How we cite our quotes: (Act.Line)
Quote #1
Irina: How wonderful it must be to get up at dawn and pave streets, or be a shepherd, or a schoolteacher who teaches children, or work on a railroad. (1.25)
Ah, the upper class romanticizing the noble lives of working people. Classic.
Quote #2
Tuzenbach: I remember when I got home from military school there was always a servant to take my boots off. (1.29)
Like Irina, Tuzenbach wants to be useful to the world. But he reminisces about what it was like to have servants around—even the ones who were just there to smell your feet.
Quote #3
Irina: [Andrey is] the family intellectual. He'll probably be a scientist. Papa was in the service, but his son has decided on a scientific career. (1.115)
Andrey's ability to pursue a career in something like science, which was less "practical" financially than being in the army, indicates his family's wealth. Not to mention his mastery of the violin—couldn't get much bougier than that in those days.