부스 타킹턴의 위대한 앰버슨 가문

영어로 읽는 고전 _ 부스 타킹턴의 위대한 앰버슨 가문
부스 타킹턴의 "위대한 앰버슨 가문"은 20세기 초에 쓰여진 소설입니다. 이 이야기는 앰버슨 가문의 부상과 이후의 쇠퇴에 초점을 맞추며, 특히 사회적, 기술적 변화를 경험하는 번영하는 도시에서 자라난 젊은 조지 앰버슨 미나퍼의 삶을 통해 전개됩니다. 이 서사는 초기 미국 산업화를 배경으로 계급, 부, 그리고 전통적 가치관에 대한 새로운 혁신의 영향을 탐구합니다.
소설의 도입부는 중서부 도시에서 전성기를 누리던 앰버슨 가문의 웅장함을 보여주며, 그들의 부, 사회적 지위, 그리고 그들이 유지하는 우아한 생활 방식을 드러냅니다. 가문의 가장인 앰버슨 소령은 어려운 시기에 자신의 재산을 일구었으며, 이는 가문의 명성을 확립합니다.
이야기가 전개됨에 따라, 우리는 당시의 사회적 분위기를 소개받으며, 그 시대를 정의하는 관습, 패션, 사회적 행동을 강조합니다. 버릇없고 거만한 젊은 조지는 구세대 귀족과 새롭게 부상하는 질서 사이의 긴장을 체현하기 시작하며, 변화하는 시대와 태도로 인해 발생할 갈등을 예고합니다. 그가 가족 및 사회적 동료들과 상호작용하면서, 우리는 그의 성격과 사회적 진보가 그들의 확립된 생활 방식에 도전함에 따라 발생할 복잡성의 힌트를 볼 수 있습니다.

Classics Read in English _ The Magnificent Ambersons by Booth Tarkington
In his Pulitzer Prize-winning novel "The Magnificent Ambersons," Booth Tarkington crafts a powerful chronicle of American transformation through the lens of a single prominent family. Set in a rapidly evolving Midwestern town at the dawn of the 20th century, the narrative traces the dramatic arc of the Amberson dynasty's rise to social preeminence and their subsequent decline against the backdrop of industrialization and technological revolution.
The story opens with a panoramic view of the Ambersons at the zenith of their influence and prestige. Major Amberson, the family patriarch, has built an impressive fortune through shrewd investment and determination during challenging economic times. His success has established the family as the undisputed aristocracy of their community, residing in a magnificent mansion that stands as a physical embodiment of their social dominance. Tarkington meticulously recreates the cultural milieu of this era—the elaborate social rituals, the ornate fashions, the particular mannerisms and speech patterns that defined status in turn-of-the-century America.
At the center of this world stands young George Amberson Minafer, grandson of the Major and heir to the family legacy. Pampered and privileged from birth, George grows into adolescence with an inflated sense of entitlement and a deeply ingrained belief in the permanence of his family's position. His haughty demeanor and casual cruelty toward those he considers beneath him make him a controversial figure in town, with many secretly hoping he will one day receive his "come-uppance."
As the narrative progresses, George's character becomes emblematic of a broader tension—the conflict between established wealth with its traditional values and the emerging industrial order represented by automobiles, urban development, and new money. His interactions with family members and peers reveal not only his flawed personality but also foreshadow the inevitable challenges that await a young man unprepared for a rapidly changing world.
Tarkington's opening chapters masterfully establish both the splendor of the Ambersons' world and the seeds of its vulnerability, setting the stage for a profound exploration of American identity during a pivotal period of national reinvention.

Among the contents
Major Amberson had “made a fortune” in 1873, when other people were losing fortunes, and the magnificence of the Ambersons began then. Magnificence, like the size of a fortune, is always comparative, as even Magnificent Lorenzo may now perceive, if he has happened to haunt New York in 1916; and the Ambersons were magnificent in their day and place. Their splendour lasted throughout all the years that saw their Midland town spread and darken into a city, but reached its topmost during the period when every prosperous family with children kept a Newfoundland dog.
In that town, in those days, all the women who wore silk or velvet knew all the other women who wore silk or velvet, and when there was a new purchase of sealskin, sick people were got to windows to see it go by. Trotters were out, in the winter afternoons, racing light sleighs on National Avenue and Tennessee Street; everybody recognized both the trotters and the drivers; and again knew them as well on summer evenings, when slim buggies whizzed by in renewals of the snow-time rivalry. For that matter, everybody knew everybody else’s family horse-and-carriage, could identify such a silhouette half a mile down the street, and thereby was sure who was going to market, or to a reception, or coming home from office or store to noon dinner or evening supper.

서평(Book Review)
부스 타킹턴의 퓰리처상 수상작 "위대한 앰버슨 가문"은 20세기 초 급변하는 미국 중서부를 배경으로 한 가문의 흥망성쇠를 통해 산업화 시대의 사회적 변화를 탐구합니다. 거만하고 특권의식에 사로잡힌 조지 앰버슨 미나퍼를 중심으로, 이 소설은 전통적 귀족 가치와 새로운 기술 혁명 사이의 불가피한 충돌을 섬세하게 묘사합니다. 타킹턴은 한때 화려했던 가문이 시대의 변화에 적응하지 못하고 몰락해가는 과정을 통해 미국 사회의 계급, 부, 그리고 진보의 의미에 대한 깊은 통찰을 제공합니다.

Booth Tarkington's Pulitzer Prize-winning "The Magnificent Ambersons" explores social transformation in early 20th-century industrial America through one family's rise and fall. Centered on the arrogant, privileged George Amberson Minafer, the novel delicately portrays the inevitable clash between traditional aristocratic values and the new technological revolution. Through the decline of a once-illustrious family unable to adapt to changing times, Tarkington offers profound insights into American notions of class, wealth, and the meaning of progress.