Main Idea (중심 내용)
한글 요약: 실비아는 소나무 꼭대기까지 오르는 위험한 여정을 완수하고, 마침내 흰 왜가리의 둥지 위치를 발견합니다. 하지만 집으로 돌아와 젊은 사냥꾼 앞에서 결정적 순간을 맞이했을 때, 그녀는 침묵을 선택합니다. 첫사랑의 감정과 돈의 유혹에도 불구하고, 실비아는 자연과의 신성한 경험과 새에 대한 충성심을 지키기로 결정합니다. 이 선택은 그녀에게 평생의 상실감을 안겨주지만, 동시에 자신의 가치관을 지킨 용기 있는 결단이었습니다.
English Summary: Sylvia completes her perilous climb to the pine tree's summit and discovers the white heron's nest. However, when she returns home and faces the young hunter, she chooses silence. Despite the feelings of first love and the temptation of money, Sylvia decides to protect her sacred experience with nature and her loyalty to the bird. This choice brings her lifelong loss but also represents a courageous stand for her values.
Story Elements (이야기 구성 요소)
Characters (등장인물)
- Sylvia: Reaches her moment of triumph and transformation; makes the defining moral choice of her life
- The Pine Tree: Personified as a loving protector, amazed by human determination
- The White Heron: Symbol of wild beauty and freedom; unknowingly tests Sylvia's loyalty
- The Hunter: Represents the civilized world's appeal and the cost of choosing nature
- Grandmother: Practical voice urging Sylvia to speak
Setting (배경)
- Time: Dawn at the treetop → morning confrontation → aftermath
- Place: Top of the ancient pine tree with panoramic view → home → memories
- Atmosphere: Transcendent beauty → tense silence → bittersweet loss
Plot Development (줄거리 전개)
- Climax: Sylvia reaches the treetop and sees the heron's nest (external climax); chooses silence over speaking (internal/moral climax)
- Falling Action: The hunter leaves disappointed; Sylvia lives with her choice
- Resolution: Narrator's reflection on loss and loyalty; nature remembers
Literary Devices (문학적 기법)
Personification (의인화)
The pine tree is given human emotions: "amazed," "loved his new dependent," "stood still and frowned away the winds." This emphasizes the unity between Sylvia and nature.
Epiphany (깨달음의 순간)
At the treetop, Sylvia experiences transcendence: seeing the vast world, feeling like she could fly with the hawks, witnessing the heron. This spiritual experience determines her choice.
Internal Conflict (내적 갈등)
"No, she must keep silence!" - The story's climax is psychological. Sylvia battles between love, money, social pressure, and her loyalty to nature.
Visual Imagery (시각적 이미지)
Rich descriptions of the dawn view: "golden dazzle," "purple and rose-colored and yellow" clouds, "white spot like a single floating feather." Creates the sublime beauty that Sylvia cannot betray.
Rhetorical Questions (수사학적 질문)
"Were the birds better friends than their hunter might have been,—who can tell?" The narrator leaves the moral judgment open, respecting Sylvia's choice while acknowledging its cost.
Direct Address (직접 호명)
"Now look down again, Sylvia... look, look!" and "And wait! wait!" - The narrator becomes an urgent guide, creating intimacy and immediacy.
Sentence Analysis (문장별 분석)
1
"She crept out along the swaying oak limb at last, and took the daring step across into the old pine-tree."
그녀는 마침내 흔들리는 참나무 가지를 따라 조심스럽게 기어나가서, 오래된 소나무로 대담하게 건너갔다.
Grammar Note
"at last" = 마침내, 드디어 (시간의 경과 강조)
"took the daring step" = 대담한 발걸음을 내딛다 (용기를 요하는 행동)
Two parallel actions: "crept out... and took..." 연결된 행동의 연속성
Vocabulary
crept: (creep의 과거형) 기어가다, 살금살금 가다
swaying: 흔들리는
limb: (나무의) 큰 가지
daring: 대담한, 용감한
Literary Note
Transition moment: From oak (previous chapter's ending) to pine (the climax setting). The "daring step" is both literal and symbolic—Sylvia crosses into the realm where she'll discover the heron's secret.
2
"The way was harder than she thought; she must reach far and hold fast, the sharp dry twigs caught and held her and scratched her like angry talons, the pitch made her thin little fingers clumsy and stiff as she went round and round the tree's great stem, higher and higher upward."
길은 그녀가 생각했던 것보다 더 어려웠다. 그녀는 멀리 뻗어야 하고 꽉 붙잡아야 했으며, 날카로운 마른 나뭇가지들이 그녀를 붙잡고 화난 발톱처럼 할퀴었고, 송진은 그녀의 가느다란 작은 손가락들을 둔하고 뻣뻣하게 만들었다. 그녀는 나무의 거대한 줄기를 계속 돌고 돌며 점점 더 높이 올라갔다.
Grammar Note
"harder than she thought" = 비교급 구문 (예상과 현실의 차이)
Must + 동사원형: 강한 필요성/의무 표현
Semicolons: 관련된 독립절들을 연결
"as she went..." = 시간의 부사절 (동시 행동)
"higher and higher upward" = 점진적 상승 강조 (비교급 반복 + 방향 부사)
Vocabulary
hold fast: 꽉 붙잡다
twigs: 작은 나뭇가지
talons: (맹금류의) 발톱
pitch: 송진, 수지
clumsy: 둔한, 서툰
stem: 줄기
Literary Note
Physical ordeal: Detailed description of the climb's difficulty emphasizes Sylvia's determination. The tree seems to resist ("angry talons"), testing her worthiness.
Spiral motion: "round and round" suggests both the physical challenge and the ritualistic nature of the climb.
3
"The sparrows and robins in the woods below were beginning to wake and twitter to the dawn, yet it seemed much lighter there aloft in the pine-tree, and the child knew that she must hurry if her project were to be of any use."
아래 숲속의 참새들과 울새들이 깨어나 새벽에 지저귀기 시작했지만, 소나무 위 높은 곳은 훨씬 더 밝아 보였고, 아이는 자신의 계획이 어떤 소용이라도 있으려면 서둘러야 한다는 것을 알았다.
Grammar Note
"were beginning to..." = 과거진행형 (진행 중인 행동)
"yet" = 접속사 (대조 표시)
"it seemed [형용사]" = ~처럼 보이다
"if her project were to be..." = 가정법 과거 (불확실한 미래 조건)
"of any use" = 어떤 쓸모가 있는 (형용사구)
Vocabulary
twitter: (새가) 지저귀다
aloft: 높은 곳에, 위에
project: 계획, 계획한 일
Literary Note
Time pressure: Dawn is breaking, creating urgency. The contrast between "below" (waking birds) and "aloft" (brighter light) emphasizes Sylvia's elevated position—physically and spiritually.
4
"The tree seemed to lengthen itself out as she went up, and to reach farther and farther upward."
그녀가 올라가자 나무는 스스로 길어지는 것처럼 보였고, 점점 더 멀리 위쪽으로 뻗어가는 것 같았다.
Grammar Note
"seemed to + 동사원형" = ~하는 것처럼 보이다
"lengthen itself" = 재귀용법 (스스로를 길게 하다)
"as she went up" = 시간의 부사절
"farther and farther" = 비교급 반복 (점진적 변화)
Vocabulary
lengthen: 길어지다, 늘어나다
Literary Note
Magical realism: The tree seems alive, growing as she climbs. This could represent Sylvia's perception (exhaustion) or symbolize the infinite challenge of reaching transcendence.
5
"It was like a great main-mast to the voyaging earth; it must truly have been amazed that morning through all its ponderous frame as it felt this determined spark of human spirit winding its way from higher branch to branch."
그것은 항해하는 지구의 거대한 주 돛대와 같았다. 그날 아침, 이 단호한 인간 정신의 불꽃이 높은 가지에서 가지로 구불구불 올라가는 것을 느끼면서, 나무는 그 육중한 몸 전체로 진정으로 놀랐음에 틀림없었다.
Grammar Note
"It was like..." = 직유 (비유적 표현)
"must have been amazed" = 과거에 대한 강한 추측 (must have p.p.)
"through all its ponderous frame" = 전치사구 (범위/방법)
"as it felt..." = 시간/이유의 부사절
"winding its way" = 현재분사구 (동시 행동 묘사)
Vocabulary
main-mast: (배의) 주 돛대
voyaging: 항해하는
amazed: 놀란, 감탄한
ponderous: 육중한, 무거운
frame: 뼈대, 골격
determined: 단호한, 결연한
spark: 불꽃, 작은 섬광
winding: 구불구불 가는, 감아 올라가는
Literary Note
Cosmic imagery: The tree becomes a mast on the "voyaging earth" - elevating this moment to universal significance. Sylvia's climb is a human spirit's journey through the cosmos.
Personification: The tree is "amazed" by the "spark of human spirit." Nature respects human courage and determination.
6
"Who knows how steadily the least twigs held themselves to advantage this light, weak creature on her way!"
가장 작은 나뭇가지들조차 이 가볍고 연약한 생명체를 돕기 위해 얼마나 꾸준히 스스로를 지탱했는지 누가 알겠는가!
Grammar Note
"Who knows..." = 수사학적 질문 (아무도 모른다는 의미)
"how steadily" = 간접의문문 (의문사 + 부사 + 주어 + 동사)
"held themselves" = 재귀용법 (스스로를 지탱하다)
"to advantage" = 목적을 나타내는 to부정사 (이롭게 하기 위해)
"on her way" = 그녀가 가는 길에
Vocabulary
steadily: 꾸준히, 안정적으로
twigs: 작은 나뭇가지
advantage: 이롭게 하다, 돕다
Literary Note
Nature's cooperation: Even the smallest twigs help Sylvia. Nature isn't just setting; it's an active, benevolent participant in her journey.
7
"The old pine must have loved his new dependent."
늙은 소나무는 그의 새로운 의지하는 자를 사랑했음이 틀림없었다.
Grammar Note
"must have loved" = 과거에 대한 강한 추측 (must have p.p.)
"his new dependent" = 명사적 용법 (의존하는 자)
Vocabulary
dependent: 의존하는 사람, 의지하는 자
Literary Note
Personification climax: Simple, powerful statement. The tree "loved" Sylvia. She has formed a bond with nature that rivals human love (foreshadowing her choice).
8
"More than all the hawks, and bats, and moths, and even the sweet voiced thrushes, was the brave, beating heart of the solitary gray-eyed child."
모든 매들과 박쥐들과 나방들, 그리고 심지어 달콤한 목소리의 지빠귀들보다 더 소중한 것은, 고독한 회색 눈의 아이의 용감하고 뛰는 심장이었다.
Grammar Note
도치 구문: "More than... was..." (비교 대상이 문장 앞으로)
정상 어순: The brave, beating heart... was more than all the hawks...
"the solitary gray-eyed child" = 명사 + 복합형용사 + 명사 (중층적 수식)
Vocabulary
thrushes: 지빠귀 (노래 잘하는 새)
beating: 뛰는, 고동치는
solitary: 고독한, 홀로인
Literary Note
Hierarchy of nature: Sylvia surpasses all other creatures in the tree's affection. Her "brave, beating heart" and "solitary" nature make her uniquely precious to the natural world.
"gray-eyed": Recalls earlier descriptions; her eyes connect her to the natural world (gray like tree bark, mist, dawn).
9
"And the tree stood still and frowned away the winds that June morning while the dawn grew bright in the east."
그리고 그 나무는 6월의 그 아침에 가만히 서서 바람을 찌푸리며 쫓아냈고, 동쪽에서 새벽이 밝아졌다.
Grammar Note
"stood still" = 동사 + 부사 (가만히 서다)
"frowned away" = 동사 + 부사 (찌푸려서 쫓아내다)
"while" = 시간의 접속사 (동시 행동)
"grew bright" = grow + 형용사 (점점 ~해지다)
Vocabulary
frowned away: 찌푸려서 쫓아내다
Literary Note
Protector image: The tree actively shields Sylvia from wind. "Frowned away" personifies the tree as a stern guardian. This protective moment occurs "while the dawn grew bright"—symbolic of enlightenment/revelation approaching.
10
"Sylvia's face was like a pale star, if one had seen it from the ground, when the last thorny bough was past, and she stood trembling and tired but wholly triumphant, high in the tree-top."
마지막 가시 많은 가지를 지나 나무 꼭대기 높은 곳에 섰을 때, 실비아의 얼굴은 땅에서 봤더라면 창백한 별 같았을 것이다. 그녀는 떨리고 지쳤지만 완전히 의기양양하게 서 있었다.
Grammar Note
"was like a pale star" = 직유 (비유)
"if one had seen it" = 가정법 과거완료 (실제로 일어나지 않은 과거 상황)
"when... was past" = 시간의 부사절
"trembling and tired but wholly triumphant" = 병렬 형용사 + 대조 접속사 (복합적 상태 묘사)
Vocabulary
thorny: 가시가 많은
bough: (나무의) 큰 가지
trembling: 떨리는
wholly: 완전히
triumphant: 의기양양한, 승리한
Literary Note
Triumph moment: Sylvia reaches the top! "Trembling and tired but wholly triumphant" captures the physical cost and spiritual victory. Her face "like a pale star" elevates her to celestial status—she's transcended the earthly realm.
11
"Yes, there was the sea with the dawning sun making a golden dazzle over it, and toward that glorious east flew two hawks with slow-moving pinions."
그렇다, 거기 바다가 있었고 떠오르는 해가 그 위에 황금빛 눈부심을 만들고 있었으며, 그 영광스러운 동쪽을 향해 두 마리의 매가 천천히 움직이는 날개로 날아갔다.
Grammar Note
"Yes" = 감탄사 (확인/감탄)
"there was..." = 존재를 나타내는 구문
"making a golden dazzle" = 현재분사구 (동시 행동)
"toward that glorious east flew..." = 도치 구문 (장소 부사구가 문장 앞으로)
Vocabulary
dawning: 새벽의, 떠오르는
dazzle: 눈부심, 찬란함
glorious: 영광스러운, 찬란한
pinions: (새의) 날개 끝, 날개
Literary Note
Panoramic vision: Sylvia's reward for climbing—a sublime view. "Golden dazzle," "glorious east" create beauty. Hawks flying "slow-moving" suggests time has slowed in this transcendent moment.
12
"How low they looked in the air from that height when one had only seen them before far up, and dark against the blue sky."
그 높이에서 보니 그들이 공중에서 얼마나 낮아 보였는지! 전에는 그들을 멀리 위에서, 푸른 하늘을 배경으로 어둡게만 보았을 때였는데.
Grammar Note
"How low..." = 감탄문 (얼마나 ~한지!)
"from that height" = 전치사구 (관점/위치)
"when one had only seen..." = 시간의 부사절 (과거완료 - 더 이전 과거)
"far up" = 부사 + 부사 (멀리 위에)
"dark against..." = 형용사 + 전치사구 (배경 대조)
Vocabulary
against: ~을 배경으로
Literary Note
Perspective shift: Hawks that seemed high now look low. Sylvia has literally risen above her previous limitations. This shift in perspective symbolizes her expanded consciousness and new understanding of the world.
13
"Their gray feathers were as soft as moths; they seemed only a little way from the tree, and Sylvia felt as if she too could go flying away among the clouds."
그들의 회색 깃털은 나방처럼 부드러웠다. 그들은 나무에서 아주 조금 떨어진 것처럼 보였고, 실비아는 마치 자신도 구름 사이로 날아갈 수 있을 것 같은 느낌이 들었다.
Grammar Note
"as soft as moths" = 원급 비교 (as... as: ~만큼 ~한)
"seemed + 형용사구" = ~처럼 보이다
"felt as if..." = 마치 ~인 것처럼 느끼다 (가정법)
"could go flying" = 조동사 + go + ~ing (동작의 가능성)
Literary Note
Transcendence: Sylvia feels she "could go flying away among the clouds"—a moment of complete unity with nature. She's become one with the birds, transcending her human limitations. This is her spiritual epiphany.
14
"Westward, the woodlands and farms reached miles and miles into the distance; here and there were church steeples, and white villages; truly it was a vast and awesome world!"
서쪽으로는 삼림과 농장들이 수 마일이나 멀리까지 뻗어 있었다. 여기저기 교회 첨탑들과 하얀 마을들이 있었다. 진정 그것은 광대하고 경외로운 세계였다!
Grammar Note
"Westward" = 부사 (방향 - 문장 앞 위치로 강조)
"reached miles and miles" = 반복 표현 (거리의 광대함)
"here and there" = 여기저기 (장소 부사구)
"it was..." = 감탄문 (truly로 강조)
Vocabulary
steeples: (교회의) 첨탑
vast: 광대한, 방대한
awesome: 경외심을 불러일으키는, 굉장한
Literary Note
Expanded vision: Sylvia sees civilization (farms, steeples, villages) from above. "Vast and awesome world" - she's gained a new understanding of her place in the larger world. This vision will inform her decision later.
15
"The birds sang louder and louder."
새들은 점점 더 크게 노래했다.
Grammar Note
"louder and louder" = 비교급 반복 (점진적 증가)
Literary Note
Crescendo: Short, simple sentence creates rhythm. Nature celebrates with increasing intensity as the revelation approaches.
16
"At last the sun came up bewilderingly bright."
마침내 태양이 당황스러울 만큼 밝게 떠올랐다.
Grammar Note
"At last" = 마침내 (시간 표현)
"came up" = 떠오르다 (phrasal verb)
"bewilderingly bright" = 부사 + 형용사 (강도 수식)
Vocabulary
bewilderingly: 당황스럽게, 어리둥절하게
Literary Note
Epiphany arrives: "Bewilderingly bright" - not just bright but overwhelming. The sun's rising marks the moment of ultimate revelation. The brightness is almost too much—like enlightenment itself.
17
"Sylvia could see the white sails of ships out at sea, and the clouds that were purple and rose-colored and yellow at first began to fade away."
실비아는 바다 저 멀리 배들의 하얀 돛을 볼 수 있었고, 처음에는 보라색과 장미색과 노란색이었던 구름들이 사라지기 시작했다.
Grammar Note
"could see" = 능력/가능성 표현
"out at sea" = 바다 저 멀리 (전치사구)
"that were..." = 관계대명사절 (clouds 수식)
"purple and rose-colored and yellow" = 병렬 형용사 (색상 나열)
"at first" = 처음에는
"began to fade away" = ~하기 시작하다 + 사라지다
Vocabulary
sails: 돛
purple: 보라색
rose-colored: 장미색의
fade away: 사라지다, 희미해지다
Literary Note
Moment passing: The colorful clouds "began to fade away"—the magical dawn moment is transient. Sylvia sees both the vastness (ships at sea) and the fleeting nature of this experience.
18
"Where was the white heron's nest in the sea of green branches, and was this wonderful sight and pageant of the world the only reward for having climbed to such a giddy height?"
초록 가지의 바다 속에서 흰 왜가리의 둥지는 어디에 있는가, 그리고 이 멋진 광경과 세계의 장관이 그토록 아찔한 높이까지 올라온 유일한 보상인가?
Grammar Note
"Where was..." = 의문문 (위치 묻기)
"in the sea of..." = 은유적 표현 (나뭇가지를 바다에 비유)
"was this... the only reward" = 의문문 (가치/의미 묻기)
"for having climbed" = 전치사 + 동명사의 완료형 (이유/목적)
"to such a giddy height" = to + 명사구 (정도 표현)
Vocabulary
pageant: 장관, 화려한 구경거리
giddy: 아찔한, 현기증 나는
Literary Note
Double question: Sylvia wonders (1) where the nest is and (2) whether the view itself is enough reward. This questioning creates suspense—is there more? The "pageant of the world" is magnificent but...
19
"Now look down again, Sylvia, where the green marsh is set among the shining birches and dark hemlocks; there where you saw the white heron once you will see him again; look, look! a white spot of him like a single floating feather comes up from the dead hemlock and grows larger, and rises, and comes close at last, and goes by the landmark pine with steady sweep of wing and outstretched slender neck and crested head."
이제 다시 아래를 내려다보렴, 실비아, 초록 습지가 빛나는 자작나무들과 어두운 솔송나무들 사이에 자리잡은 곳을. 네가 한 번 흰 왜가리를 본 그곳에서 너는 그를 다시 보게 될 것이다. 봐라, 봐라! 하나의 떠다니는 깃털 같은 그의 흰 점이 죽은 솔송나무에서 올라와 더 커지고, 상승하고, 마침내 가까이 오고, 안정된 날개짓과 뻗은 가느다란 목과 볏이 달린 머리를 하고 이정표가 되는 소나무를 지나간다.
Grammar Note
"Now look down..." = 명령문 (직접 호명)
"where... is set" = 관계부사절 (위치 설명)
"among..." = 전치사 (사이에)
"there where..." = 이중 위치 표현 (강조)
"you will see" = 미래시제 (예언적)
"look, look!" = 반복 명령문 (긴급성/흥분)
Series of actions: "comes up... and grows... and rises... and comes... and goes" (연속적 동작 연결)
"with steady sweep..." = 전치사구 (방법/상태)
Vocabulary
marsh: 습지, 늪
birches: 자작나무
hemlocks: 솔송나무 (독미나리속 식물)
floating: 떠다니는
landmark: 이정표, 랜드마크
sweep: (날개의) 휘두름, 날개짓
outstretched: 쭉 뻗은
slender: 가느다란
crested: 볏이 달린
Literary Note
Narrator as guide: Direct address ("Now look down... Sylvia") creates intimacy. "look, look!" conveys urgent excitement.
The heron appears: Described in slow motion with poetic detail—"like a single floating feather," "steady sweep of wing." This is the climactic revelation Sylvia climbed for.
Long sentence: Mimics the extended moment of watching the heron's flight.
20
"And wait! wait! do not move a foot or a finger, little girl, do not send an arrow of light and consciousness from your two eager eyes, for the heron has perched on a pine bough not far beyond yours, and cries back to his mate on the nest, and plumes his feathers for the new day!"
그리고 기다려! 기다려! 발이나 손가락 하나도 움직이지 마라, 어린 소녀야, 너의 두 열망하는 눈에서 빛과 의식의 화살을 보내지 마라. 왜냐하면 왜가리가 네 것에서 멀지 않은 소나무 가지에 앉았고, 둥지에 있는 그의 짝에게 되돌아 울고, 새로운 날을 위해 그의 깃털을 다듬고 있기 때문이다!
Grammar Note
"wait! wait!" = 반복 명령문 (긴급성)
"do not move..." = 부정 명령문
"a foot or a finger" = 극단적 표현 (전혀 움직이지 말라)
"do not send..." = 부정 명령문 (은유적 표현)
"for..." = 이유의 접속사 (왜냐하면)
"has perched... and cries... and plumes" = 병렬 동사 (동시 행동)
"not far beyond yours" = 비교 표현 (거리)
Vocabulary
arrow: 화살
consciousness: 의식, 자각
eager: 열망하는, 간절한
perched: (새가) 앉다, 쉬다
bough: (나무의) 큰 가지
mate: 짝
plumes: (새가 깃털을) 다듬다
Literary Note
Climactic moment: The heron is RIGHT THERE! Urgent commands: "wait! wait! do not move..." create breathless suspense.
"Arrow of light and consciousness": Poetic metaphor—even eye contact could startle the bird. Sylvia must become completely still, merging with nature.
Intimate observation: The heron "cries back to his mate" and "plumes his feathers"—Sylvia witnesses private, sacred bird behavior. This privileged knowledge will test her loyalty.
21
"The child gives a long sigh a minute later when a company of shouting cat-birds comes also to the tree, and vexed by their fluttering and lawlessness the solemn heron goes away."
1분 후 아이는 긴 한숨을 쉰다. 떠들썩한 고양이새 무리가 나무에 왔을 때, 그들의 퍼덕거림과 무질서함에 짜증이 난 엄숙한 왜가리가 날아가 버렸다.
Grammar Note
"a minute later" = 시간 표현 (1분 후)
"when..." = 시간의 부사절
"a company of" = 집합명사 (무리)
"vexed by..." = 과거분사구 (이유 - 짜증이 나서)
"their fluttering and lawlessness" = 병렬 명사 (동시 특성)
Vocabulary
sigh: 한숨
company: 무리, 떼
cat-birds: 고양이새 (울음소리가 고양이 같은 새)
vexed: 짜증이 난, 괴로워하는
fluttering: 퍼덕거림
lawlessness: 무질서함, 제멋대로임
solemn: 엄숙한, 장엄한
Literary Note
Moment lost: The noisy cat-birds interrupt the sacred moment. Sylvia's "long sigh" expresses disappointment but also relief—she's seen what she needed to see. The heron departs, preserving its dignity.
22
"She knows his secret now, the wild, light, slender bird that floats and wavers, and goes back like an arrow presently to his home in the green world beneath."
그녀는 이제 그의 비밀을 안다. 떠다니고 흔들리다가, 곧 화살처럼 아래 초록 세계의 그의 집으로 돌아가는 야생의, 가벼운, 가느다란 새.
Grammar Note
"knows his secret" = 소유격 + 명사 (비밀을 알다)
"the wild, light, slender bird" = 동격 명사구 (his secret 설명)
"that floats and wavers" = 관계대명사절 (bird 수식)
"goes back like an arrow" = 직유 (화살처럼)
"presently" = 곧, 이내 (시간 부사)
"in the green world beneath" = 전치사구 (위치)
Vocabulary
wavers: 흔들리다, 동요하다
presently: 곧, 이내
beneath: 아래에
Literary Note
Mission accomplished: "She knows his secret now"—the crucial line. Sylvia has the knowledge the hunter wants. The heron is beautifully described: "wild, light, slender," "floats and wavers," then "like an arrow"—graceful yet powerful.
23
"Then Sylvia, well satisfied, makes her perilous way down again, not daring to look far below the branch she stands on, ready to cry sometimes because her fingers ache and her lamed feet slip."
그러고 나서 실비아는 만족하며 다시 위험한 길을 내려간다. 그녀가 서 있는 가지 아래 멀리 내려다보지 못하고, 때때로 울 준비가 되어 있다. 왜냐하면 그녀의 손가락이 아프고 절름거리는 발이 미끄러지기 때문이다.
Grammar Note
"well satisfied" = 부사 + 과거분사 (매우 만족하여)
"makes her way down" = 숙어 (길을 가다)
"not daring to..." = 부정 현재분사구 (감히 ~하지 못하고)
"the branch she stands on" = 관계대명사 생략 (목적격)
"ready to cry" = 형용사 + to부정사 (울 준비가 된)
"because..." = 이유의 접속사
"her lamed feet slip" = 주어 + 동사 (절름거리는 발이 미끄러지다)
Vocabulary
satisfied: 만족한
perilous: 위험한
daring: 감히 ~하는
ache: 아프다
lamed: 절름거리는, 다친
Literary Note
Descent as trial: Going down is as hard as climbing up. "Well satisfied" shows Sylvia's spiritual fulfillment. Physical pain ("fingers ache," "lamed feet slip") contrasts with emotional satisfaction.
24
"Wondering over and over again what the stranger would say to her, and what he would think when she told him how to find his way straight to the heron's nest."
낯선 사람이 그녀에게 무엇을 말할지, 그리고 그녀가 그에게 왜가리의 둥지로 곧장 가는 길을 찾는 방법을 알려주면 그가 무엇을 생각할지 계속해서 궁금해하며.
Grammar Note
"Wondering..." = 현재분사구 (동시 행동 - 문장 23과 연결)
"over and over again" = 반복 표현 (계속해서)
"what... would say" = 간접의문문 (미래 추측)
"when she told..." = 시간의 부사절
"how to find" = 의문사 + to부정사 (방법)
"his way straight to..." = 명사 + 부사 + 전치사구 (경로)
Vocabulary
wondering: 궁금해하는
over and over again: 계속해서, 반복적으로
straight: 곧장, 직접
Literary Note
Anticipation: Sylvia imagines telling the hunter. "Over and over again" shows her excitement and preoccupation. She still plans to share the secret—her decision hasn't been made yet.
25
"Sylvy, Sylvy!" called the busy old grandmother again and again, but nobody answered, and the small husk bed was empty and Sylvia had disappeared."
"실비, 실비!" 바쁜 늙은 할머니가 계속해서 불렀지만, 아무도 대답하지 않았고, 작은 겨 침대는 비어 있었으며 실비아는 사라져 있었다.
Grammar Note
직접화법: "Sylvy, Sylvy!" (애칭 사용)
"called... again and again" = 반복 표현
"but nobody answered" = 대조 접속사
세 개의 병렬절: "nobody answered, and... was empty and... had disappeared"
"had disappeared" = 과거완료 (더 이전에 사라짐)
Vocabulary
busy: 바쁜
husk: 겨, 껍질
disappeared: 사라지다
Literary Note
Scene shift: We move from treetop to home. Time has passed. "Sylvy" (affectionate) contrasts with her solitary adventure. The empty "husk bed" is a humble detail grounding us in their poverty.
26
"The guest waked from a dream, and remembering his day's pleasure hurried to dress himself that might it sooner begin."
손님은 꿈에서 깨어났고, 그날의 즐거움을 기억하며 그것이 더 빨리 시작되도록 서둘러 옷을 입었다.
Grammar Note
"waked from..." = wake의 과거형 (깨어나다)
"remembering..." = 현재분사구 (동시 행동)
"his day's pleasure" = 소유격 표현 (그날의 즐거움)
"hurried to dress himself" = 재귀대명사 (스스로 옷을 입다)
"that might it sooner begin" = 목적의 부사절 (도치 구문: it might begin sooner)
Vocabulary
waked: (wake의 과거형) 깨어났다
hurried: 서두르다
Literary Note
Hunter's perspective: He anticipates "his day's pleasure"—hunting the heron. His eagerness contrasts sharply with Sylvia's conflicted feelings. He's unaware of what she's experienced.
27
"He was sure from the way the shy little girl looked once or twice yesterday that she had at least seen the white heron, and now she must really be made to tell."
그는 어제 그 수줍은 어린 소녀가 한두 번 쳐다본 방식으로 보아 그녀가 적어도 흰 왜가리를 봤다고 확신했고, 이제 그녀는 정말로 말하도록 만들어져야 한다.
Grammar Note
"was sure from..." = 확신하다 (근거 제시)
"the way... looked" = 관계부사절 생략 (the way (that)...)
"once or twice" = 빈도 표현 (한두 번)
"that she had at least seen..." = 명사절 (sure의 내용)
"had seen" = 과거완료 (더 이전 시점)
"must be made to tell" = 수동태 + 사역동사 (말하도록 만들어져야 한다)
Vocabulary
at least: 적어도
be made to: ~하도록 만들어지다
Literary Note
Pressure builds: "she must really be made to tell"—suggests coercion. The hunter reads Sylvia correctly but underestimates her resolve. This creates dramatic irony.
28
"Here she comes now, paler than ever, and her worn old frock is torn and tattered, and smeared with pine pitch."
이제 그녀가 온다. 그 어느 때보다 창백하고, 그녀의 낡은 옷은 찢어지고 너덜너덜하며, 송진으로 더럽혀져 있다.
Grammar Note
"Here she comes" = 도치 구문 (She comes here)
"paler than ever" = 비교급 + than ever (그 어느 때보다)
"her worn old frock" = 형용사 + 형용사 + 명사 (중층 수식)
"is torn and tattered, and smeared" = 수동태 병렬 (세 가지 상태)
Vocabulary
paler: (pale의 비교급) 더 창백한
worn: 낡은, 해진
frock: (여자/어린이) 원피스
torn: 찢어진
tattered: 너덜너덜한
smeared: 더럽혀진
pitch: 송진
Literary Note
Visual evidence: Sylvia's appearance tells the story of her ordeal. "Paler than ever," "torn and tattered"—physical evidence of her journey. The pine pitch literally marks her contact with nature.
29
"The grandmother and the sportsman stand in the door together and question her, and the splendid moment has come to speak of the dead hemlock-tree by the green marsh."
할머니와 사냥꾼이 함께 문에 서서 그녀에게 질문하고, 초록 습지 옆 죽은 솔송나무에 대해 말할 멋진 순간이 왔다.
Grammar Note
"stand... and question" = 병렬 동사 (현재시제 - 극적 현재)
"in the door" = 전치사구 (위치)
"the splendid moment has come" = 현재완료 (순간이 도래함)
"to speak of..." = to부정사 (목적 - moment 수식)
"the dead hemlock-tree by..." = 명사 + 전치사구 (위치 묘사)
Vocabulary
sportsman: 사냥꾼, 운동선수
splendid: 멋진, 훌륭한
Literary Note
Climactic confrontation: "The splendid moment has come"—dramatic irony. For the hunter it's splendid; for Sylvia it's a moment of crisis. Two authority figures "question her" together, increasing pressure.
30
"But Sylvia does not speak after all, though the old grandmother fretfully rebukes her, and the young man's kind, appealing eyes are looking straight in her own."
하지만 실비아는 결국 말하지 않는다. 비록 늙은 할머니가 초조하게 그녀를 꾸짖고, 젊은이의 친절하고 호소하는 눈이 그녀 자신의 눈을 똑바로 쳐다보고 있지만.
Grammar Note
"But" = 역접 접속사 (강한 대조)
"does not speak" = 강조 부정 (do 조동사 사용)
"after all" = 결국 (예상과 다른 결과)
"though..." = 양보의 접속사 (~에도 불구하고)
"fretfully rebukes" = 부사 + 동사
"are looking straight in" = 현재진행형 (진행 중인 행동)
Vocabulary
after all: 결국
fretfully: 초조하게, 안달하며
rebukes: 꾸짖다
appealing: 호소하는, 간청하는
Literary Note
THE DECISION: "Sylvia does not speak after all"—the story's moral climax! Despite grandmother's rebuke and the hunter's "kind, appealing eyes," she chooses silence. This is her moment of agency and moral courage.
31
"He can make them rich with money; he has promised it, and they are poor now."
그는 그들을 돈으로 부유하게 만들 수 있다. 그가 약속했고, 그들은 지금 가난하다.
Grammar Note
"can make them rich" = 사역동사 + 목적어 + 형용사 (상태 변화)
"with money" = 전치사구 (수단)
"has promised it" = 현재완료 (과거 행동의 현재 관련성)
"they are poor now" = 현재 상태 (대조 강조)
Literary Note
Stakes clarified: Simple sentences emphasize what Sylvia is giving up. Money could transform their poverty. Her silence has real cost—not just romantic, but economic.
32
"He is so well worth making happy, and he waits to hear the story she can tell."
그는 행복하게 만들 만한 충분한 가치가 있고, 그녀가 말할 수 있는 이야기를 듣기 위해 기다리고 있다.
Grammar Note
"so well worth" = 강조 부사 + 형용사 (충분한 가치)
"worth making happy" = worth + 동명사구 (~할 가치가 있는)
"waits to hear" = 동사 + to부정사 (목적)
"the story she can tell" = 관계대명사 생략 (목적격)
Vocabulary
worth: ~할 가치가 있는
Literary Note
Emotional appeal: "He is so well worth making happy"—the narrator acknowledges the hunter's worthiness. This isn't a simple villain-hero story; Sylvia is rejecting something genuinely valuable.
33
"No, she must keep silence!"
아니다, 그녀는 침묵을 지켜야 한다!
Grammar Note
"No" = 강한 부정 (결단)
"must keep" = 강한 의무/결심 (조동사)
"keep silence" = 숙어 (침묵을 지키다)
Exclamation mark: 강조와 결연함
Vocabulary
keep silence: 침묵을 지키다
Literary Note
MORAL CLIMAX: Short, powerful declaration! "No, she must keep silence!" This is the story's central statement. Sylvia's decision is framed as moral imperative, not just choice.
34
"What is it that suddenly forbids her and makes her dumb?"
갑자기 그녀를 금지하고 그녀를 말 못하게 만드는 것은 무엇인가?
Grammar Note
"What is it that..." = 강조 구문 (의문사 + be동사 + that)
"suddenly" = 부사 (갑작스러움 강조)
"forbids her and makes her dumb" = 병렬 동사 (두 가지 효과)
"makes her dumb" = 사역동사 + 목적어 + 형용사
Vocabulary
forbids: 금지하다
dumb: 말 못하는, 벙어리의
Literary Note
Mystery of conscience: The narrator asks what force silences Sylvia. Not fully explained—suggesting something deep, perhaps unknowable, in human moral instinct.
35
"Has she been nine years growing and now, when the great world for the first time puts out a hand to her, must she thrust it aside for a bird's sake?"
그녀는 9년 동안 자라왔고, 이제 거대한 세계가 처음으로 그녀에게 손을 내밀었을 때, 그녀는 새 때문에 그것을 제쳐두어야 하는가?
Grammar Note
"Has she been... growing" = 현재완료진행형 (계속된 성장)
"nine years" = 시간의 양 (기간)
"when..." = 시간의 부사절
"for the first time" = 부사구 (처음으로)
"puts out a hand to" = 숙어 (손을 내밀다)
"must she thrust it aside" = 의문문 + 조동사 (반문)
"for a bird's sake" = 전치사구 (이유 - ~를 위해)
Vocabulary
puts out a hand: 손을 내밀다
thrust aside: 밀쳐내다, 제쳐두다
for... sake: ~를 위해
Literary Note
Rhetorical question: Frames the sacrifice's magnitude. After nine years, the world finally offers opportunity—and she rejects it "for a bird's sake." The question honors the difficulty of her choice.
36
"The murmur of the pine's green branches is in her ears, she remembers how the white heron came flying through the golden air and how they watched the sea and the morning together, and Sylvia cannot speak; she cannot tell the heron's secret and give its life away."
소나무의 초록 가지들의 속삭임이 그녀의 귀에 있고, 그녀는 흰 왜가리가 황금빛 공기를 통해 날아왔던 것과 그들이 함께 바다와 아침을 바라보았던 것을 기억하며, 실비아는 말할 수 없다. 그녀는 왜가리의 비밀을 말하고 그것의 생명을 내줄 수 없다.
Grammar Note
"The murmur... is in her ears" = 은유 (기억이 현재에 살아있음)
"she remembers how..." = 간접의문문 (방식)
"came flying" = come + ~ing (동작의 방식)
"through the golden air" = 전치사구 (경로)
"how they watched..." = 병렬 간접의문문
"and Sylvia cannot speak" = 결과절
"tell... and give..." = 병렬 동사 (두 행위의 동일성)
Vocabulary
murmur: 속삭임, 웅얼거림
give... away: 내주다, 밀고하다
Literary Note
Reason revealed: Her treetop experience lives in her ("murmur... in her ears"). She remembers the sacred moment when "they watched the sea and the morning together"—she and the heron were united. To betray that communion would be to betray herself.
37
"Dear loyalty, that suffered a sharp pang as the guest went away disappointed later in the day, that could have served and followed him and loved him as a dog loves!"
사랑스러운 충성심이여, 그날 늦게 손님이 실망하여 떠나갔을 때 날카로운 고통을 겪었고, 그를 섬기고 따르고 개가 사랑하듯 그를 사랑할 수 있었을 것을!
Grammar Note
"Dear loyalty" = 감탄사적 호격 (직접 호명)
"that suffered..." = 관계대명사절 (loyalty 수식)
"a sharp pang" = 명사구 (날카로운 고통)
"as the guest went away" = 시간의 부사절
"disappointed" = 과거분사 (상태)
"that could have served..." = 관계대명사절 + 가정법 과거완료 (실현되지 않은 가능성)
"served and followed... and loved" = 병렬 동사 (세 가지 행동)
"as a dog loves" = 비교절 (방식)
Vocabulary
loyalty: 충성심, 충실함
pang: (감정의) 고통, 아픔
served: 섬기다
Literary Note
Cost acknowledged: The narrator addresses "Dear loyalty" directly, honoring Sylvia's pain. "Could have... loved him as a dog loves"—she sacrificed a form of devotion. The comparison to a dog suggests selfless, unconditional love she'll never express.
38
"Many a night Sylvia heard the echo of his whistle haunting the pasture path as she came home with the loitering cow."
많은 밤 실비아는 느릿느릿 가는 소와 함께 집으로 오면서, 목장 길을 떠도는 그의 휘파람 소리의 메아리를 들었다.
Grammar Note
"Many a night" = 관용표현 (많은 밤 - 단수 취급)
"heard... haunting" = 지각동사 + 목적어 + 현재분사 (진행 중인 행동)
"the echo of his whistle" = 소유격 구조
"haunting the pasture path" = 현재분사구 (echo 수식)
"as she came home" = 시간의 부사절
"with the loitering cow" = 전치사구 (동반)
Vocabulary
echo: 메아리, 울림
haunting: 떠도는, 잊히지 않는
pasture: 목장, 목초지
loitering: 느릿느릿 가는, 어슬렁거리는
Literary Note
Lasting impact: "Many a night" suggests years of remembering. His whistle's "echo" haunts her—she lives with this loss. The "loitering cow" recalls the story's opening, showing life continues but changed.
39
"She forgot even her sorrow at the sharp report of his gun and the sight of thrushes and sparrows dropping silent to the ground, their songs hushed and their pretty feathers stained and wet with blood."
그녀는 심지어 그의 총소리와 지빠귀들과 참새들이 조용히 땅으로 떨어지는 광경에 대한 슬픔조차 잊었다. 그들의 노래는 잠잠해지고 그들의 예쁜 깃털은 피로 얼룩지고 젖어 있었다.
Grammar Note
"forgot even..." = 동사 + 부사 (심지어 ~조차)
"her sorrow at..." = 전치사구 (슬픔의 원인)
"the sharp report of..." = 명사구 (날카로운 소리)
"the sight of... dropping" = 명사 + 전치사 + 동명사구
"dropping silent" = 현재분사 + 형용사 (상태 묘사)
"their songs hushed and their... feathers stained and wet" = 독립분사구문 (부가 설명)
Vocabulary
report: (총의) 소리
thrushes: 지빠귀
dropping: 떨어지는
hushed: 잠잠해진, 조용해진
stained: 얼룩진
Literary Note
Validation of choice: Vivid image of dead birds—"songs hushed," "feathers stained and wet with blood"—reminds us why Sylvia chose as she did. She "forgot even her sorrow" in longing for him, but this image justifies her decision.
40
"Were the birds better friends than their hunter might have been,—who can tell?"
새들이 그들의 사냥꾼이 될 수 있었던 것보다 더 나은 친구였을까—누가 말할 수 있겠는가?
Grammar Note
"Were the birds..." = 의문문 (가정의 질문)
"better friends than..." = 비교급 구문
"their hunter might have been" = 가정법 과거완료 (실현되지 않은 과거 가능성)
"who can tell?" = 수사학적 질문 (아무도 모른다)
Em dash (—): 강한 끊김, 부연 설명
Literary Note
Open ending: "Who can tell?"—the narrator refuses to judge definitively. Were birds better friends than the hunter might have been? The question remains unanswered, respecting the complexity of Sylvia's sacrifice.
41
"Whatever treasures were lost to her, woodlands and summer-time, remember!"
그녀에게 잃어버린 보물이 무엇이든, 숲과 여름이여, 기억하라!
Grammar Note
"Whatever treasures" = 복합관계대명사 (무엇이든)
"were lost to her" = 수동태 (그녀에게 잃어진)
"woodlands and summer-time" = 호격 (직접 호명)
"remember!" = 명령문 (강한 호소)
Vocabulary
treasures: 보물
woodlands: 숲, 삼림지대
Literary Note
Poetic ending: The narrator appeals to nature itself: "woodlands and summer-time, remember!" Sylvia may have lost human treasures, but nature will remember her loyalty. This ending elevates her sacrifice to mythic status—she becomes part of nature's memory.
Themes (주제)
Nature vs. Civilization
The central conflict: Sylvia must choose between the natural world (the heron, the forest, her transcendent experience) and the civilized world (the hunter, money, human companionship, romantic love). Her choice of nature over civilization represents a rejection of anthropocentric values. The story suggests that some experiences—unity with nature, loyalty to wild creatures—are worth more than material wealth or human approval.
Moral Courage and Silence
"No, she must keep silence!" Sylvia's silence is her power. In refusing to speak, she exercises agency and moral courage. The story elevates silence from passivity to active resistance. Her muteness in the face of social pressure (grandmother's rebuke, hunter's appealing eyes, their poverty) demonstrates that moral action sometimes requires saying no to the world.
Coming of Age and Identity
Sylvia's climb and decision mark her transition from child to moral agent. "Has she been nine years growing" only to reject the world? Yes—because her growth leads to self-knowledge. She discovers her identity is bound to nature, not civilization. The choice defines who she is and will become. First love is tested and found insufficient against deeper loyalty.
The Cost of Integrity
The story doesn't romanticize Sylvia's choice. She suffers "a sharp pang," hears his whistle "many a night," could have "loved him as a dog loves." The narrator asks, "Were the birds better friends... who can tell?" Sylvia's integrity costs her human connection, romantic possibility, economic security. Yet she chooses it anyway—the story honors both the choice and its cost.
Transcendent Experience
The treetop scene offers Sylvia a mystical union with nature: she feels she could "go flying away among the clouds," sees a "vast and awesome world," witnesses the heron in "golden air." This epiphany—watching "the sea and the morning together" with the bird—becomes sacred. Her silence protects not just the heron's life but the sanctity of that spiritual moment.
Critical Moment (결정적 순간)
Sentence 30 & 33: The Moral Climax
"But Sylvia does not speak after all, though the old grandmother fretfully rebukes her, and the young man's kind, appealing eyes are looking straight in her own."
"No, she must keep silence!"
Why This Moment Matters:
- External climax was at treetop (sentence 20) when she saw the heron—that's the adventure story's peak
- Internal/moral climax is here—when Sylvia chooses silence. This is the story's true turning point
- Maximum pressure: Grandmother rebukes her, hunter's "kind, appealing eyes" look straight at her, they're poor and he offers wealth
- Active choice: "does not speak" (emphasized with auxiliary "does")—not passive failure but deliberate refusal
- "After all" suggests we expected her to speak—creating dramatic tension
- "No, she must keep silence!"—narrator's declaration frames this as moral imperative, not mere decision
The Decision's Complexity:
What makes this moment powerful is that Sylvia isn't choosing between good and evil, but between two goods: loyalty to nature vs. human love and security. The story respects both values. The hunter is genuinely worthy ("so well worth making happy"), the poverty is real, her love for him is authentic ("could have... loved him as a dog loves"). Yet she chooses the heron—because the treetop experience created a bond stronger than romantic or economic appeal. This is moral courage: choosing your truth even when it costs everything.
Key Vocabulary (핵심 어휘)
Practice Questions (연습 문제)
Question 1: Analyzing the Climax
The story has two climaxes—an external one (physical) and an internal one (moral). Identify both and explain why the internal climax is considered the true turning point of the story.
Answer:
External climax: Sentence 20—when Sylvia reaches the treetop and sees the heron perched nearby. This is the adventure story's peak: she's completed her dangerous quest and discovered the heron's location.
Internal/moral climax: Sentences 30 & 33—when Sylvia chooses not to speak despite enormous pressure. "But Sylvia does not speak after all" and "No, she must keep silence!"
Why internal climax matters more: The story is ultimately about moral choice, not adventure. Finding the heron means nothing if Sylvia betrays it. Her silence is where character reveals itself. The external climax gives her knowledge; the internal climax shows what she does with that knowledge. This is the moment that defines who Sylvia is—someone who values natural connection over human approval, loyalty over love, integrity over comfort. The story's title is "A White Heron," but it's really about Sylvia's moral awakening.
Question 2: Personification of Nature
Throughout this section, nature—especially the pine tree—is heavily personified. Find three examples of personification and explain how this literary device supports the story's themes.
Answer:
Example 1 (Sentence 5): "it must truly have been amazed that morning through all its ponderous frame as it felt this determined spark of human spirit"—The tree is "amazed" and "feels" Sylvia's determination.
Example 2 (Sentence 7): "The old pine must have loved his new dependent"—The tree "loves" Sylvia.
Example 3 (Sentence 9): "the tree stood still and frowned away the winds"—The tree actively "frowns" to protect Sylvia from wind.
How it supports themes: Personifying nature emphasizes that it's not just setting but an active participant with emotional investment in Sylvia. Nature loves her, protects her, recognizes her courage. This establishes nature as a relationship, not a resource—making her choice to protect the heron a choice to honor a reciprocal bond. When she later chooses silence, she's not just protecting a bird; she's honoring the tree that "loved" her, the twigs that "held themselves to advantage" her. The personification makes her loyalty rational rather than merely sentimental.
Question 3: Rhetorical Questions and Ambiguity
The narrator asks several rhetorical questions (sentences 34, 35, 40). What is the effect of these questions? Why doesn't the narrator provide definitive answers?
Answer:
Sentence 34: "What is it that suddenly forbids her and makes her dumb?"
Sentence 35: "Has she been nine years growing and now... must she thrust it aside for a bird's sake?"
Sentence 40: "Were the birds better friends than their hunter might have been,—who can tell?"
Effect of rhetorical questions:
- Acknowledges complexity: The questions admit the decision's difficulty. There are no easy answers.
- Engages reader: We must grapple with these questions ourselves rather than accepting narrator's judgment.
- Respects Sylvia's mystery: Some human motivations are unknowable. What "forbids her" is perhaps instinct, conscience, love—something beyond words.
- Avoids didacticism: The story doesn't preach. It presents a moral dilemma and honors both sides.
Why no definitive answers: Because the narrator respects the choice's gravity. "Were the birds better friends... who can tell?" leaves the moral judgment open. Sylvia lost real treasures (human connection, economic security, romantic love). The narrator won't pretend those losses don't matter or that the choice was obvious. This ambiguity makes the story literary rather than merely moralistic—it trusts readers to think deeply about competing values.
Question 4: Symbolism of the Treetop Experience
What does Sylvia's experience at the top of the pine tree symbolize? How does this experience determine her later decision?
Answer:
What the treetop symbolizes:
- Transcendence: She feels she "could go flying away among the clouds"—experiences unity with nature that transcends ordinary human existence
- Expanded consciousness: She sees a "vast and awesome world," gains perspective impossible from ground level (hawks that seemed high now look low)
- Spiritual awakening: The "bewilderingly bright" sun, "golden dazzle," watching "the sea and the morning together" with the heron—this is mystical experience
- Rite of passage: The difficult climb tests her physically and spiritually, marking her transition to moral agency
How it determines her decision: Sentence 36 explains: "The murmur of the pine's green branches is in her ears, she remembers how the white heron came flying through the golden air and how they watched the sea and the morning together, and Sylvia cannot speak." The treetop experience created sacred communion—she and the heron shared something transcendent. To betray the heron would be to betray that moment, to reduce a spiritual experience to economic transaction. The climb gave her knowledge (where the nest is) but also wisdom (some experiences are sacred). Money, love, social approval—all are earthbound concerns. She's seen beyond them.
Question 5: The Cost of Sylvia's Choice
The story doesn't romanticize Sylvia's decision—it clearly shows what she loses. Identify what she sacrifices and explain how acknowledging this cost makes the story more powerful.
Answer:
What Sylvia sacrifices:
- Economic security: "He can make them rich with money... and they are poor now" (sentence 31)—she condemns herself and her grandmother to continued poverty
- Romantic love/companionship: She "could have served and followed him and loved him as a dog loves" (sentence 37)—the hunter was "so well worth making happy" (sentence 32)
- Future possibilities: "When the great world for the first time puts out a hand to her, must she thrust it aside" (sentence 35)—this may be her only chance for connection with wider world
- Emotional peace: She "suffered a sharp pang" (sentence 37), hears his whistle "many a night" (sentence 38)—lives with loss and longing
Why acknowledging cost makes story powerful: Because it makes Sylvia's choice genuinely heroic rather than easy or naive. If the hunter were villainous, if they weren't truly poor, if Sylvia didn't genuinely care for him—the choice would be simple. But the story respects what she's giving up. The narrator asks, "Were the birds better friends... who can tell?" This ambiguity honors the sacrifice's magnitude. Sylvia chooses integrity knowing its full price. That's moral courage—not choosing right over wrong, but choosing your deepest truth even when it costs everything. The ending—"Whatever treasures were lost to her, woodlands and summer-time, remember!"—acknowledges loss while affirming her choice's value. She lost treasures, but gained something perhaps greater: alignment with her true self.
Summary (요약)
전체 요약 (Korean Summary)
상승 (The Climb): 실비아는 마침내 참나무에서 고대 소나무로 대담한 발걸음을 내딛습니다. 등반은 그녀가 생각했던 것보다 훨씬 어렵습니다—날카로운 가지들이 화난 발톱처럼 할퀴고, 송진이 그녀의 손가락을 뻣뻣하게 만듭니다. 나무는 스스로 끝없이 길어지는 것처럼 보입니다. 하지만 놀라운 일이 일어납니다: 늙은 소나무가 이 "단호한 인간 정신의 불꽃"을 사랑하게 되고, 가장 작은 나뭇가지들조차 그녀를 돕기 위해 스스로를 지탱합니다. 나무는 바람을 찌푸리며 쫓아내어 그녀를 보호합니다.
정상 (The Summit): 마침내 실비아는 나무 꼭대기에 도달합니다—떨리고 지쳤지만 "완전히 의기양양"합니다. 그녀의 얼굴은 "창백한 별" 같습니다. 그리고 거기서 그녀는 그것을 봅니다: "당황스러울 만큼 밝은" 태양이 바다 위에 "황금빛 눈부심"을 만들고, 두 마리의 매가 영광스러운 동쪽을 향해 날아갑니다. 전에는 높아 보였던 매들이 이제는 낮아 보입니다—실비아는 그들의 관점에 도달했습니다. 그녀는 마치 자신도 "구름 사이로 날아갈 수 있을 것" 같은 느낌을 받습니다. 서쪽으로는 "광대하고 경외로운 세계"가 펼쳐집니다—농장, 교회 첨탑, 하얀 마을들이 수 마일에 걸쳐 있습니다.
계시 (The Revelation): 화자가 긴급하게 지시합니다: "이제 다시 아래를 내려다보렴, 실비아... 봐라, 봐라!" 그리고 그곳에 있습니다—흰 왜가리가 "하나의 떠다니는 깃털 같은" 흰 점으로 나타나 상승하고 가까이 옵니다. "기다려! 기다려! 움직이지 마라!" 왜가리가 그녀 근처의 소나무 가지에 앉아 그의 짝에게 되돌아 울고 깃털을 다듬습니다. 실비아는 새의 가장 사적인 순간을 목격합니다. 시끄러운 고양이새들이 왔을 때 왜가리는 날아가지만, 실비아는 "이제 그의 비밀을 압니다."
결정 (The Decision): 실비아가 집으로 돌아오자 할머니와 사냥꾼이 문에 서서 그녀에게 질문합니다. 그녀의 낡은 옷은 찢어지고 송진으로 더럽혀져 있으며, 그녀는 "그 어느 때보다 창백"합니다. "죽은 솔송나무에 대해 말할 멋진 순간이 왔습니다." 하지만 "실비아는 결국 말하지 않습니다." 할머니가 초조하게 그녀를 꾸짖고, 젊은이의 "친절하고 호소하는 눈"이 그녀를 똑바로 쳐다보지만, "아니다, 그녀는 침묵을 지켜야 한다!" 화자는 묻습니다: 무엇이 갑자기 그녀를 금지하는가? 9년 동안 자랐는데, 이제 세계가 처음으로 손을 내밀었을 때 그녀는 "새 때문에" 그것을 제쳐두어야 하는가?
이유 (The Reason): "소나무의 초록 가지들의 속삭임이 그녀의 귀에 있고," 그녀는 왜가리가 "황금빛 공기를 통해 날아왔던 것과 그들이 함께 바다와 아침을 바라보았던 것"을 기억합니다. 실비아는 "왜가리의 비밀을 말하고 그것의 생명을 내줄 수 없습니다." 그녀의 선택은 그녀에게 비용이 듭니다: 그녀는 사냥꾼이 실망하여 떠날 때 "날카로운 고통을 겪고," "많은 밤" 그의 휘파람 소리의 메아리를 듣습니다. 그녀는 그를 "개가 사랑하듯 사랑할 수 있었을" 것입니다. 그러나 그녀는 선택했습니다.
반성 (The Reflection): 화자는 최종 판단을 내리지 않습니다: "새들이 그들의 사냥꾼이 될 수 있었던 것보다 더 나은 친구였을까—누가 말할 수 있겠는가?" 대신, 화자는 자연에 호소합니다: "그녀에게 잃어버린 보물이 무엇이든, 숲과 여름이여, 기억하라!" 실비아는 인간 세계의 보물들을 잃었을지 모르지만, 자연은 그녀의 충성심을 기억할 것입니다.