love for the first time]], he at last acknowledges he's molded and shaped her without intending to and that she's his creation. Ummm...''yay?'' Also averted, since he didn't do it intentionally and he resists it for as long as possible, trying to think of Meggie as a child and not a woman.
to:
* VowOfCelibacy: The illicit relationship between a Catholic priest and a younger woman is the main conflict.
* WifeHusbandry: Ralph's known Meggie since she was ten and when [[spoiler: they make love for the first time]], he at last acknowledges he's molded and shaped her without intending to and that she's his creation. Ummm...''yay?'' Also averted, since he didn't do it intentionally and he resists it for as long as possible, trying to think of Meggie as a child and not awoman.woman.
----
* WifeHusbandry: Ralph's known Meggie since she was ten and when [[spoiler: they make love for the first time]], he at last acknowledges he's molded and shaped her without intending to and that she's his creation. Ummm...''yay?'' Also averted, since he didn't do it intentionally and he resists it for as long as possible, trying to think of Meggie as a child and not a
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* TheOtherDarrin: ''Everyone'' in "The Missing Years", except for Richard Chamberlain as Father Ralph'
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-->'''Ralph:''' "There's a story... a legend, about a bird that sings just once in its life. From the moment it leaves its nest, it searches for a thorn tree... and never rests until it's found one. And then it sings... more sweetly than any other creature on the face of the earth. And singing, it impales itself on the longest, sharpest thorn. But, as it dies, it rises above its own agony, to outsing the lark and the nightingale. The thorn bird pays its life for just one song, but the whole world stills to listen, and God in his heaven smiles."
-->'''Meggie:''' "What does it mean, Father?"
-->'''Ralph:''' "That the best... is bought only at the cost of great pain."
Not just a successful book in its own right (published in 1977) but also adapted in 1983 into the second highest-rated American mini-series ever, Colleen [=McCullough's=] ''The Thorn Birds'' branches over 50 years of the 20th century and focuses on the Cleary family, their home — a fictional sheep station called Drogheda — and the forbidden love between the daughter of the family, Meggie, and Ralph de Bricassart, an ambitious Catholic priest.
Has been described as the Australian ''Gone with the Wind'', and with good reason. Not to be confused with the Korean drama [[{{Names the Same}} of the same name]].
Just starting on a character page.
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!!Tropes:
* AdaptationDistillation: The mini-series makes several minor adjustments concerning ages and the general time line of the book, as well as other alterations; probably the biggest changes are Jim and Patsy being left out altogether and Frank dying in prison. The series was a great success, so obviously they got it right...apart from the 19-year gap. See below.
* AuthorAvatar: Justine is based on Colleen [=McCullough=] herself who also had a difficult relationship with her mother [[spoiler: and whose brother drowned when young.]]
* AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther: Fee unfortunately realizes too late that she does love Paddy [[spoiler: shortly after Paddy's death because she was too busy mourning for her old love]]
* BabiesMakeEverythingBetter: Meggie assumes this when trying to become pregnant by Luke--she's ''wrong''. She also assumes this after getting pregnant by Ralph, content to have his son if she can't have him.
* BadAssGrandma: Fee's grandmother who refused to let the rest of the family disown Fee when Fee got pregnant as a teenager. When she was dying she arranged for Fee to marry Paddy because she realized the family would throw Fee out once she passed on.
* BigFancyHouse: The Drogheda mansion.
* BlackSheep: Poor Frank.
* BreakTheCutie: Fee and Meggie, repeatedly.
* CaliforniaDoubling: Literally. While set in Australia, the miniseries was filmed in. . .California, though the Matlock Island scenes were shot in Hawaii.
* CelibateHero: Ralph is like this, until, well, he isn't so celibate.
* CloudCuckoolander: Stuart, Meggie's brother who is closest to her in age. He lives in his own world, seldom speaks and takes whatever abuse or tragedy life offers him stoically. Shortly before [[spoiler: he is gored to death by a boar he realizes that he never made any plans for himself because he somehow knew he was fated to die young.]]
* TheCharmer: Luke
* CompressedAdaptation: The TV producers skipped over ''19'' years, leaving out Justine's and Dane's childhoods entirely. CBS sought to remedy this error with ''The Thorn Birds: The Missing Years''.
* CunningLinguist: Ralph and Dane are both multilingual, though we don't get to see either of them use their skills much, making this also an InformedAbility on both their parts.
* DaddysGirl: Paddy and Meggie, in that Paddy seems more protective of Meggie than the rest of his children.
* DawsonCasting: Rachel Ward was in her mid-20's when cast as the teenaged Meggie, but this is justified in that she continued to play Meggie even as the character aged. Additionally, in ''The Missing Years'', a ''17''-year old Olivia Burnette is cast as the ''pre-teen'' Justine. Ironically, her petite stature initially does her make her look much younger that she is, but her, er, development gives away the fact that she's older.
* DeadpanSnarker: Justine, usually at her mother's expense.
* DeathByAdaptation: Frank dies in the movie, but not in the book.
* DefiledForever: Fee's family seemed to regard her as this, as her illegitimate child made her ineligible for marriage to any man of equal social standing.
* DeterminedHomesteadersChildren: Meggie and her brothers can be considered examples.
* DisappearedDad: Frank's real father. All that is revealed about him is that he is a well known, part Maori New Zealand politician. Luke to Justine and (technically) Dane, as well, once Meggie left him.
* DontTellMama: Meggie's oldest brother Frank runs away from home when she's a girl, after having a fight with Paddy in which it's revealed that Frank isn't his. Years later, Fee happens to find a newspaper in which an article announces his conviction for a terrible crime. Frank's only comment to the press was "Don't tell my mother."
* EmotionlessGirl: According to Paddy, since their marriage began Fee has not complained or cried or even laughed, and though he and their children all love her, she only shows obvious affection for Frank - the son of the man who seduced and abandoned her, hereby explaining her demeanor. She gets warmer later on, ironically because of her husband and sons dying.
* {{The Epic}}
* [[EverythingsBetterWithCows Everything's Better With Sheep]]: The Clearys are sheep farmers.
* EvilMatriarch: While you sometimes feel sorry for Mary Carson, you can't deny that she's a conniving bitch of the first order.
* FakeNationality: All over the place. The only Australian-born actor in a major role is Bryan Brown, who played Luke. Meanwhile, Americans and Brits play characters from Australia (Justine and Dane), Ireland (Ralph, Paddy, Mary), and New Zealand (Fee and most of the Cleary children), while Canadian Christopher Plummer plays an Italian cardinal.
* FallenPrincess: Fee.
* FieryRedhead: Paddy. Also Justine, at least in the book.
* ForbiddenFruit: Ralph and Meggie, to each other.
* GenerationXerox: Meggie is determined never to play favorites with her children, yet she blatantly favors Dane just as her mother did Frank. [[spoiler: She also loses her favorite child, just as Fee did.]]
* GrandStaircaseEntrance: How the mini-series presents Meggie's entry into Mary Carson's birthday party. Ralph certainly takes notice.
* HeyItsThatGuy!: [[Film/TheCountOfMonteCristo Edmond Dantes]] is a priest, [[Anime/HowlsMovingCastle Sophie]] is a housewife, [[Franchise/StarTrek Q]] is a toff who rides horses and [[TheSoundOfMusic Captain von Trapp]] is a cardinal.
* GeniusCripple: Anne Mueller has a disability, and she is remarkably well-read.
* HeroesWantRedheads: Ralph and Meggie, Rain and Justine
* HeterosexualLifePartners: Luke and his cane-cutting mate, Arnie. To the point where Meggie sarcastically states that Luke should have married Arnie instead of her, since he clearly prefers Arnie's company to hers. Keep in mind, this is someone completely ignorant that homosexuality even ''exists''.
* HollywoodFire: A massive one destroys some of the Drogheda property, and kills Paddy; his son Stuart finds the body, only to be killed moments later by a wild boar.
* HotForPreacher:
* IfICantHaveYou: For all that Ralph encourages Meggie to forget him and marry someone else, he gets pretty peeved when she actually goes and does it, and Fee has to call him out on his hypocrisy. Twice.
* {{Interquel}}: ''The Thorn Birds: The Missing Years'', which unfortunately, was almost completely inconsistent with both the original miniseries as well as the book in terms of both characterization and plotline.
* IAmNotYourFather: Basically yelled by Paddy during a fight with Frank.
* IrishPriest: Ralph
* LandDownUnder
* LovingAShadow: Paddy and Fee. Ralph and Meggie also, to the point where Meggie marries Luke because of his [[ReplacementGoldfish resemblance to Ralph]]. After the marriage falls apart, she refuses to divorce him and move on with anyone else, having resigned herself to loving a man she knows she can never be with.
* ManipulativeBastard: Mary Carson, so incensed when Ralph rebuffs her and so jealous of his feelings for Meggie that she seeks to control his destiny from beyond the ''grave'' and prevent them from ever having a chance to be together.
* MaritalRapeLicense: Meggie's boorish husband Luke forces himself on her on their wedding night because "it's time." All the more horrific for Meggie in that she is ignorant of the facts of life.
* MassiveNumberedSiblings: There are a total of nine children in the Cleary family, and Fee and Ralph are implied to have come from large families themselves.
* MayDecemberRomance: Ralph is eighteen years older than Meggie. To a lesser extent, Rainer and Justine. He is ten years older.
* MenAreBetterThanWomen: Fee's attitude towards her children for much of the book. She dotes on her sons but barely acknowledges Meggie's existence. It has suggested that her own hard lot is why she had no enthusiasm about having a female child. She does come to respect and grow closer to Meggie in later life.
* MissConception: Book Meggie is completely ignorant about where babies come from, believing, even in her mid-teens, that one "wishes for them and they grow". Fee, of course, never bothers to explain anything to her, leaving Meggie in for a very unpleasant wedding night (her husband being a lousy, selfish, and inconsiderate lover doesn't help much). In the movie, she knows, but is still unprepared for how painful the first time can be.
* MixedRace: [[spoiler: Frank's dark eyes that had bewildered Ralph (seeing as the rest of the family is light-eyed) are explained when it is revealed that his real father is half Maori. Fee herself has a distant Maori ancestor.]]
* MommasBoy: Frank, and later Stuart.
* MouthyKid: Justine
* MyGirlBackHome: Ralph seems to think of Meggie this way while he is at the Vatican.
* {{Nephewism}}: Done with a twist. When Dane decides to enter the priesthood, Meggie agrees only as long as he can study with Father Ralph. Ralph's superior decides that, to throw off any suspicions from people who wonder at Ralph's obvious fondness for the younger man, they will tell people that Dane is his nephew.
* NayTheist: Meggie had shades of this [[spoiler: especially when Dane dies]].
* NoPeriodsPeriod: Averted. Poor Ralph has to explain to Meggie what's actually happening when she starts menstruating, since her mother hasn't bothered to tell her anything at all and Meggie thinks she's dying from a tumor.
** And yet not averted: the characters exist in a NoPeriodsPeriod culture, as made clear by the very fact ''that'' Meggie doesn't know what her menstruation is: and when she finally manages to tell Ralph, he is in an agony of embarrassment at the very mention of it (the women who tell him their sexual fantasies as fact in the confessional graphically describe every aspect of human sexuality they can imagine ... ''except'' that they menstruate).
* NunsAreSpooky: In the book, Meggie has some horrible experiences at parochial school because of sadistic nuns.
* OedipusComplex: Fee and Frank, to a downright disturbing level. Reversed with Meggie and Dane--though she actually wants to her son get married and have children, rather than keeping him to herself (though she still sees his decision to become a priest as an attack on her). Ralph and Meggie can be seen as a gender swapped version as well.
* ParentalFavoritism: Justine knows all too well that Dane is the favorite. In the book, she's gotten over it (Meggie doesn't neglect her nearly as much as she does in the movie), while in the movie she resents her mother for it, although not Dane.
** Similarly, Meggie and the rest of the boys know that Fee favors Frank more than the rest of them, as well, but Meggie resents Fee, not Frank for this.
*** It is also implied that Meggie is Paddy's favorite.
* PedophilePriest: Subverted with Ralph, who is implied to have feelings for Meggie from the moment they meet, when he's 28 and she's ''10'', but nothing happens between them until she grows up. Even then, she's still quite young.
* PinkMeansFeminine: Meggie wears a greyish pink ("ashes of roses") dress at Mary Carson's birthday party. Ralph associates Meggie with this color forever after.
* PlayingGertrude: Rachel Ward is only a few years older than the actress and actor portraying her children, but this is justified in that she's been playing the role since Meggie was a teenager.
* PreachersKid: Dane, in that he acts very angelic, but he is unaware of his true parentage.
* PrecisionFStrike: "The old '''bitch.'''"
* RagsToRiches: The Cleary family does this; they go from living a very meager existence on New Zealand to living on a fantastic country estate in Australia, even if they do spend the first few years living in the servants quarters.
** Also to a lesser extent with Ralph, when Mary Carson leaves most of her estate to the Catholic Church and makes him the executor of her will. This sudden influx of wealth improves his standing with the church, and he commences a rise through the ranks which eventually leads to his being made a cardinal.
* ReassignedToAntarctica: Ralph is in Australia for reasons he initially refuses to reveal, before finally admitting that he was insubordinate to a senior official.
* RichBitch: Mary Carson again.
* RichesToRags: Fee who was disowned by her wealthy and powerful New Zealand family after being pregnant out of wedlock.
* RomanceOnTheSet: Rachel Ward (Meggie) and Bryan Brown (Luke) fell in love while working on the show (ironic, as they were playing people trapped in a loveless marriage). They have been married nearly 30 years and have three children. Meanwhile, [[StraightGay Richard Chamberlain]] met his partner while on set, an actor playing a priest who like Ralph, broke his vow of chastity.
* SceneryPorn: Mostly the Australian outback, but also Queensland and New Zealand.
* SecretlyWealthy: Subverted with Mary Carson. People already knew she was rich, but she was ''much'' wealthier than anyone imagined.
* SexComedy: Justine's first time. She starts laughing uncontrollably when she sees a reflection of her her partner's bouncing buttocks (whose hair tufts make her think of Dagwood). Her partner is less amused, however.
* SexyPriest: Ralph in a nutshell. Mary also wonders why so many priests are beautiful, and whether they choose the priesthood as an escape from the consequences of their appearances--or perhaps they ''like'' somehow taunting women with the fact that such an attractive man is unavailable to them. All this while she's admiring a half naked Ralph in the rain, of course.
* SheIsAllGrownUp: Ralph has this reaction to Meggie when she walks into Mary Carson's birthday party.
* SiblingRivalry: Averted; Justine doesn't resent Dane for being their mother's favorite, they love each other dearly and he's the only person she lets herself be close to for a long time.
** Also averted with Frank and Meggie; despite the fact that he is their mother's favorite child, and she seems for many years to be her ''least'' favorite, Meggie adores Frank and vice versa. In fact, Frank seems to be genuinely fond of ''all'' his younger siblings, with Meggie being his favorite. No mean feat, considering that he despises their father.
* SiblingYinYang: Meggie comments at one time about how different Justine and Dane are, and yet they get along so wonderfully.
* StarCrossedLovers: Ralph and Meggie, Fee and Pakeha, Justine and Rainer. Though in Justine and Rainer's case, it's not so much circumstances as it is Justine herself--she pushes him away because she feels undeserving of love, fears ruining the relationship, feels responsible for Dane's death (irrationally thinking had she not been with Rainer, she could have prevented Dane's drowning) and should thus be punished by never finding happiness, etc.
* SternNun: Sister Agnes, who is more sadistic than stern.
* TooGoodForThisSinfulEarth: [[spoiler: Stuart and Dane.]]
* WifeHusbandry: Ralph's known Meggie since she was ten and when [[spoiler: they make love for the first time]], he at last acknowledges he's molded and shaped her without intending to and that she's his creation. Ummm...''yay?'' Also averted, since he didn't do it intentionally and he resists it for as long as possible, trying to think of Meggie as a child and not a woman.
-->'''Meggie:''' "What does it mean, Father?"
-->'''Ralph:''' "That the best... is bought only at the cost of great pain."
Not just a successful book in its own right (published in 1977) but also adapted in 1983 into the second highest-rated American mini-series ever, Colleen [=McCullough's=] ''The Thorn Birds'' branches over 50 years of the 20th century and focuses on the Cleary family, their home — a fictional sheep station called Drogheda — and the forbidden love between the daughter of the family, Meggie, and Ralph de Bricassart, an ambitious Catholic priest.
Has been described as the Australian ''Gone with the Wind'', and with good reason. Not to be confused with the Korean drama [[{{Names the Same}} of the same name]].
Just starting on a character page.
----
!!Tropes:
* AdaptationDistillation: The mini-series makes several minor adjustments concerning ages and the general time line of the book, as well as other alterations; probably the biggest changes are Jim and Patsy being left out altogether and Frank dying in prison. The series was a great success, so obviously they got it right...apart from the 19-year gap. See below.
* AuthorAvatar: Justine is based on Colleen [=McCullough=] herself who also had a difficult relationship with her mother [[spoiler: and whose brother drowned when young.]]
* AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther: Fee unfortunately realizes too late that she does love Paddy [[spoiler: shortly after Paddy's death because she was too busy mourning for her old love]]
* BabiesMakeEverythingBetter: Meggie assumes this when trying to become pregnant by Luke--she's ''wrong''. She also assumes this after getting pregnant by Ralph, content to have his son if she can't have him.
* BadAssGrandma: Fee's grandmother who refused to let the rest of the family disown Fee when Fee got pregnant as a teenager. When she was dying she arranged for Fee to marry Paddy because she realized the family would throw Fee out once she passed on.
* BigFancyHouse: The Drogheda mansion.
* BlackSheep: Poor Frank.
* BreakTheCutie: Fee and Meggie, repeatedly.
* CaliforniaDoubling: Literally. While set in Australia, the miniseries was filmed in. . .California, though the Matlock Island scenes were shot in Hawaii.
* CelibateHero: Ralph is like this, until, well, he isn't so celibate.
* CloudCuckoolander: Stuart, Meggie's brother who is closest to her in age. He lives in his own world, seldom speaks and takes whatever abuse or tragedy life offers him stoically. Shortly before [[spoiler: he is gored to death by a boar he realizes that he never made any plans for himself because he somehow knew he was fated to die young.]]
* TheCharmer: Luke
* CompressedAdaptation: The TV producers skipped over ''19'' years, leaving out Justine's and Dane's childhoods entirely. CBS sought to remedy this error with ''The Thorn Birds: The Missing Years''.
* CunningLinguist: Ralph and Dane are both multilingual, though we don't get to see either of them use their skills much, making this also an InformedAbility on both their parts.
* DaddysGirl: Paddy and Meggie, in that Paddy seems more protective of Meggie than the rest of his children.
* DawsonCasting: Rachel Ward was in her mid-20's when cast as the teenaged Meggie, but this is justified in that she continued to play Meggie even as the character aged. Additionally, in ''The Missing Years'', a ''17''-year old Olivia Burnette is cast as the ''pre-teen'' Justine. Ironically, her petite stature initially does her make her look much younger that she is, but her, er, development gives away the fact that she's older.
* DeadpanSnarker: Justine, usually at her mother's expense.
* DeathByAdaptation: Frank dies in the movie, but not in the book.
* DefiledForever: Fee's family seemed to regard her as this, as her illegitimate child made her ineligible for marriage to any man of equal social standing.
* DeterminedHomesteadersChildren: Meggie and her brothers can be considered examples.
* DisappearedDad: Frank's real father. All that is revealed about him is that he is a well known, part Maori New Zealand politician. Luke to Justine and (technically) Dane, as well, once Meggie left him.
* DontTellMama: Meggie's oldest brother Frank runs away from home when she's a girl, after having a fight with Paddy in which it's revealed that Frank isn't his. Years later, Fee happens to find a newspaper in which an article announces his conviction for a terrible crime. Frank's only comment to the press was "Don't tell my mother."
* EmotionlessGirl: According to Paddy, since their marriage began Fee has not complained or cried or even laughed, and though he and their children all love her, she only shows obvious affection for Frank - the son of the man who seduced and abandoned her, hereby explaining her demeanor. She gets warmer later on, ironically because of her husband and sons dying.
* {{The Epic}}
* [[EverythingsBetterWithCows Everything's Better With Sheep]]: The Clearys are sheep farmers.
* EvilMatriarch: While you sometimes feel sorry for Mary Carson, you can't deny that she's a conniving bitch of the first order.
* FakeNationality: All over the place. The only Australian-born actor in a major role is Bryan Brown, who played Luke. Meanwhile, Americans and Brits play characters from Australia (Justine and Dane), Ireland (Ralph, Paddy, Mary), and New Zealand (Fee and most of the Cleary children), while Canadian Christopher Plummer plays an Italian cardinal.
* FallenPrincess: Fee.
* FieryRedhead: Paddy. Also Justine, at least in the book.
* ForbiddenFruit: Ralph and Meggie, to each other.
* GenerationXerox: Meggie is determined never to play favorites with her children, yet she blatantly favors Dane just as her mother did Frank. [[spoiler: She also loses her favorite child, just as Fee did.]]
* GrandStaircaseEntrance: How the mini-series presents Meggie's entry into Mary Carson's birthday party. Ralph certainly takes notice.
* HeyItsThatGuy!: [[Film/TheCountOfMonteCristo Edmond Dantes]] is a priest, [[Anime/HowlsMovingCastle Sophie]] is a housewife, [[Franchise/StarTrek Q]] is a toff who rides horses and [[TheSoundOfMusic Captain von Trapp]] is a cardinal.
* GeniusCripple: Anne Mueller has a disability, and she is remarkably well-read.
* HeroesWantRedheads: Ralph and Meggie, Rain and Justine
* HeterosexualLifePartners: Luke and his cane-cutting mate, Arnie. To the point where Meggie sarcastically states that Luke should have married Arnie instead of her, since he clearly prefers Arnie's company to hers. Keep in mind, this is someone completely ignorant that homosexuality even ''exists''.
* HollywoodFire: A massive one destroys some of the Drogheda property, and kills Paddy; his son Stuart finds the body, only to be killed moments later by a wild boar.
* HotForPreacher:
* IfICantHaveYou: For all that Ralph encourages Meggie to forget him and marry someone else, he gets pretty peeved when she actually goes and does it, and Fee has to call him out on his hypocrisy. Twice.
* {{Interquel}}: ''The Thorn Birds: The Missing Years'', which unfortunately, was almost completely inconsistent with both the original miniseries as well as the book in terms of both characterization and plotline.
* IAmNotYourFather: Basically yelled by Paddy during a fight with Frank.
* IrishPriest: Ralph
* LandDownUnder
* LovingAShadow: Paddy and Fee. Ralph and Meggie also, to the point where Meggie marries Luke because of his [[ReplacementGoldfish resemblance to Ralph]]. After the marriage falls apart, she refuses to divorce him and move on with anyone else, having resigned herself to loving a man she knows she can never be with.
* ManipulativeBastard: Mary Carson, so incensed when Ralph rebuffs her and so jealous of his feelings for Meggie that she seeks to control his destiny from beyond the ''grave'' and prevent them from ever having a chance to be together.
* MaritalRapeLicense: Meggie's boorish husband Luke forces himself on her on their wedding night because "it's time." All the more horrific for Meggie in that she is ignorant of the facts of life.
* MassiveNumberedSiblings: There are a total of nine children in the Cleary family, and Fee and Ralph are implied to have come from large families themselves.
* MayDecemberRomance: Ralph is eighteen years older than Meggie. To a lesser extent, Rainer and Justine. He is ten years older.
* MenAreBetterThanWomen: Fee's attitude towards her children for much of the book. She dotes on her sons but barely acknowledges Meggie's existence. It has suggested that her own hard lot is why she had no enthusiasm about having a female child. She does come to respect and grow closer to Meggie in later life.
* MissConception: Book Meggie is completely ignorant about where babies come from, believing, even in her mid-teens, that one "wishes for them and they grow". Fee, of course, never bothers to explain anything to her, leaving Meggie in for a very unpleasant wedding night (her husband being a lousy, selfish, and inconsiderate lover doesn't help much). In the movie, she knows, but is still unprepared for how painful the first time can be.
* MixedRace: [[spoiler: Frank's dark eyes that had bewildered Ralph (seeing as the rest of the family is light-eyed) are explained when it is revealed that his real father is half Maori. Fee herself has a distant Maori ancestor.]]
* MommasBoy: Frank, and later Stuart.
* MouthyKid: Justine
* MyGirlBackHome: Ralph seems to think of Meggie this way while he is at the Vatican.
* {{Nephewism}}: Done with a twist. When Dane decides to enter the priesthood, Meggie agrees only as long as he can study with Father Ralph. Ralph's superior decides that, to throw off any suspicions from people who wonder at Ralph's obvious fondness for the younger man, they will tell people that Dane is his nephew.
* NayTheist: Meggie had shades of this [[spoiler: especially when Dane dies]].
* NoPeriodsPeriod: Averted. Poor Ralph has to explain to Meggie what's actually happening when she starts menstruating, since her mother hasn't bothered to tell her anything at all and Meggie thinks she's dying from a tumor.
** And yet not averted: the characters exist in a NoPeriodsPeriod culture, as made clear by the very fact ''that'' Meggie doesn't know what her menstruation is: and when she finally manages to tell Ralph, he is in an agony of embarrassment at the very mention of it (the women who tell him their sexual fantasies as fact in the confessional graphically describe every aspect of human sexuality they can imagine ... ''except'' that they menstruate).
* NunsAreSpooky: In the book, Meggie has some horrible experiences at parochial school because of sadistic nuns.
* OedipusComplex: Fee and Frank, to a downright disturbing level. Reversed with Meggie and Dane--though she actually wants to her son get married and have children, rather than keeping him to herself (though she still sees his decision to become a priest as an attack on her). Ralph and Meggie can be seen as a gender swapped version as well.
* ParentalFavoritism: Justine knows all too well that Dane is the favorite. In the book, she's gotten over it (Meggie doesn't neglect her nearly as much as she does in the movie), while in the movie she resents her mother for it, although not Dane.
** Similarly, Meggie and the rest of the boys know that Fee favors Frank more than the rest of them, as well, but Meggie resents Fee, not Frank for this.
*** It is also implied that Meggie is Paddy's favorite.
* PedophilePriest: Subverted with Ralph, who is implied to have feelings for Meggie from the moment they meet, when he's 28 and she's ''10'', but nothing happens between them until she grows up. Even then, she's still quite young.
* PinkMeansFeminine: Meggie wears a greyish pink ("ashes of roses") dress at Mary Carson's birthday party. Ralph associates Meggie with this color forever after.
* PlayingGertrude: Rachel Ward is only a few years older than the actress and actor portraying her children, but this is justified in that she's been playing the role since Meggie was a teenager.
* PreachersKid: Dane, in that he acts very angelic, but he is unaware of his true parentage.
* PrecisionFStrike: "The old '''bitch.'''"
* RagsToRiches: The Cleary family does this; they go from living a very meager existence on New Zealand to living on a fantastic country estate in Australia, even if they do spend the first few years living in the servants quarters.
** Also to a lesser extent with Ralph, when Mary Carson leaves most of her estate to the Catholic Church and makes him the executor of her will. This sudden influx of wealth improves his standing with the church, and he commences a rise through the ranks which eventually leads to his being made a cardinal.
* ReassignedToAntarctica: Ralph is in Australia for reasons he initially refuses to reveal, before finally admitting that he was insubordinate to a senior official.
* RichBitch: Mary Carson again.
* RichesToRags: Fee who was disowned by her wealthy and powerful New Zealand family after being pregnant out of wedlock.
* RomanceOnTheSet: Rachel Ward (Meggie) and Bryan Brown (Luke) fell in love while working on the show (ironic, as they were playing people trapped in a loveless marriage). They have been married nearly 30 years and have three children. Meanwhile, [[StraightGay Richard Chamberlain]] met his partner while on set, an actor playing a priest who like Ralph, broke his vow of chastity.
* SceneryPorn: Mostly the Australian outback, but also Queensland and New Zealand.
* SecretlyWealthy: Subverted with Mary Carson. People already knew she was rich, but she was ''much'' wealthier than anyone imagined.
* SexComedy: Justine's first time. She starts laughing uncontrollably when she sees a reflection of her her partner's bouncing buttocks (whose hair tufts make her think of Dagwood). Her partner is less amused, however.
* SexyPriest: Ralph in a nutshell. Mary also wonders why so many priests are beautiful, and whether they choose the priesthood as an escape from the consequences of their appearances--or perhaps they ''like'' somehow taunting women with the fact that such an attractive man is unavailable to them. All this while she's admiring a half naked Ralph in the rain, of course.
* SheIsAllGrownUp: Ralph has this reaction to Meggie when she walks into Mary Carson's birthday party.
* SiblingRivalry: Averted; Justine doesn't resent Dane for being their mother's favorite, they love each other dearly and he's the only person she lets herself be close to for a long time.
** Also averted with Frank and Meggie; despite the fact that he is their mother's favorite child, and she seems for many years to be her ''least'' favorite, Meggie adores Frank and vice versa. In fact, Frank seems to be genuinely fond of ''all'' his younger siblings, with Meggie being his favorite. No mean feat, considering that he despises their father.
* SiblingYinYang: Meggie comments at one time about how different Justine and Dane are, and yet they get along so wonderfully.
* StarCrossedLovers: Ralph and Meggie, Fee and Pakeha, Justine and Rainer. Though in Justine and Rainer's case, it's not so much circumstances as it is Justine herself--she pushes him away because she feels undeserving of love, fears ruining the relationship, feels responsible for Dane's death (irrationally thinking had she not been with Rainer, she could have prevented Dane's drowning) and should thus be punished by never finding happiness, etc.
* SternNun: Sister Agnes, who is more sadistic than stern.
* TooGoodForThisSinfulEarth: [[spoiler: Stuart and Dane.]]
* WifeHusbandry: Ralph's known Meggie since she was ten and when [[spoiler: they make love for the first time]], he at last acknowledges he's molded and shaped her without intending to and that she's his creation. Ummm...''yay?'' Also averted, since he didn't do it intentionally and he resists it for as long as possible, trying to think of Meggie as a child and not a woman.
