Resumo de The Seagull - Anton Chekhov

The Seagull, the sixth play of Chekov, was written in 1895
It is a comedy of four acts.The first three take place within a week and the fourth happens two years later. The scene remains basically the same, all of the action taking place at the country home of one of the characters but it varies from outside in the park to inside in the study. There are ten characters in the play, all connected in some way. Sorin is an older man in poor health. His sister Arcadina is an actress, and her son Constantine writes plays. Sorin's steward is Shamreyeff who has a wife, Pauline, and a daughter, Masha. Nina is also an actress, Trigorin a writer, Dorn a doctor, and Medvedenko a schoolmaster.
The play does not follow a specific storyline nor does it have a distinguished plot as Chekhov was more used to writing sketches. It begins with Nina performing in a play which Constantine wrote and ends with his death. The first two characters to be introduced in the play are Medvedenko and Masha. He is quite devoted to her and follows her around constantly. They eventually marry and have a baby. Medvedenko can see no wrong in Masha.In Act Four, she wants to stay at Sorin's and play cards, but he decides to go home to be with the baby whom they haven't seen in three days. Masha's father will not let Medvedenko take one of the horses so he decides to walk. He is even apologetic about the entire incident.
Unlike Medvedenko's dependence on her, Masha stands on her own. However, she is living in as much a fantasy world as he is. She always wears black as she says she is in mourning for her life. She is never truly happy with her situation. She is in love with Constantine but marries Medvedenko with the idea that it will help her forget her love of Constantine. She doesn't even care about her own child showing selfishness and also self pity.
Masha's parents, Shamreyeff and Pauline, play a small role, although Pauline and Dr. Dorn have a secret attraction which they keep from Shamreyeff. They discuss telling him but never do. Dorn is one of Constatnine's few admirers as far as playwriting is concerned. He is a kind of father figure, comforting both Constantine and Masha in their times of distress. He is always observant of everyones mannerisms, especially their nervousness as he sees it.
Sorin is perhaps the character who is least understood by the other characters. His health is failing, but everyone assumes that because of his position as a lieutenant for over twenty years, he is happy with how his life turned out. At the end however, he half-jokingly makes a suggestion for his nephew Constantine's story-writing. He refers to the fact that he never accomplished his dreams of becoming an author, speaking eloquently, marrying, and living in town. He still manages to joke about his situation, however, which makes him a likeable character. He generally remains quiet observing the events which occur in his home.
Sorin's sister Arcadina, on the other hand, is quite outspoken. When Constantine attempts to present his play, she continuously interrupts with smart remarks and then is amazed that her son takes offence. She is well-known for her past acting performances and uses that as an ego boost and justification for being snooty toward everyone. She even claims to love Trigorin who of course is infatuated with her.
But Trigorin cannot really be trusted either. His plays are quite famous so he also uses his notoriety as an excuse to be flirty toward women acting the gigolo. He takes up with Nina when they go to Moscow, but then dumps her. Yet he still gains admiration from all the other characters.
Constantine and Nina seem to be the weakest characters in the play with Constantine being the least stable of everyone. He attemots to shoot himself once and eventually succeeds at the end. He is desperately in love with Nina and tells her so but he is rejected by her. Neither do his plays bring him much fame or happiness especially with his mohis main critic.
Likewise, Nina is a young aspiring actress who never becomes successful. She runs away from her father and step-mother to perform in Moscow. She has a baby who dies after her affair with Trigorin. If she does have talent, it is not appreciated because she comes back after two years. She considers herself to be a sea gull and even signs her letters to Constantine as such. She views her life as no matter what she does, it is taken the wrong way or not accepted at all, and therefore destroyed. Her career, her relationships, her baby. Constantine is the same except he takes it to the extreme. He was never pleased with his own work and could never please his one true love. So for lack of any better solution, he destroys his life by shooting himself.
Chekhov's play involves so much without really having any action. It is a simple sketch of the events and dialogue of ten people's lives, and yet the characters and their personalities are much more complex than what is first apparent.

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