Adaption And Freedom In Spaces:The Construction Of Meggie’s Subjectivity In The Thorn Birds

The Thorn Birds is a family saga written by the famous Australian female writer,Colleen McCullough.The setting of this novel is the western part of Australia.By describing the tumultuous life of three generations of the Cleary family,this novel illustrates the landscape and social culture in Australia.The author creates rich and attractive characters in the novel.The life experiences and encounters of the heroine Meggie touch readers deeply.Living in patriarchal society,she is battered and oppressed,but she resists in her own way.Analyzing Meggie’s life has become a preoccupation for many researchers and critics.These scholars use different methods from different angles to put forward their own opinions and views.Subjectivity is a reflection of the achievement of freedom.In order to study women’s freedom,many scholars have paid great attention to the study of women’s subjectivity.This thesis constructs an analysis of the construction of Meggie’s subjectivity based on Henry Lefebvre’s space theory addressing how physical space,social space and mental space affect adaption and the freedom of women.The physical space,in the thesis,mainly refers to two landscapes,namely New Zealand and Australia.These two landscapes are the main physical spaces where Meggie constructs her subjectivity.Social space,namely the interactive space,is formed by a series of interpersonal relations.In the Novel,Meggie’s interpersonal relations are not complicated.They mainly refer to Meggie’s relationships with different members of her family,her lover and her husband.Different interaction spaces have different influences on Meggie’s construction of her subjectivity.Even if Meggie’s subjectivity is hampered in different interactive spaces,she realizes the need to construct her subjectivity by fighting for subjectivity in her own ways.Mental space is the site of individuals’ mental activities.When the external environment influences individuals’ mentalities,they will respond through physical behavior.Therefore,it is necessary for individuals to coordinate relations between mental activity and external environment,and resolve any conflicts between mental activities and physical behaviors.In order to realize the construction of subjectivity in mental space,Meggie fights against the external environment,which hampers the construction of her subjectivity,and struggles with the conflict between her mental activities and physical behaviors.Finally she overcomes difficulties and constructs her subjectivity in mental space.Three types of spaces constrain and influence the construction of Meggie’s subjectivity.In order to realize the adaption and freedom in space,Meggie overcomes difficulties from different spaces by adapting herself to different spaces,maintaining a positive attitude,giving full play to her subjective initiative,and resolving the conflict between her mental activities and physical behaviors,and the conflict between mental activity and outside environment,in order to finally realize self-adaptation and freedom in these spaces.