영어로 읽는 고전 _ 메러디스 니콜슨의 사회장벽 깨기
"Broken Barriers"는 20세기 초(1922년)에 쓰인 Meredith Nicholson의 소설입니다.
이 작품은 활기차고 자립심이 강한 젊은 여성 Grace Durland를 중심으로 전개됩니다. 그녀는 가족의 재정적 어려움으로 인해 대학을 그만두고 집으로 돌아와야 하는 상황에 직면합니다. 그녀가 새로운 환경에 적응해 나가는 과정에서, 이야기는 급변하는 세상 속 사회 변화, 성역할, 개인의 야망이라는 주제들을 깊이 있게 다룹니다.
소설은 Grace가 기차 여행 중에 가족의 재정 위기로 인해 대학을 떠나야 하는 실망감을 되새기면서도, 앞으로 펼쳐질 일들에 대한 모험심을 느끼는 장면으로 시작됩니다. 집에 도착한 그녀는 가족과 재회하며, 아버지가 자신이 일구어낸 사업에서 쫓겨나 겪고 있는 최근의 어려움을 알게 됩니다.
등장인물들의 대화는 Durland 가족 내의 긴장감, 특히 Grace와 그녀의 언니 Ethel 사이의 갈등을 드러내며, 사회적 기대와 여성의 직장 생활에 대한 그들의 상반된 시각을 부각시킵니다. Grace가 백화점에서 일자리를 찾으려는 결심은 가족의 압박 속에서도 독립을 추구하는 그녀의 의지를 보여주며, 이는 사회적 장벽에 맞서는 자아 발견과 회복력의 여정을 예고합니다.

Classics Read in English _ Broken Barriers by Meredith Nicholson
"Broken Barriers" by Meredith Nicholson is a novel written in the early 20th century. The story centers around Grace Durland, a spirited and self-reliant young woman who faces family financial struggles that force her to leave college and return home. As she navigates her new circumstances, the narrative delves into themes of societal change, gender roles, and personal ambition in a rapidly evolving world. At the start of the book, Grace is depicted on a train journey, reflecting on her disappointment at having to leave the university due to her family’s financial crisis, while also feeling a sense of adventure about what lies ahead. Upon arriving home, she reconnects with her family and learns about her father’s recent struggles after being ousted from a business he helped create. The dialogue reveals tensions within the Durland family, especially between Grace and her older sister Ethel, highlighting their differing views on societal expectations and the role of women in the workforce. Grace’s determination to find work in a department store demonstrates her desire for independence amidst familial pressures, setting the stage for her journey of self-discovery and resilience against societal barriers.

Among the contents
As the train sped through the night Grace Durland decided that after all it didn’t matter so much!
She had parted tearfully from the girls at the sorority house and equally poignant had been the goodbyes to her friends among the faculty; but now that it was all over she was surprised and a little mystified that she had so quickly recovered from her disappointment. Bitterness had welled in her heart at the first reading of her mother’s letter calling her home. Her brother Roy, always the favored one, was to remain at the University to finish the law course, for which he had shown neither aptitude nor zeal, and this hurt a little. And they might have warned her of the impending crisis in the family fortunes before she left home to begin the fall term, only a month earlier.
But her resentment had passed. The spirit of adventure beat in her breast with strong insistent wing. With the fatalism of imaginative youth she was already assuring herself that some force beyond her control had caught her up and was bearing her on irresistibly.

Contents
CHAPTER I.
I. As the train sped through the night
II. As Grace and her mother washed the dishes
III. The last of a number of errands
IV. Miss Lupton received Grace amiably

CHAPTER II.
I. I mustn’t seem to be too much interested
II. Mrs. Durland was greatly distressed

CHAPTER III.
I. Mrs. Durland, no doubt to show her sympathetic
II. Ethel’s intimations that Irene Kirby was not as good as
III. A winding road led from the highway

CHAPTER IV.
I. That Irene and Kemp should embrace
II. Grace’s experience of drunkenness
III. The unhappy marriages of which Grace had known

CHAPTER V.
I. She turned off the hall light
II. As the trolley bore her townward she decided
III. Happily for her peace of mind the day
IV. Arriving early at the ball park they found their seats
V. Grace had not been mistaken in thinking

CHAPTER VI.
I. The repentant mood induced
II. As the congregation assembled Grace yielded
III. The next day at noon Grace
IV. The strong romantic strain in her was quickened
V. Grace was correct in her assumption
VI. Grace set off with the liveliest expectations
VII. A moment later Bob Cummings appeared
VIII. It’s only a little after ten
IX. Grace addressed herself sincerely
X. Grace’s meeting with Bob Cummings served
XI. When she reached the Hotel Sycamore

CHAPTER VII.
I. The second evening with Trenton was very like
II. It was long before she slept
III. Grace’s thoughts raced madly in the days
IV. Trenton wrote every day
V. Grace had not yet wholly escaped from
VI. Grace was not happy
VII. The wind whined in the chimney

CHAPTER VIII.
I. Grace was keenly disappointed at receiving
II. The afternoon passed and still no letter
III. During the preparation of breakfast

CHAPTER IX.
I. The remark she had heard the salesgirl
II. Grace turned to a waiting customer
III. Trenton wrote again
IV. On Christmas morning as Grace

CHAPTER X.
I. Grace and Trenton had sprung apart as Moore
II. Grace and Trenton watched the car
III. As she dressed the next morning Grace
IV. The sun came out of the mists

CHAPTER XI.
I. When Grace reached home
II. Trenton’s week in town lengthened to ten days
III. Stephen Durland discussed with Grace everything pertaining
IV. John Moore had not crossed Grace’s vision
V. The visit to Bloomington was not particularly

CHAPTER XII.
I. The calamity that had befallen Roy cast a shadow upon
II. On Saturday evening the delivery of a gown
III. Grace got excused from the store at five o’clock
IV. The Twentieth Century Club had made the occasion

CHAPTER XIII.
I. The morning paper’s account of Mrs. Trenton’s lecture
II. By the middle of the afternoon Grace was again enmeshed
III. Mrs. Trenton was immediately visible
IV. The thought of remaining at home was unbearable

CHAPTER XIV.
I. As she dressed the next morning Grace hummed
II. Jerry had been reinforced by a colored cateress
III. They had been gone more than an hour
IV. Grace and Irene had worn hats on the tragic adventure
V. “Well,” said Irene

CHAPTER XV.
I. Miss Reynolds called Grace on the telephone
II. Grace’s announcement at home
III. Roy came home for a week-end
IV. Grace had never been in New York before
V. A week in Chicago followed a fortnight
VI. Stephen Durland’s announcement
VII. She was able to keep track
VIII. Grace had been home a week
IX. She looked forward eagerly to the promised