How we cite our quotes: (Act.Line)
Quote #1
Sorin: I just love writers. There was a time, all I ever wanted was two things: get married and be a writer. And I never did either one. Yes. Well, it must be nice to be a writer, even if you're not famous. I suppose. (1.33)
Everyone in the play values and admires artists, but really only if those artists are successful. Konstantin's only considered legit in Act 4, once he's been paid for his writing.
Quote #2
Trigorin: Everyone writes the way he wants… the way he can. (1.115)
Trigorin may not be interested in Konstantin's writing, but at least he's not cruel about it.
Quote #3
Nina: Oh, but I'd think once you've known the thrill of creation, all other pleasures must pale by comparison (1.139)
Nina believes in the ideal of creation, while Trigorin is acquainted with its reality. By the end of the play, she's been disabused of her illusions.
Quote #4
Dorn: And another thing. Everything you write has to have a clear, concise central idea. You have to be aware of what you're writing, otherwise you'll…you'll lose your way, and your talent will destroy you. (1.170)
The doctor is full of pedantic advice about a career in which he has no experience. But Konstantin's not listening, anyway—he's busy looking for Nina.
Quote #5
Trigorin: All I think about day and night is having to write. I have to write, I have to. I finish one story, and then I have to write another one, and then a third, and after that a fourth. I write without stopping, like an express train; it's the only way I know how. (2.100)
Writing doesn't really satisfy Trigorin; it's his compulsion.
Quote #6
Trigorin: A beginning writer, unless he's lucky, feels completely out of place—awkward, useless, nervous. He's obsessed with successful writers and people in the arts, he hangs around them, but nobody notices him. (2.100)
Trigorin is describing himself, of course, but this is also a great description of Konstantin.
Quote #7
Konstantin: You want me to treat him like a genius…well, excuse me, I can't lie. His writing makes me sick. (3.71)
Konstantin doesn't consider Trigorin an artist, but rather a craftsman skilled at giving the reading public what they want. We believe the term is "sell-out."
Quote #8
Paulina: I never thought you'd ever become a real writer, Kostya. None of us did, really. And now you even get paid for what you write! Thank God! (Runs her hand through Konstantin's hair) And you've gotten so good-looking… Kostya dear… can't you be a little nicer to my Masha? (4.24)
Success in writing gives Konstantin a new, higher status. In Act 1, Paulina would never have wanted Masha to hook up with him.
Quote #9
Trigorin: I bring you congratulations from your many admirers. There's a great deal of curiosity about you in Moscow and Petersburg; people are always asking me about you. (4.96)
While Konstantin's somewhat of a hermit, Trigorin is established in the jet setting—well, train traveling—world of professional artists keeping up with each other's careers. "Hype" is certainly not just a twenty-first century invention.