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Fiona Cleary
Rainer Moerling Hartheim, a German diplomat and politician, enters the story as a friend of Ralph and Cardinal Vittorio and later becomes an unexpected anchor for Justine Cleary. Pragmatic and emotionally restrained, Rainer carries the weight of his past—including wartime disillusionment and a loveless marriage—but he finds himself drawn to Justine’s sharp wit and fierce independence. He respects her defiance and sees through her emotional armor without trying to change her. Though Justine initially resists intimacy, Rainer waits with quiet patience. Their relationship deepens after Dane’s death, when Rainer helps Justine confront her grief and isolation. He ultimately becomes her partner and husband.
Rainer Moerling Hartheim Quotes in The Thorn Birds
The The Thorn Birds quotes below are all either spoken by Rainer Moerling Hartheim or refer to Rainer Moerling Hartheim . For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 19 Quotes
The tension began to leave her; the worst of it was over. “What I like—no, love—about you the most is that you give me such a good run for my money I never do quite catch up.”
His shoulders shook. “Then look at the future this way, Herzchen. Living in the same house with me might afford you the opportunity to see how it can be done.” He kissed her brows, her cheeks, her eyelids. “I would have you no other way than the way you are, Justine. Not a freckle of your face or a cell of your brain.”
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Rainer Moerling Hartheim Character Timeline in The Thorn Birds
The timeline below shows where the character Rainer Moerling Hartheim appears in The Thorn Birds. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 15
...German soldier hiding in fear beneath the towering Pietà. The boy, who introduces himself as Rainer Moerling Hartheim, confesses that he is terrified he will be accused of having Jewish blood....
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Chapter 17
...churchmen but goes through the motions politely. At the gathering, she meets an older man, Rainer Moerling Hartheim, a layman among clerics, and explains to him how foreign and excluding the...
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Although Justine bristles at the patriarchal atmosphere, she takes a liking to Rainer. Their banter is playful but edged with mutual curiosity. When Cardinal Vittorio suggests they pretend...
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Over dinner, Rainer describes his experiences on the Eastern Front, where he witnessed executions, starvation, and the collapse...
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Their conversation shifts as Justine asks Rainer about his past marriage. Rainer admits that he did not love his wife, but that...
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...control and power. Acting, for her, is an intellectual and emotional merger, not pure performance. Rainer, impressed by her passion, acknowledges that she does not waste herself on everyday life. They...
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Chapter 18
In one letter, Justine casually mentions that Rainer has just flown into London after seeing Dane in Rome. Rainer, she admits, is a...
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One time when Meggie is in Rome, Rainer seizes the chance to seduce her. They kiss, but Justine panics and flees. Rainer realizes...
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...even Dane or Justine. She does leave room for one possibility: maybe Justine will marry Rainer. She seems fond of him, at least. But Meggie shakes her head. If Justine had...
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...to go to Greece with Dane, realizing she needs to figure out her relationship with Rainer instead. Although Dane is sad that he cannot spend the time with his sister, he...
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Chapter 19
Rainer sits at his desk in Bonn, sipping coffee and feeling optimistic about seeing Justine again....
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Back in Bonn, Rainer receives two deliveries—one from Justine, the other from Ralph’s lawyers. The lawyers inform him that...
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Rainer destroys the letter without hesitation and flies to London anyway, though he does not attempt...
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...death—not because of anything she did directly, but because she chose to stay behind with Rainer instead of going to Greece. She tells herself that if she had gone with Dane,...
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...she is fine, untouched by grief. Meanwhile, Meggie grows older and weaker. One day, when Rainer appears at the homestead, Fiona introduces him to Meggie, who is startled by his presence....
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Their conversation begins awkwardly but soon becomes personal. Rainer tells Meggie that he came only to see her, and she tries to understand why....
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Rainer explains that Justine stayed in London because of him, not out of love for the...
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Meanwhile, in London, Justine’s emotional exhaustion deepens. She spends more time with Rainer, but he remains distant, offering only friendship. She begins to suspect he has returned not...
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The letter shakes Justine. After reading it, she rushes to Rainer’s house and confesses everything—her regrets, her guilt, and her longing for him. At last, they...
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