영어로 읽는 고전 _ 앤드류 랭의 세상의 소망
"세상의 소망"은 19세기 후반에 쓰여진 것으로 추정되는 역사 소설입니다. 이 이야기는 그리스-이집트 신화의 풍부한 세계를 떠올리게 하며, 유명한 영웅 오디세우스(율리시스로도 알려진)가 트로이의 헬렌으로 대표되는 아름다움이라는 잡히지 않는 이상을 찾아 나서는 특별한 여정을 따라갑니다.
오디세우스가 자신의 서사시적 여행 후 고향으로 돌아왔을 때, 그는 자신의 고향이 황폐화에 휩싸여 있는 것을 발견하고, 이는 그를 낭만적이면서도 위험한 의미를 지닌 새로운 모험으로 이끕니다.
소설의 시작에서, 오디세우스가 이타카에 접근할 때의 분위기는 음울합니다. 그는 그곳이 기이하게 조용하고 버려져 있으며, 생명과 온기가 사라진 것을 발견합니다. 이야기는 그가 자신의 왕국의 쇠퇴와 사랑하는 이들의 부재를 되돌아보며 느끼는 깊은 상실감을 포착합니다.
황폐해진 풍경을 탐색하면서, 그는 충격적인 죽음의 흔적들을 발견하고 과거 삶의 종말을 애도하게 됩니다. 더욱이, 이야기는 그가 헬렌의 신비로운 환상을 마주치면서 갈망에 이끌린 그의 탐색이 시작되며 욕망과 초자연적인 것의 주제를 소개합니다.
이러한 도입부는 감정적 복잡성으로 가득 찬 분위기를 확립하고, 오디세우스가 "세상의 소망"을 추구하면서 운명과 신의 영향력이 얽혀드는 것을 암시합니다.
Classics Read in English _ The World’s Desire by H. Rider Haggard and Andrew Lang
"The World's Desire" by H. Rider Haggard and Andrew Lang is a historical novel likely written in the late 19th century. The narrative evokes the rich tapestry of Greco-Egyptian mythology, following the famed hero Odysseus, also known as Ulysses, as he embarks on an extraordinary quest for the elusive ideal of beauty, represented by Helen of Troy. As Odysseus returns home after his epic travels, he discovers his homeland shrouded in desolation, spurring his journey towards a new adventure that holds both romantic and perilous connotations. At the start of the novel, the tone is somber as Odysseus approaches Ithaca, only to find it eerily silent and abandoned, stripped of life and warmth. The narrative captures his profound sense of loss as he reflects on the decline of his kingdom and the absence of his loved ones. In his exploration of the desolate landscape, he uncovers shocking remnants of death, leading him to mourn the demise of his past life. Furthermore, the narrative introduces themes of desire and the supernatural as he encounters a mystical vision of Helen, igniting his quest driven by longing. This opening establishes an atmosphere rife with emotional complexity and foreshadows the intertwining of fate and divine influence as Odysseus pursues "The World's Desire."
Among the contents
Across the wide backs of the waves, beneath the mountains, and between the islands, a ship came stealing from the dark into the dusk, and from the dusk into the dawn. The ship had but one mast, one broad brown sail with a star embroidered on it in gold; her stem and stern were built high, and curved like a bird’s beak; her prow was painted scarlet, and she was driven by oars as well as by the western wind.
A man stood alone on the half-deck at the bows, a man who looked always forward, through the night, and the twilight, and the clear morning. He was of no great stature, but broad-breasted and very wide-shouldered, with many signs of strength. He had blue eyes, and dark curled locks falling beneath a red cap such as sailors wear, and over a purple cloak, fastened with a brooch of gold. There were threads of silver in his curls, and his beard was flecked with white. His whole heart was following his eyes, watching first for the blaze of the island beacons out of the darkness, and, later, for the smoke rising from the far-off hills. But he watched in vain; there was neither light nor smoke on the grey peak that lay clear against a field of yellow sky.
