How we cite our quotes: (Act.Line)
Quote #1
Medvedenko: Why do you always wear black?
Masha: Because I'm in mourning for my life. I'm not happy. (1.1-2)
This famous opening to The Seagull introduces the feelings of regret and dissatisfaction that plague everyone in this play.
Quote #2
Sorin: Just go on living, whether you feel like it or not. (1.16)
The existential despair expressed here links Chekhov to Beckett in some readers' minds. Check out Waiting for Godot to see just what we mean.
Quote #3
Konstantin: That kind of theater is tired, it's all worn out. It's so restrictive!… they try to draw some kind of moral, some nice easy moral, something you wouldn't mind having around the house. (1.28)
Like many creative innovators, the source of Konstantin's new ideas are his dissatisfaction and disgust with the art's status quo.
Quote #4
Konstantin: What am I going to do? I've got to see her, I've just got to! I'm going after her. (1.174)
Being in love means being irritated, excitable, and never satisfied, at least in this play.
Quote #5
Masha: I always feel as if I'd been born ages and ages ago; I just drag myself from one day to the next, like the hem of my skirt. And there are days when I just don't feel like living. (2.4)
Masha's angst borders on clinical depression.
Quote #6
Arkadina: I feel just awful about my son. What's going on with him—do you know? Why is he bored all the time? And why is he so distant? (2.17)
Arkadina vacillates between worrying about and caring for her son and trying to destroy him and his dreams.
Quote #7
Dorn: She'll have a couple vodkas before lunch. (2.40)
Masha treats her unhappiness with drugs and alcohol.
Quote #8
Trigorin: Here I am talking to you, I'm all worked up, and still I can't forget for a minute that I've got a story to finish. (2.100)
Like being in love, being creative can mean a continual restlessness.
Quote #9
Sorin: But you're going away… It'll be so boring around here without you.
Arkadina: What makes you think it'll be any better in town?
Sorin: It won't. But I still want to go. (Laughs) (3.34-36)
The oldest character in the play and an ill one, Sorin has a little more perspective on his desires. He recognizes that being elsewhere won't improve his situation, but he still longs for a change. He laughs at his own foolishness.