The Sea Gull 1 The Sea Gull by Anton Checkov The Sea Gull 2 CHARACTERS IRINA ABKADINA an actress CONSTANTINE TREPLIEFF her son PETER SORIN her brother NINA ZARIETCHNAYA a young girl the daughter of a rich landowner ILIA SHAMRAEFF the manager of SORIN S estate PAULINA his wife MASHA their daughter BORIS TRIGORIN an author EUGENE DORN a doctor SIMON MEDVIEDENKO a schoolmaster JACOB a workman A COOK A MAIDSERVANT The scene is laid on SORIN S estate Two years elapse between the third and fourth acts The Sea Gull 3 ACT I The scene is laid in the park on SORIN S estate A broad avenue of trees leads away from the audience toward a lake which lies lost in the depths of the park The avenue is obstructed by a rough stage temporarily erected for the performance of amateur theatricals and which screens the lake from view There is a dense growth of bushes to the left and right of the stage A few chairs and a little table are placed in front of the stage The sun has just set JACOB and some other workmen are heard hammering and coughing on the stage behind the lowered curtain MASHA and MEDVIEDENKO come in from the left returning from a walk MEDVIEDENKO Why do you always wear mourning MASHA I dress in black to match my life I am unhappy MEDVIEDENKO Why should you be unhappy Thinking it over I don t understand it You are healthy and though your father is not rich he has a good competency My life is far harder than yours I only have twenty three roubles a month to live on but I don t wear mourning They sit down MASHA Happiness does not depend on riches poor men are often happy MEDVIEDENKO In theory yes but not in reality Take my case for instance my mother my two sisters my little brother and I must all live somehow on my salary of twenty three roubles a month We have to eat and drink I take it You wouldn t have us go without tea and sugar would you Or tobacco Answer me that if you can MASHA Looking in the direction of the stage The play will soon begin MEDVIEDENKO Yes Nina Zarietchnaya is going to act in Treplieff s play They love one another and their two souls will unite to night in the effort to interpret the same idea by different means There is no ground on which your soul and mine can meet I love you Too restless and sad to stay at home I tramp here every day six miles and back to be met only by The Sea Gull 4 your indifference I am poor my family is large you can have no inducement to marry a man who cannot even find sufficient food for his own mouth MASHA It is not that She takes snuff I am touched by your affection but I cannot return it that is all She offers him the snuff box Will you take some MEDVIEDENKO No thank you A pause MASHA The air is sultry a storm is brewing for to night You do nothing but moralise or else talk about money To you poverty is the greatest misfortune that can befall a man but I think it is a thousand times easier to go begging in rags than to You wouldn t understand that though SORIN leaning on a cane and TREPLIEFF come in SORIN For some reason my boy country life doesn t suit me and I am sure I shall never get used to it Last night I went to bed at ten and woke at nine this morning feeling as if from oversleep my brain had stuck to my skull Laughing And yet I accidentally dropped off to sleep again after dinner and feel utterly done up at this moment It is like a nightmare TREPLIEFF There is no doubt that you should live in town He catches sight of MASHA and MEDVIEDENKO You shall be called when the play begins my friends but you must not stay here now Go away please SORIN Miss Masha will you kindly ask your father to leave the dog unchained It howled so last night that my sister was unable to sleep MASHA You must speak to my father yourself Please excuse me I can t do so To MEDVIEDENKO Come let us go MEDVIEDENKO You will let us know when the play begins MASHA and MEDVIEDENKO go out SORIN I foresee that that dog is going to howl all night again It is always this way in the country I have never been able to live as I like here I come down for a month s holiday to rest and all and am plagued so by their nonsense that I long to escape after the first day Laughing I have always been glad to get away from this place but I have been retired now The Sea Gull 5 and this was the only place I had to come to Willy nilly one must live somewhere JACOB To TREPLIEFF We are going to take a swim Mr Constantine TREPLIEFF Very well but you must be back in ten minutes JACOB We will sir TREPLIEFF Looking at the stage Just like a real theatre See there we have the curtain the foreground the background and all No artificial scenery is needed The eye travels direct to the lake and rests on the horizon The curtain will be raised as the moon rises at half past eight SORIN Splendid TREPLIEFF Of course the whole effect will be ruined if Nina is late She should be here by now but her father and stepmother watch her so closely that it is like stealing her from a prison to get her away from home He straightens SORIN S