영어로 읽는 고전 _ 케이트 더글러스 스미스 위긴의 폴리 올리버의 고민
케이트 더글러스 스미스 위긴의 《폴리 올리버의 고민》은 19세기 후반에 쓰인 소설입니다. 이야기는 독립에 대한 열망과 씨름하면서도 병든 어머니를 돌보고 하숙인들로 가득 찬 가정을 꾸려나가는 활발한 소녀 폴리 올리버를 독자들에게 소개합니다. 이 소설은 캘리포니아의 그림 같은 풍경을 배경으로 개인적 성장, 젊은 성인기의 도전, 그리고 가족 간 사랑의 복잡함이라는 주제를 반영합니다.
소설의 도입부는 폴리의 강인한 의지와 더 행복한 가족 생활에 대한 그녀의 열망을 방해하는 하숙인들을 내보내려는 유머러스한 결심을 중심으로 전개됩니다. "하숙인들은 가야만 해"라는 단호한 선언과 함께 폴리는 그들을 내보내기 위한 기발한 전략들을 공유하며, 동시에 그녀의 생기 넘치는 성격과 재치를 드러냅니다. 폴리의 아버지가 돌아가신 후 삶을 꾸려나가는 어려움 속에서 폴리와 온화한 어머니 사이의 관계가 부각되며, 더 나은 미래를 위해 노력하는 젊은 여성으로서 폴리의 역할 변화를 위한 무대가 마련됩니다. 장난스러운 상상과 어머니를 향한 진심 어린 헌신을 통해 폴리는 현재 상황의 제약을 넘어선 삶을 꿈꾸기 시작합니다.
Classics Read in English _ Polly Oliver's Problem by Kate Douglas Smith Wiggin
"The boarders must go." With these five defiant words, young Polly Oliver declares war on the circumstances that have dimmed the joy in her home. In Polly Oliver's Problem, Kate Douglas Smith Wiggin introduces us to a heroine whose spirit burns bright even in the shadow of hardship.
Set against the golden landscapes of late 19th-century California, this novel tells the story of a girl caught between childhood dreams and grown-up responsibilities. Since her father's passing, Polly has watched her gentle mother struggle to make ends meet by taking in boarders?strangers who fill the rooms but empty the house of its warmth. For Polly, this arrangement is not merely inconvenient; it is an affront to everything home should be.
Armed with wit, determination, and a touch of youthful audacity, Polly devises whimsical schemes to reclaim her household. Yet beneath her playful plotting lies a deeper longing?to ease her mother's burdens, to restore laughter to their days, and to carve out a future worthy of their love for each other. Wiggin crafts a portrait of a young woman on the cusp of transformation, learning that the greatest battles we fight are often for the ones we love most. Polly Oliver's Problem is a tender celebration of resilience, family, and the fierce hope that refuses to surrender.
Among the contents
"I have determined only one thing definitely," said Polly Oliver; "and that is, the boarders must go. Oh, how charming that sounds! I 've been thinking it ever since I was old enough to think, but I never cast it in such an attractive, decisive form before. 'The Boarders Must Go!' To a California girl it is every bit as inspiring as 'The Chinese Must Go.' If I were n't obliged to set the boarders' table, I 'd work the motto on a banner this very minute, and march up and down the plaza with it, followed by a crowd of small boys with toy drums."
"The Chinese never did go," said Mrs. Oliver suggestively, from the sofa.
"Oh, that's a trifle; they had a treaty or something, and besides, there are so many of them, and they have such an object in staying."
"You can't turn people out of the house on a moment's warning."
"Certainly not. Give them twenty-four hours, if necessary. We can choose among several methods of getting rid of them. I can put up a placard with
BOARDERS, HO!
printed on it in large letters, and then assemble them in the banquet-hall and make them a speech."
"You would insult them," objected Mrs. Oliver feebly, "and they are perfectly innocent."
