List of Characters
- Meghann "Meggie" Cleary — The central character, the only daughter in a large family of sons. The novel takes her from early childhood to old age.
- Father Ralph de Bricassart — Meggie's true love, a handsome Irish Catholic priest.
- Padraic "Paddy" Cleary — Meggie's father, a kind and simple labouring Irishman.
- Fiona "Fee" Armstrong Cleary — Paddy's wife and Meggie's mother, an aristocratic woman who has come down in the world.
- Francis "Frank" Armstrong Cleary — Meggie's eldest brother, Fee's illegitimate first son. A favourite with Meggie and Fee both.
- Mary Elizabeth Cleary Carson — Paddy's immensely wealthy older sister; Father Ralph's benefactor; owner of Drogheda.
- Luke O'Neill — Meggie's husband during an unhappy three-year marriage; father of Justine.
- Dane O'Neill — Son of Meggie and Ralph, Meggie's pride and joy, drowned in Greece at the age of twenty-six.
- Justine O'Neill — Daughter of Meggie and Luke, an intelligent, independent girl. At the end, she is the only surviving grandchild of Paddy and Fee Cleary.
- Luddie and Anne Mueller — Meggie's employers during her marriage to Luke. They become lifelong friends.
- Bob, Jack, and Hughie Cleary — Meggie's older brothers. They all resemble Paddy and live out their days, unmarried, on Drogheda.
- Stuart "Stu" Cleary — A quiet, kindly boy who resembles his mother and is closest to Meggie in age.
- Harold "Hal" Cleary — Meggie's cherished baby brother. He dies when he's four years old.
- James and Patrick "Jims and Patsy" Cleary — Twin boys, Meggie's youngest brothers.
- Rainer "Rain" Moerling Hartheim — Friend of Ralph and eventually Dane. Member of the West German Parliament and eventual husband of Justine.
- Archbishop (later Cardinal) Vittorio di Contini-Verchese — Ralph's mentor, friend to Rainer and Dane.
Read more about this topic: The Thorn Birds
Famous quotes containing the words list of, list and/or characters:
“Modern tourist guides have helped raised tourist expectations. And they have provided the natives—from Kaiser Wilhelm down to the villagers of Chichacestenango—with a detailed and itemized list of what is expected of them and when. These are the up-to- date scripts for actors on the tourists’ stage.”
—Daniel J. Boorstin (b. 1914)
“My list of things I never pictured myself saying when I pictured myself as a parent has grown over the years.”
—Polly Berrien Berends (20th century)
“It is open to question whether the highly individualized characters we find in Shakespeare are perhaps not detrimental to the dramatic effect. The human being disappears to the same degree as the individual emerges.”
—Franz Grillparzer (1791–1872)