If he's not too stupid, he's too hypocritical

Chance 2022-07-09 16:58:14

Stop it, forgive me and stay up until three or four o'clock before going to bed. Drinking coffee always makes me feel refreshed. Even a movie that is supposed to be ordinary gave me a lot of clues.
"Thorn Bird" is a family novel I read in high school. Yesterday, I got the idea to watch the 1983 8-episode version of "Thorn Bird" purely for curiosity and nostalgia.
The arrangement of the script for the series drew my attention to inconsistencies that I hadn't noticed in the book.
In the past, for me, the contradictions always stayed on the surface. Meggie hated and tried to defeat God in order to gain the love of priest Ralph, who has gone from penniless to wealthy, even though he has gone from being a priest in a remote Australian town to becoming bishop of the Vatican. Trapped between Meggie and the church for many years, trying to maintain his spiritual purity.
However, the series made me realize more than that...
One, two marriages
Meggie agreed to marry Luke on the spur of the moment, her wedding and Ralph's coronation as bishop in the Vatican, both Cross appears. Symbolizes two kinds of marriages. The physical love of Meggie and Luke, the spiritual love of Ralph and the church. The combination of these two methods is so extreme and incompatible that in the end Meggie is deeply involved in a failed marriage, and Ralph is also immersed in mental torture and poor official luck, and is even exiled back to Australia to become a bishop.
So, on the sparsely populated Matlock Island, the two finally broke the taboo and completed the true union of spirit and flesh. Meggie gets what she's always wanted; Ralph finally gets to admit that he's a man first and a priest second. I am not a cold servant of God without likes and dislikes and feelings, but a person with flesh and blood.
Second, a comparison between Meggie's husband Luke and Bishop Ralph.
In a sense, Luke and Ralph are equally proud and aspirational, albeit in different fields. Ralph has always regarded himself as God's spokesman, treasured Meggie as a detective portrait, and called it the love of the soul. This pure spiritual arrogance is so vulnerable that it can be shattered by a single touch.
Luke, on the other hand, is proud of his physical strength and never uses warm or soft language, which seems to be detrimental to his masculinity. Such a poor mind, I believe even the author is deeply disgusted.
Third, Mary - God
I think the reason why "Thorn Birds" is successful, even wonderful, is because of the role of Mary. Mary is to Ralph and Meggie, to the family, what God is to the world. With the wealth in her hand, she arranged everything early and predicted everything behind her.
She loved Ralph more than Satan loved God.
I have always suspected that the author was a Protestant, blatantly mocking the hypocrisy of Catholicism. Elegant, intelligent Ralph, even with all the qualities to attract women, he is still not likeable. Really, at certain moments, one suspects that if he's not too stupid, then he's too hypocritical.
Well, farther and farther. Stop it, stop it.
Ever since I came into contact with "Thorn Birds", I admit that I have a rose-grey complex. At Mary's birthday party, Meggie wore a rose-grey dress. After so many years, I was still a little surprised.

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Extended Reading

The Thorn Birds quotes

  • Ralph de Bricassart: Fee, she's your daughter. It's as if you never remember that.

    Fiona 'Fee' Cleary: Does any woman? What's a daughter? Just a reminder of the pain... a younger version of oneself... who will do all the same things, cry the same tears. No, Father. I try to forget I have a daughter.

  • Meggie Cleary: What kind of god would shut men out of paradise for loving women?

    Ralph de Bricassart: A god I still can't give up for you.

    Meggie Cleary: I know.