Resumo de The Seagull - Anton Chekhov

The play begins outdoors in front of a lake. There is a small stage that has been put up by Treplev, who is staging his play for a few family guests. We see two characters discussing their personal affairs. Medvedenko, a local school teacher, speaks of his love for Masha, but she tells him that she cannot return his love so there is nothing to be done about it. Poor Masha is in love with Treplev, she despairs of her love but also cannot control her feelings. She dresses in black to show her feelings about the world. She?s excited about the play which is coming and speaks to Treplev who is running about the stage trying to make last minute preparations for the performance. Treplev is a nervous young man who has a famous mother, Arkadina who spends most of her time in Moscow and neglects her son. He longs for her approval, but knows that she won?t give it to him.

As the audience takes their seats, the actress of the evening, Nina rushes in. She has had to run away from her house where her miserly father tries to keep her locked up. The performance is of a strange, avant garde play and the audience find it hilarious. Arkadina openly mocks the work. Treplev is furious; he storms out and abruptly ends the play. His mother, with her lover, the writer Trigorin, wonder why he is so sensitive.

Nina, a young and impressionable girl, is in awe of Arkadina and Trigorin. Her earlier affection for Treplev soon turns cold as the famous writer Trigorin begins to show signs of interest in her. She asks Trigorin how he things of his stories, and he tells her that he actually prefers fishing, but the stories just come. For instance, Treplev shoots a seagull and throws it at Nina?s feet and Trigorin thinks perhaps you could compare the seagull to the girl as an idea for a short story. Nina becomes more and more infatuated with him, she longs for fame and wants to follow Trigorin to Moscow to become a great actress.

Treplev becomes more and more upset by his mother?s lack of regard for him. He wants to be a writer, longs to get away from the estate, and desires to marry Nina. However, his mother and her lover thwart all of these wishes, and Treplev becomes despondent and tries to kill himself. Arkadina is herself wary of Trigorin?s growing interest in Nina and she decides to go back to Moscow to get him away from Nina. As they are leaving, Trigorin arranges to meet Nina in Moscow. She is thrilled to finally become a great actress as she hopes and with the man she loves. Trigorin isn?t as interested in her, but she is young and he is bored, so he succumbs to temptation

The final act occurs after many years. Masha has married Medvedenko, but that cannot stop her love for Treplev. She neglects her family and continues to visit Treplev to be close to him. She cannot stand her husband and leaves him to take care of their baby. While, it seems that Treplev has finally become a successful young writer, while fate has not been so kind to Nina. Trigorin eventually tires of her and goes back to Arkadina. Nina has had a child who dies, her acting has never really gone very far and she has ended up working in the provinces in bad theatre houses and living quite poorly.
Arkadina and Trigorin are returning to the country house for a visit. Treplev goes into his study to get away from them and soon Nina appears. She is working in the area and stops by to see how he is. It soon becomes clear that life has crushed poor Nina, she repeatedly compares herself to the seagull that Treplev shot and threw at her feet years ago. She is still in love with Trigorin and his carelessness destroyed her just as Treplev destroyed the seagull. Her life is lonely and relentless. After Nina leaves, Treplev succumbs to despair and kills himself. The play ends with the people in the other room continuing their card game, they try to keep Arkadina from hearing of her son?s death

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