<영어로 읽는 고전 _ 버나드 쇼의 비합리적 결혼>
"The Irrational Knot"는 조지 버나드 쇼의 초기 소설 작품 중 하나로, 1880년에 처음 쓰여졌지만 1905년에야 출판되었습니다.
이 소설은 쇼의 두 번째 소설로, 빅토리아 시대 영국 사회의 결혼과 계급 문제를 다룹니다. 주인공인 에드워드 코너리는 노동자 계급 출신의 젊은 기술자로, 상류층 여성인 마리안 리드와 결혼합니다.
줄거리는 이 두 사람의 결혼 생활과 그들을 둘러싼 사회적 갈등을 중심으로 전개됩니다. 쇼는 이를 통해 계급 차이, 교육의 격차, 그리고 사회적 관습이 개인의 삶에 미치는 영향을 탐구합니다.
"The Irrational Knot"라는 제목은 결혼이라는 제도의 비합리성을 암시합니다. 쇼는 이 작품을 통해 당시의 결혼 제도와 사회적 관습에 대한 비판적 시각을 드러냅니다.
소설은 또한 여성의 권리와 독립성 문제를 다룹니다. 마리안의 자아실현 욕구와 사회적 제약 사이의 갈등은 작품의 주요 주제 중 하나입니다.
쇼의 초기 작품임에도 불구하고, 이 소설에는 그의 후기 작품에서 볼 수 있는 사회 비평적 요소와 풍자가 이미 나타나고 있습니다. 특히 계급 문제와 사회 제도에 대한 그의 비판적 시각이 잘 드러납니다.
"The Irrational Knot"는 쇼의 다른 유명 작품들에 비해 상대적으로 덜 알려져 있지만, 그의 문학적, 사상적 발전 과정을 이해하는 데 중요한 작품으로 평가받고 있습니다.
이 소설은 19세기 말 영국 사회의 모습을 생생하게 그려내고 있어, 당시의 사회상을 이해하는 데도 유용한 자료가 됩니다. 또한 결혼, 계급, 여성의 권리 등 오늘날에도 여전히 중요한 주제들을 다루고 있어 현대 독자들에게도 의미 있는 작품으로 여겨집니다.


"The Irrational Knot" is one of George Bernard Shaw's early novels, first written in 1880 but published in 1905.
This novel is Shaw's second novel and deals with marriage and class issues in Victorian British society. The main character, Edward Connery, is a young engineer from a working-class background who marries Marian Read, an upper-class woman.
The plot revolves around the married life of these two people and the social conflicts surrounding them. Through this, Shaw explores class differences, educational gaps, and the impact of social conventions on individual lives.
The title "The Irrational Knot" implies the irrationality of the institution of marriage. Through this work, Shaw reveals a critical view of the institution of marriage and social conventions of the time.
The novel also deals with the issues of women's rights and independence. The conflict between Marian's desire for self-realization and social constraints is one of the main themes of the work. Despite being Shaw's early work, this novel already contains elements of social criticism and satire that can be found in his later works. In particular, his critical view of class issues and social institutions is well revealed.
"The Irrational Knot" is relatively less well known than Shaw's other famous works, but it is considered an important work for understanding his literary and ideological development.
This novel vividly depicts the British society of the late 19th century, and is also a useful resource for understanding the social conditions of the time. It also deals with topics that are still important today, such as marriage, class, and women's rights, so it is considered a meaningful work for modern readers.

Summary
At seven o’clock on a fine evening in April the gas had just been lighted in a room on the first floor of a house in York Road, Lambeth. A man, recently washed and brushed, stood on the hearthrug before a pier glass, arranging a white necktie, part of his evening dress. He was about thirty, well grown, and fully developed muscularly. There was no cloud of vice or trouble upon him: he was concentrated and calm, making no tentative movements of any sort (even a white tie did not puzzle him into fumbling), but acting with a certainty of aim and consequent economy of force, dreadful to the irresolute. His face was brown, but his auburn hair classed him as a fair man.

Contents
PREFACE

BOOK I
THE IRRATIONAL KNOT
CHAPTER I. t seven o’clock on a fine evening in April
CHAPTER II. Marian Lind lived at Westbourne Terrace
CHAPTER III. The Earl of Carbury was a youngish man
CHAPTER IV. Long before the harvest was home
CHAPTER V. A little removed from a pretty road in West Kensington
CHAPTER VI. Three days later Lord Carbury

BOOK II
CHAPTER VII. In the spring, eighteen months after his daughter’s visit
CHAPTER VIII. On the morning of the first Friday in May Marian
CHAPTER IX. On Monday morning Douglas received a note inviting
CHAPTER X. Next morning Mr. Lind rose before his daughter was astir
CHAPTER XI. One morning the Rev. George Lind received a letter

BOOK III
CHAPTER XII. One Sunday afternoon, as the sun was making rainbows
CHAPTER XIII. On the following Wednesday Douglas called on
CHAPTER XIV. On Sunday afternoon Douglas walked
CHAPTER XV. In October Marian was at Sark
CHAPTER XVI. One Saturday afternoon in December Marian
CHAPTER XVII. Conolly returned from Glasgow a little

BOOK IV
CHAPTER XVIII. Miss McQuinch spent Christmas morning
CHAPTER XIX. On a cold afternoon in January, Sholto Douglas entered
CHAPTER XX. Sholto Douglas returned to England in the ship
CHAPTER XXI. One day Eliza, out of patience