영어로 읽는 고전 _ 메러디스 니콜슨의 행복의 희망
Meredith Nicholson의 "The Hope of Happiness"는 20세기 초에 쓰인 소설입니다. 이 이야기는 어머니의 과거에 대한 폭로와 그의 진정한 친자 관계에 대한 그녀의 고백에서 비롯된 복잡한 감정에 씨름하는 청년 Bruce Storrs를 중심으로 전개됩니다. 그는 새로운 도시에 정착하고 가족의 유산에 맞서는 과제를 헤쳐 나가면서 정체성, 열망, 소속감에 대한 탐구라는 주제가 등장합니다. 소설의 서두에서 Bruce는 고요한 강에서 수영을 하며 여름의 편안함을 되돌아보고, 죽은 어머니의 편지를 읽는 데 몰두하여 부모의 숨겨진 진실을 밝힙니다. 이 편지들은 오랫동안 묻혀 있던 비밀을 밝혀낼 뿐만 아니라, 그가 온 도시에 사는 친부 Franklin Mills에 대해 알아보려는 Bruce의 결심을 형성합니다. 브루스는 어머니의 말을 흡수하면서 자신의 혼혈 유산이 미치는 영향을 숙고하고, 자신의 성격을 시험할 뿐만 아니라 도시의 활기찬 사회 생활에 들어가면서 그를 새로운 우정과 기회로 이끄는 여정을 시작합니다.

Classics Read in English _ The hope of happiness by Meredith Nicholson
"The Hope of Happiness" by Meredith Nicholson is a novel written in the early 20th century. The narrative centers around Bruce Storrs, a young man grappling with the revelation of his mother’s past and the complex emotions stemming from her confession regarding his true paternity. As he navigates the challenges of establishing himself in a new city and confronting his familial legacy, themes of identity, aspiration, and the search for belonging emerge. The opening of the novel introduces Bruce as he swims in a tranquil river, reflecting on the summer's ease, before he immerses himself in reading letters from his deceased mother that reveal the hidden truths of his parentage. These letters not only uncover a long-buried secret but shape Bruce's resolve to learn about his biological father, Franklin Mills, who lives in the same city to which he has come. As Bruce absorbs his mother's words, he contemplates the implications of his mixed heritage and sets off on a journey that promises to not only test his character but also lead him to new friendships and opportunities as he enters the vibrant social life of the city.

Among the contents
Bruce Storrs stood up tall and straight on a prostrate sycamore, the sunlight gleaming upon his lithe, vigorous body, and with a quick, assured lifting of the arms plunged into the cool depths of the river. He rose and swam with long, confident strokes the length of a pool formed by the curving banks and returned to the log, climbing up with the same ease and grace that marked his swimming. He dashed the water from his eyes and pressed his deeply-tanned hands over his shapely head. It was evident that he was the fortunate inheritor of clean blood in a perfectly fashioned body; that he had used himself well in his twenty-eight years and that he found satisfaction and pride in his health and strength. He surveyed the narrow valley through which the river idled and eddied before rushing into the broader channel beyond?surveyed it with something of the air of a discoverer who has found and appropriated to his own uses a new corner of the world.

Contents
CHAPTER I. Bruce Storrs stood up tall and straight on
CHAPTER II. Awake early, Bruce donned a freshly-pressed gray suit
CHAPTER III. Sunday evening the Freemans were called unexpectedly
CHAPTER IV. Henderson made his wife’s return an excuse for
CHAPTER V. Franklin Mills stood by one of the broad windows
CHAPTER VI. Several interviews with Freeman had resulted in
CHAPTER VII. In the fortnight following his encounter with
CHAPTER VIII. Two weeks later Bud Henderson sought Bruce
CHAPTER IX. The morning after his dinner party Franklin Mills
CHAPTER X. Bruce was finding his association with Freeman
CHAPTER XI. On a Sunday afternoon a fortnight later Bruce
CHAPTER XII. As Bruce was driving past the Mills’s residence
CHAPTER XIII. Mills, too, though lately mistrustful of his own emotions
CHAPTER XIV. Franklin Mills was now on better terms with himself
CHAPTER XV. Duty was a large word in Franklin Mills’s lexicon
CHAPTER XVI. At Christmas Bruce had sent Millicent a box of flowers
CHAPTER XVII. The day following his discovery of Leila Mills
CHAPTER XVIII. It was ten days later
CHAPTER XIX. Bruce worked at his plans for the Laconia
CHAPTER XX. Franklin Mills landed in New York feeling
CHAPTER XXI. Bruce returned late one afternoon in August
CHAPTER XXII. Brief notes from Leila announced the happy course
CHAPTER XXIII. Carroll and Bruce dined at the University Club