Was Luke Gay?

You appear to have been on the receiving end of some very unfair comments on this thread, Harlemsushi so I am going to chip in again with the following.

The sad fact is that once the movie rights are bought the author rarely has any control over how their story is presented. To be fair, books and films should be seen as wholly separate entities. I have been reading about this issue in a book about screenwriting.

I am afraid that the producers are never going to retell the story to stay true to the book. Gone With the Wind was a classic example because in the book, Scarlett O'Hara had a young child from the outset. If they can omit such a detail then they ought really to title the movie completely differently.

To add to that I am not an avid reader of fiction and people are often compelling us or demanding that we read the book version of the film. Frankly there are not enough hours in the day to read every book that was turned into a movie. Movies and books are NEVER going to marry up when it comes down to certain essential details so there is no good to be had from comparing the two.

This thread is for The Thorn Birds the TV mini-series and as such it doesn't concern the book one iota. Therefore people have no right to keep directing us to the book. Not on this nor any other board. The fact is that in the TV series Luke's sexuality was portrayed VERY ambiguously and as has been said, this can't have happened by accident, only by design. Everyone will interpret this differently and it makes for an interesting discussion. I for one am not remotely interested in the book and to me it bears no relevance on the TV series. Once folks get their heads around this then the world be a much nicer place for discussion. As for accusing you of trolling I have no words. Utterly insane when you are clearly asking very relevant questions.

Has anyone seen my wife? - Columbo

I recall when an angry Ralph encountered stupid Luke and told him to be a better hubby. Naturally, it feel on deaf ears.

You're talking about a time in history when birth control was not avalible and there was no way for a girl like meggie with no experience whatsoever in sex to know what to do not getting herself pregnant and he(Luke) was no help plus she did think it would help her marriage. Heck Ralph was also inexperienced and as we all know sometimes the child pays for the parents ignorance.
And after all it was a movie and that along with many other things is what made it so excellent to watch.
I have always thought it was the most magnificent heartbreaking love story made for the screen....and Richard sure helped with his fantastic looks and acting.

This is an interesting post. Having read the book and seen the mini series (some time ago now) I have to say (based on the book) Luke is gay, however the context of gay in relation to Coleen McCulloughs material is somewhat blurred. You see McCullough cleverly weaves an intricate story that is ultimately about three generation of women and their lost loves. McCullough cleverly makes near enough all the men in her story Eunuchs in order to bring power to her central female characters. The only male characters who show any true sexual interest are Ralph (who is supposed to be celebate) and Paddy (who keeps fathering all these children). All the other Cleary men are weirdly asexual and McCullough never gives them any sexual identity whatsoever. She never even questions they might have sexual urges and to whom they would be directed.

Without wanting to ruin the book (for anyone who hasn't read it) this is all part of a big picture that creates an overall story. The mini series really did cut the book to shreds and it focusses purely on Meggie and Ralph, not really exploring the celebacy of the men. However, the producers did have to keep a degree of accuracy with Luke as he was pivitol to how the plot turned.

I always felt (in the text) McCullough portrays look's sexuality as more than questionable. I am not sure if it genuinely was meant to be so, or if it was purely because in the early 1970's (when she would have been writing the book)she was scared she wouldn't find a publisher if she featured an obvious homosexual character within the same text as she was writing about a prest having an affair with a women he once saw as his daughter. I genuinely feel its the latter. Back in Australia 30 years ago they weren't as enlightened about things as they are now.

Its not entirely accurate to say Luke is a 'gay man' because sex and sexuality aren't part of his make-up. His only interest is money and working. He's like a cold, calculated machine. He derives pleasure from the action of sex but he is not entirely driven by the source (eg a female). He is able to act as a kind of Giggolo until he secures his wife. Then once he has her, his desire for sex is more derived from the fact he is breaking her in (like a horse). When Meggie is trying to conceive Justine she tricks Luke into not wearing a condom and he feels the sensations of unprotected sex for the first time. Back in the 1930's a red blooded men would not have gotten to 30 without knowing this. I promise you Luke was interested only in females for financial gain and to offload any sexual tension his body may have accumulated. Back in rural 1930's Australia the idea that a man could have another male as a full sexual partner would never have occurred to Luke - Luke would have assumed it was his lot to mate with women. However, there is clearly a draw away from them and toward men.

McCullough continually tells us Luke is interested in the company of men. He spends more time with his mate than anyone. Without meaning to be crude its impossible to know what level of sexuality this relationship took. It may have only been as innocent as the two men masturbating whilst in each others company. I don't know if I feel Luke had a 'romantic' relationship in the traditional sense (with Arne). However, he was fullfilling some kind of sexual outlet with him and he was no doubt used to deriving his sexual kicks from 'the company of men'. This was possibly the biggest draw to him wanting to work on the Sugar canes.

I'd recommend the book to anyone who liked this mini series as it explains so much more about the characters. But Luke is clearly sexually ambiguous.

For anyone that read the book, how did it characterize the scene where Luke was staring at Meggie's brother's back while they were shearing sheep? Or was it something never mentioned in the book but only existed in the film.