영어로 읽는 고전 _ 조지 깁스의 말괄량이
조지 깁스의 『말괄량이(Madcap)』는 20세기 초에 쓰인 것으로 추정되는 소설이다. 이야기의 중심에는 모험을 즐기는 활달한 상속녀 허미아 챌로너(Hermia Challoner)가 있다. 그녀는 상류 사회의 기대와 끊임없이 부딪히며 자신만의 길을 걸어가는 인물이다. 수수께끼 같은 화가 존 마컴(John Markham)을 비롯한 여러 사람들과의 만남 속에서, 허미아의 성격은 부와 개성, 그리고 사회적 관습과 개인의 욕망 사이의 긴장이라는 배경 위에서 점차 드러난다.
소설의 도입부에서 우리는 허미아와 그녀의 하녀 티틴(Titine)을 만나게 된다. 전날 밤 늦게까지 놀고 들어온 데다 '사나운 말'을 타며 짜릿한 승마까지 즐긴 허미아는 다음 날 아침에도 활기차게 하루를 준비한다. 자유분방하고 다소 무모하기까지 한 그녀의 태도는 톡톡 튀는 성격을 그대로 보여주며, 티틴과 주고받는 대화는 코믹하면서도 그녀의 본모습을 절묘하게 드러낸다. 이후 친구들—그중에서도 올가 체르니(Olga Tcherny) 백작 부인—과 만나 나누는 대화에서는 아름다움, 독립, 그리고 부유한 여성에게 부과되는 사회적 기대와 같은 주제들이 흥미롭게 펼쳐진다. 작품은 자신의 욕망을 따르고자 하는 마음과 사회적 압력 사이에서 갈등하는 허미아의 모습을 섬세하게 그려내며, 마컴과의 관계가 그녀의 자아 발견 여정과 시대의 관습에 도전하는 과정에서 중요한 역할을 하게 될 것임을 분명히 암시한다.
Classics Read in English _ Madcap by George Gibbs
Madcap by George Gibbs is a novel believed to have been written in the early twentieth century. At the heart of the story is Hermia Challoner, a high-spirited heiress with an appetite for adventure who is forever at odds with the expectations of polite society. Through her encounters with a colorful cast of characters—chief among them the enigmatic artist John Markham—Hermia's personality slowly comes into focus against a backdrop of wealth, individuality, and the friction between social convention and personal desire.
The novel opens with Hermia and her maid, Titine, as Hermia bounds into her day with undiminished energy, despite a late night out and a thrilling gallop on a "violent horse" the evening before. Her carefree, faintly reckless manner says everything about her irrepressible nature, and her exchanges with Titine offer a comic yet telling glimpse into who she really is. Later, when she gathers with her friends—including the Countess Olga Tcherny—their conversation drifts into questions of beauty, independence, and the social burdens borne by women of wealth. The narrative draws out Hermia's inner conflict between following her own desires and bending to society's pressures, and it leaves little doubt that her evolving relationship with Markham will be central to her journey of self-discovery—and to her quiet rebellion against the conventions of her world.
Among the contents
Titine glanced at the parted curtains and empty bed, then at the clock, and yawned. It was not yet eight o'clock. From the look of things, she was sure that Miss Challoner had arisen and departed for a morning ride before the breaking of the dawn. She peered out of the window and contracted her shoulders expressively. To ride in the cold morning air upon a violent horse when she had been out late! B—r! But then, Mademoiselle was a wonderful person—like no one since the beginning of the world. She made her own laws and Titine was reluctantly obliged to confess that she herself was delighted to obey them.
Another slight shrug of incomprehension—of absolution from such practices—and Titine moved to the linen cabinet and took out some fluffy things of lace and ribbon, then to a closet from which she brought a soft room-gown, a pair of silk stockings and some very small suede slippers.
