The Thorn Birds

Fee is now in charge of corresponding with Ralph, and she keeps any news from him from Meggie. A new hand comes to work on the estate: Luke O’Neill. When Meggie meets him, she notices that he looks like Ralph: Luke is “as tall, as broad in the shoulders and narrow in the hips, and with something of the same grace, though differently employed. Father Ralph moved like a dancer, Luke O’Neill like an athlete” (290). With his good looks and his willingness to work hard, Luke earns the approval of the family and staff.

Eventually, Luke seeks to engage Meggie, first calling her spoiled and then inviting her to a dance. She relents, although she can’t dance, and Luke is given permission to drive her in the family Rolls Royce. She notices that other women at the dance find Luke attractive. Meggie is unaware that she is free to accept invitations to dance from other men, and Luke monopolizes her. When the two share a waltz, “[t]o her surprise she found she didn’t need to do anything more than follow where he propelled her" (297).

The narrator offers the reader Luke’s point of view, revealing that he craves hard work as a means of proving his manhood.