The history of the creation and production of Chekhov's play "The Seagull". Anton Chekhov - Seagull Seagull summary by chapters

“The Seagull” - “a comedy in four acts” by A.P. Chekhov. First published in “Russian Thought” (1896, No. 12), included with subsequent changes in the collection “Plays” (1897) and the publication of A.F. Marx (1901-1902).

The play was written in Melikhovo, which was reflected in many of the realities and symbols of the work. For the first time, as the authors of the commentary to “The Seagull” note in the complete collection of the writer’s works and letters, the motif of a shot bird appears in the playwright back in 1892, and it was here, in Melikhovo. One of the first widely known evidence of the composition of the play is a letter from A.S. Suvorin dated October 21, 1895. Later, in a letter to the same addressee, Chekhov admitted that he wrote the play “contrary to all the rules” of dramatic art (November 1895). In the process of work, “The Seagull” underwent an evolution characteristic of Chekhov the playwright: it freed itself from many small, mostly everyday details, and the verbosity of minor characters. The life described by Chekhov in The Seagull has indeed risen to new heights (in Gorky's words, to a "spiritualized and deeply thought-out symbol"). The symbol of the seagull can be attributed not only to young Nina Zarechnaya with her dreams of the stage, but also to Treplev - as a tragic prediction of his “interrupted flight.” Meanwhile, Chekhov’s symbols, as E. Pototskaya showed, undergo a complex evolution during the course of the play. Connected with the whole “subtextual plot” - and “by the end of the play, the symbols that embodied the specific thoughts of the characters (the seagull, Moscow, the cherry orchard) are “discredited”, and the positive aspirations of the characters are expressed directly, without subtext.” So, saying “I am a seagull,” Nina Zarechnaya is already correcting herself: “No, that’s not it... I’m already a real actress...”.

Researchers of the sources of the plot of “The Seagull” by V.Ya. Lakshin and Yu.K. Among the prototypes of Treplev’s image, Avdeev is primarily called I.I. Levitan (the story of his unsuccessful suicide attempt, repeated twice), as well as his son A.S. Suvorin, who actually committed suicide. Among the possible sources of the mysterious “decadent play” about the World Soul, modern interpreters name the works of D.S. Merezhkovsky, V.S. Solovyova, Marcus Aurelius; the very presentation of the play is reminiscent of theatrical experiments in Western European directing, contemporary with Chekhov. In the image of Nina Zarechnaya one can find many similarities with Chekhov’s close friend Liya Stakhievna Mizinova (the story of her affair with I.I. Potapenko, whose features the author in turn gave to Trigorin). However, it is necessary to point out something else - Mizinova’s long-term and, most likely, unrequited affection for Chekhov himself. In the image of Arkadina, many “recognized” the famous prima of the private St. Petersburg scene, the spectacular emancipated lady L.B. Yavorskaya (from her letter to Chekhov, in particular, it is known that the playwright intended his work to her).

According to the author, the play “The Seagull” was “censored with its claw”: mainly the claims of the censor I. Litvinov were of a “moral” nature and related to Treplev’s assessment of the relationship between Arkadina and Trigorin. From the point of view of the writers in Chekhov's circle, this edit (made at the direction of Litvinov) was minimal. But the play underwent much more serious changes during its production at the Alexandrinsky Theater at the behest of director Evtikhiy Karpov and at the request of the author himself during the preparation of publication in Russian Thought. When creating the final version of the play, Chekhov erased those lines that could interpret the conflict of the play as a personal clash between Treplev and his environment (the line “I don’t bother anyone to live, let them leave me alone”), the characteristics of Arkadina and Trigorin became less clear, decreased in volume, Medvedenko’s image became calmer. Following the instructions of director Karpov, Chekhov in the magazine editorial excluded Nina’s re-reading of the monologue from Treplev’s play in front of the guests (in response to Masha’s request, in scene II of act).

The premiere of Chekhov's The Seagull at the Alexandrinsky Theater in St. Petersburg on October 17, 1896 went down in history as one of the most notorious failures. The reasons for it were explained by contemporaries in different ways. Meanwhile, many, including the author himself, expected failure. The most experienced M.G. also had a presentiment of it. Savina, who refused the role of Nina Zarechnaya. However, arguments about the “unsuccessful” audience, tuned in to a comedy, laughing out of place (for example, in the scene of reading Treplev’s play, after the words “It smells of sulfur. Is this necessary?”), today cannot be taken seriously. (I.I. Potapenko and V.F. Komissarzhevskaya subsequently, in letters to Chekhov, sought to assure him that subsequent performances were a “great success”). Moreover, the premiere critics passed almost the same verdict on the play. “A wild play”, “not a seagull, but some kind of game”, “don’t try to fly like a falcon, seagull” - these “aphorisms” of theater reviewers of “The Seagull” are well known. As shown in their studies by S.D. Balukhaty (publisher of the text of “The Seagull” with staging by K.S. Stanislavsky), V.N. Prokofiev, for the first time, turned to the director’s copy of V. Karpov, and then K.L. Rudnitsky and many modern interpreters of this plot, the conflict between the author of “The Seagull” and the theater was inevitable: the entire director’s score by E. Karpov confirms this: the play was staged as a melodrama about the “ruined Seagull”, in the spirit of popular romances, and even the play of Komissarzhevskaya (about whom Chekhov said: “...as if she was in my soul”) could not change anything decisively. It was precisely the “Chekhovian” in the play that seemed unnecessary and petty to the director. Hence the director’s characteristic notes in the text of the copy for the Alexandrinsky stage.

In their judgments about the play, criticism adhered to theatrical stencils, based on what, in the words of Nemirovich-Danchenko, was “from a familiar scene” - hence the bewilderment of even such a theatrical ace as A.R. Kugel. Chekhov dramatically changed the very idea of what is stagey and what is not. The “new language” of his dramaturgy was inaccessible to the theater in this first production. Very few critics (for example, A. Smirnov, who published the article “Theater of Souls” in the “Samara Newspaper” on December 9, 1897) understood that Chekhov “sought to shift the center of gravity in his drama from the outside to the inside, from actions and events to the outside.” life into the inner psychic world..." Meanwhile, among the spectators of the first premiere of “The Seagull”, after which the author, by his own admission, “flew out of the theater like a bomb,” there were people like A.F. Horses who saw “life itself” in the play, a “new word” of dramatic art. With urgent requests to allow the production of the play in the new theater - the Art Theater - V.I. turns to Chekhov. Nemirovich-Danchenko.

The premiere of the play at the Moscow Art Theater on December 17, 1898 was destined to open a new era in the history of theatrical art. It was after this decisive event in the early history of the Moscow Art Theater that Nemirovich-Danchenko said: “A new theater was born.” K.S. Stanislavsky, when working on the play, by his own admission, did not yet deeply understand Chekhov, but his creative intuition told him a lot when creating the director’s score for “The Seagull.” The work on Chekhov's play itself made a serious contribution to the creation of the Art Theater method. The theater recognized Chekhov, according to Meyerhold, as its “second face.” The roles in this performance were performed by: O.L. Knipper - Arkadina, V.E. Meyerhold - Treplev, M.L. Roxanova - Nina Zarechnaya, K.S. Stanislavsky - Trigorin, A.R. Artem - Shamraev, M.P. Lilina - Masha, V.V. Luzhsky - Sorin. The task once posed by V.I. Nemirovich-Danchenko’s goal to rehabilitate Chekhov’s play, to give a “skillful, original” production was fully accomplished. The premiere show was described in detail both by the participants and creators of the performance, and by many eminent spectators. "Russian Thought", where the play was published, stated that it was an "almost unprecedented" success. “The Seagull” was the first experience of polyphonic organization of the entire structure of dramatic action.

The charm of the performance of the Moscow Art Theater, its unique atmosphere (a term that entered the theatrical practice of the 20th century thanks to “The Seagull”) also owes a lot to the artist V.A. Simov with his filigree elaboration of stage details, bringing to the stage “a million little things”, which, according to Nemirovich-Danchenko, make life “warm”. The latter recalled the impression made by “The Seagull” on the public: “Life unfolded in such frank simplicity that the audience seemed embarrassed to be present: as if they were eavesdropping at the door or peeping through the window.” The director applied the principle of the “fourth wall” in the performance, which had a particular effect in the scene of the performance of Treplev’s play. I really liked A.P. Chekhov has the nervous style of Meyerhold, who played in Treplev a kind of paraphrase of his own creative destiny. Meanwhile, the performer of the role of Nina Zarechnaya, according to the author, who saw the performance much later, in the spring of 1899, “played disgustingly.” Chekhov was also dissatisfied with Stanislavsky and Trigorin, relaxed, “like a paralytic.” Chekhov did not like the long pauses (later they would be called “Moscow Art Theater”) and the unnecessary sounds that “prevent people from talking,” with which Stanislavsky abundantly supplied the score of the play in order to create an atmosphere of authenticity of what was happening on stage. According to Meyerhold's memoirs, Chekhov insisted that “the stage requires a certain convention.” But the overall experience was good. In a letter to Chekhov, Gorky cited a review from one of the spectators of the Moscow Art Theater performance, who called “The Seagull” a “heretic and brilliant play.” The success of the Art Theater production had the opposite effect on the Alexandrinsky Theater, where the former Moscow Art Theater actor M. Darsky revived The Seagull in 1902.

The stage history of “The Seagull” during the Soviet period was not easy. “In the attitude towards Chekhov,” writes B. Zingerman, “it is especially clear how artistic culture, which recently seemed intimately understandable, without which modern life could not be imagined, suddenly for some time became extremely distant, not to say alien.” The play in the 1940s. rarely staged: performance-concert by A.Ya. Tairova (Nina Zarechnaya - A.G. Koonen) and production by Yu.A. Zavadsky at the Mossovet Theater with the formerly famous film actress V. Karavaeva in the title role. Even such performances as the production of the Novosibirsk “Red Torch” were marked by the stamp of literary cliches of V.V. Ermilov, who divided Chekhov's heroes into positive and negative.

In the 1950s and 1960s. There was a powerful rise in theater interest in Chekhov. This onslaught of modern directing was often accompanied by a rejection of the Moscow Art Theater canon and a simplified sociological approach to Chekhov. The most famous in this sense is the play “The Seagull”, staged by A.V. Efros at the Lenin Komsomol Theater in 1966. The director saw in the play a clash between the “established” and the “unsettled,” “the most acute conflict,” “the mortal struggle of the routinists who seized power in art,” against Treplev, whose defense the author of the play clearly stood up for. The production made a sharp break with the tradition of lyrical performances, denying sympathy to many of Chekhov’s characters, proclaiming “lack of communication” as the norm in human relationships.

Hamlet's motifs from The Seagull came to the fore in B.N.'s production. Livanov at the Moscow Art Theater (1968). (The idea of “The Seagull” as a “Shakespearean play” by Chekhov was first put forward by N.D. Volkov.) In this romantic performance, played in the principles of pre-Chekhov theater, the beauty of the performers of the roles of Nina and Treplev (S. Korkoshko and O. Strizhenov) was striking. The characters of O. Efremov’s “The Seagull,” staged at Sovremennik in 1970, looked humiliated and vulgarized. In 1980-1990. there was a transition to a voluminous polyphonic interpretation of the play (this became “The Seagull” by O. Efremov at the Moscow Art Theater in 1980), where the director actually turned to the early edition of the play.

“The Seagull” became the basis of the ballet to the music of R.K. Shchedrin, staged on the stage of the Bolshoi Theater with M.M. Plisetskaya in the main role (1980). The play was filmed several times (for example, the domestic film by Y. Karasik in 1970 and the foreign film version of the play by S. Lumet in 1968).

In foreign theaters, “The Seagull” became known during Chekhov’s lifetime (in particular, thanks to the translations of R. M. Rilke). Her stage life in England and France began in the 1910s. (The very first production of Chekhov's "The Seagull" in English, according to P. Miles, dates back to 1909 - it was a performance at the Glasgow Repertory Theater.) The first translator of Chekhov's plays into English was George Calderon. In 1936, “The Seagull” was staged in London by the famous Russian director F.F. Komissarzhevsky. Peggy Ashcroft played the role of Nina, and John Gielgud played the role of Trigorin. In the West, in the post-war period, Chekhov was recognized as the most popular Russian playwright. “The Seagull” becomes a mirror reflecting theatrical time. Tony Richardson's performance with Nina - Vanessa Redgrave introduced sharp, dissonant notes into the English Chekhovian drama. In France, “The Seagull” was opened for the theater by a native of Russia, J. Pitoev, who showed the play to the Parisian public in 1921 (before that, the director worked with his troupe in Switzerland and repeatedly turned to Chekhov’s dramaturgy, and was himself involved in his translations). The director sought to focus on the inner lives of the characters. As in 1922, so in the new edition of 1939, the role of Nina was played by Lyudmila Pitoeva. Subsequently, in France, Sasha Pitoev, Andre Barsac, Antoine Vitez turned to the play. In 1980, Czech director Otomar Krejča staged “The Seagull” on the stage of the Comedy Française; in this performance, the metaphorically interpreted theme of freedom of creativity was in the foreground. In 1961, The Seagull was staged at the Stockholm Theater by the famous film director Ingmar Bergman.

Anton Pavlovich Chekhov.

The action takes place in the estate of Pyotr Nikolaevich Sorin. His sister, Irina Nikolaevna Arkadina, is an actress, visiting his estate with her son, Konstantin Gavrilovich Treplev, and Boris Alekseevich Trigorin, a fiction writer, quite famous, although he is not yet forty. They speak of him as an intelligent, simple, somewhat melancholy and very decent person. As for his literary activity, according to Treplev, it is “nice, talented […] but […] after Tolstoy or Zola you won’t want to read Trigorin.”

Konstantin Treplev himself is also trying to write. Considering modern theater a prejudice, he is looking for new forms of theatrical performance. Those gathered at the estate are preparing to watch a play staged by the author among natural scenery. The only role in it should be played by Nina Mikhailovna Zarechnaya, a young girl, the daughter of wealthy landowners, with whom Konstantin is in love. Nina's parents are categorically against her passion for theater, and therefore she must come to the estate secretly.

Konstantin is sure that his mother is against the production of the play and, having not yet seen it, passionately hates it, since the fiction writer whom she loves may like Nina Zarechnaya. It also seems to him that his mother does not love him, because with his age - and he is twenty-five years old - he reminds her of his own years. In addition, Konstantin is haunted by the fact that his mother is a famous actress. He thinks that since he, like his father, is now deceased, a Kiev tradesman, he is tolerated in the company of famous artists and writers only because of his mother. He also suffers because his mother lives openly with Trigorin and her name constantly appears on the pages of newspapers, that she is stingy, superstitious and jealous of other people's success.

While waiting for Zarechnaya, he tells his uncle about all this. Sorin himself is very fond of theater and writers and admits to Treplev that he himself once wanted to become a writer, but it didn’t work out. Instead, he served in the judicial department for twenty-eight years.
Among those awaiting the performance are also Ilya Afanasyevich Shamraev, a retired lieutenant and Sorin’s manager; his wife - Polina Andreevna and his daughter Masha; Evgeniy Sergeevich Dorn, doctor; Semyon Semenovich Medvedenko, teacher. Medvedenko is unrequitedly in love with Masha, but Masha does not reciprocate his feelings not only because they are different people and do not understand each other. Masha loves Konstantin Treplev.
Finally Zarechnaya arrives. She managed to escape from the house for only half an hour, and therefore everyone hastily begins to gather in the garden. There are no decorations on the stage: only a curtain, the first curtain and the second curtain. But there is a magnificent view of the lake. The full moon is above the horizon and reflected in the water. Nina Zarechnaya, all in white, sitting on a large stone, reads a text in the spirit of decadent literature, which Arkadina immediately notes. During the entire reading, the audience constantly talks over each other, despite Treplev’s comments. Soon he gets tired of this, and he, having lost his temper, stops the performance and leaves. Masha hurries after him to find him and calm him down. Meanwhile, Arkadina introduces Trigorin to Nina, and after a short conversation, Nina leaves for home.

Nobody liked the play except Masha and Dorn. He wants to tell Treplev more pleasant things, which he does. Masha admits to Dorn that she loves Treplev and asks for advice, but Dorn cannot advise her on anything.

Several days pass. The action moves to the croquet court. Nina Zarechnaya's father and stepmother left for Tver for three days, and this gave her the opportunity to come to the estate. Sorina, Arkadina and Polina Andreevna are going to the city, but Shamraev refuses to provide them with horses, citing the fact that all the horses are in the field harvesting rye. A small quarrel occurs, Arkadina almost leaves for Moscow. On the way to the house, Polina Andreevna almost confesses her love to Dorn. Their meeting with Nina near the house makes it clear to her that Dorn loves not her, but Zarechnaya.

Nina walks around the garden and is surprised that the life of famous actors and writers is exactly the same as the life of ordinary people, with their everyday quarrels, skirmishes, tears and joys, with their troubles. Treplev brings her a killed seagull and compares this bird with himself. Nina tells him that she almost stopped understanding him, since he began to express his thoughts and feelings with symbols. Konstantin tries to explain himself, but when he sees Trigorin appear, he quickly leaves.

Nina and Trigorin are left alone. Trigorin is constantly writing something down in his notebook. Nina admires the world in which, in her opinion, Trigorin and Arkadina live, she admires enthusiastically and believes that their life is filled with happiness and miracles. Trigorin, on the contrary, paints his life as a painful existence. Having seen the seagull killed by Treplev, Trigorin writes down a new plot for a short story about a young girl who looks like a seagull. “A man came by chance, saw her, and out of nothing to do, killed her.”

A week passes. In the dining room of Sorin's house, Masha confesses to Trigorin that she loves Treplev and, in order to tear this love out of her heart, marries Medvedenko, although she does not love him. Trigorin is going to leave for Moscow with Arkadina. Irina Nikolaevna is leaving because of her son, who shot himself and is now going to challenge Trigorin to a duel. Nina Zarechnaya is also planning to leave, as she dreams of becoming an actress. She comes to say goodbye (primarily to Trigorin). Nina gives him a medallion containing lines from his book. Having opened the book in the right place, he reads: “If you ever need my life, then come and take it.” Trigorin wants to follow Nina, because it seems to him that this is the very feeling that he has been looking for all his life. Having learned about this, Irina Arkadina begs on her knees not to leave her. However, having agreed verbally, Trigorin agrees with Nina about a secret meeting on the way to Moscow.
Two years pass. Sorin is already sixty-two years old, he is very sick, but also full of thirst for life. Medvedenko and Masha are married, they have a child, but there is no happiness in their marriage. Masha is disgusted by both her husband and child, and Medvedenko himself suffers greatly from this.

Treplev tells Dorn, who is interested in Nina Zarechnaya, her fate. She ran away from home and became friends with Trigorin. They had a child, but soon died. Trigorin had already stopped loving her and returned to Arkadina again. On stage, things seemed to be even worse for Nina. She played a lot, but very “roughly, tastelessly, with howls.” She wrote letters to Treplev, but never complained. The letters were signed by Chaika. Her parents don’t want to know her and don’t even let her near the house. She's in town now. And she promised to come. Treplev is sure that he will not come.

However, he is wrong. Nina appears completely unexpectedly. Konstantin once again confesses his love and loyalty to her. He is ready to forgive her everything and devote his whole life to her. Nina does not accept his sacrifices. She still loves Trigorin, which she admits to Treplev. She leaves for the province to play in the theater and invites Treplev to look at her play when she becomes a great actress.

After she leaves, Treplev tears up all his manuscripts and throws them under the table, then goes into the next room. Arkadina, Trigorin, Dorn and others gather in the room he left. They are going to play and sing. A shot rings out. Dorn, saying that it was obviously his test tube that burst, leaves to follow the noise. Having returned, he takes Trigorin aside and asks him to take Irina Nikolaevna somewhere, because her son, Konstantin Gavrilovich, shot himself.

Material provided by the internet portal briefly.ru, compiled by Yu.V. Polezhaeva.

Comedy in four acts

Characters

Irina Nikolaevna Arkadina, by Treplev’s husband, actress. Konstantin Gavrilovich Treplev, her son, a young man. Petr Nikolaevich Sorin, her brother. Nina Mikhailovna Zarechnaya, a young girl, the daughter of a wealthy landowner. Ilya Afanasyevich Shamraev, retired lieutenant, Sorin’s manager. Polina Andreevna, his wife. Masha, his daughter. Boris Alekseevich Trigorin, fiction writer. Evgeniy Sergeevich Dorn, doctor. Semyon Semenovich Medvedenko, teacher. Yakov, worker. Cook . Housemaid .

The action takes place in Sorin's estate. Two years pass between the third and fourth acts.

Act one

Part of the park on the Sorina estate. The wide alley leading from the spectators into the depths of the park towards the lake is blocked by a stage hastily put together for a home performance, so that the lake is not visible at all. There are bushes to the left and right of the stage. Several chairs, a table.

The sun has just set. On the stage behind the lowered curtain, Yakov and other workers; Coughing and knocking are heard. Masha and Medvedenko are walking on the left, returning from a walk.

Medvedenko. Why do you always wear black? Masha. This is mourning for my life. I am not happy. Medvedenko. From what? (Thinking.) I don’t understand... You are healthy, your father, although not rich, is wealthy. Life is much harder for me than for you. I receive only 23 rubles a month, and they also deduct my emeritus, but still I do not mourn. (They sit down.) Masha. It's not about the money. And the poor man can be happy. Medvedenko. This is in theory, but in practice it turns out like this: me, my mother, two sisters and a brother, and the salary is only 23 rubles. After all, do you need to eat and drink? Do you need tea and sugar? Do you need tobacco? Just turn around here. Masha (looking at the stage). The performance will start soon. Medvedenko. Yes. Zarechnaya will play, and the play will be composed by Konstantin Gavrilovich. They are in love with each other, and today their souls will merge in the desire to create the same artistic image. But my soul and yours have no common points of contact. I love you, I can’t sit at home out of boredom, every day I walk six miles here and six miles back and am met with nothing but indifference on your part. It's clear. I have no money, I have a big family... Why marry a man who himself has nothing to eat? Masha. Nothing. (Sniffs tobacco.) Your love touches me, but I cannot reciprocate, that’s all. (Hands him the snuff box.) Do yourself a favour. Medvedenko. Do not want. Masha. It must be stuffy and there will be a thunderstorm at night. You keep philosophizing or talking about money. In your opinion, there is no greater misfortune than poverty, but in my opinion, it is a thousand times easier to walk around in rags and beg than... However, you won’t understand this...

Sorin and Treplev enter from the right.

Sorin (leaning on a cane). It’s somehow not right for me, brother, in the village, and, of course, I’ll never get used to it here. Yesterday I went to bed at ten and this morning I woke up at nine with the feeling as if my brain was stuck to my skull from sleeping for a long time and all that. (Laughs.) And after lunch I accidentally fell asleep again, and now I’m all broken, experiencing a nightmare, in the end... Treplev. True, you need to live in the city. (Seeing Masha and Medvedenok.) Gentlemen, when it starts, you will be called, but now you can’t be here. Please go away. Sorin (Masha). Marya Ilyinichna, be so kind as to ask your dad to give orders to untie the dog, otherwise it will howl. My sister didn’t sleep all night again. Masha. Talk to my father yourself, but I won’t. Please excuse me. (To Medvedenk.) Let's go! Medvedenko (Treplev). So before you start, send me a word. (Both leave.) Sorin. This means that the dog will howl all night again. Here's the story: I never lived in the village as I wanted. It used to be that you take a vacation for 28 days and come here to relax and that’s it, but then they pester you so much with all sorts of nonsense that from the first day you want to get out. (Laughs.) I always left here with pleasure... Well, now I’m retired, there’s nowhere to go, after all. Whether you like it or not, live... Yakov (to Treplev). We, Konstantin Gavrilych, will go swimming. Treplev. Okay, just be there in ten minutes. (Looks at his watch.) It's about to start. Yakov. I'm listening. (Leaves.) Treplev (looking around the stage). So much for the theater. Curtain, then the first curtain, then the second and then empty space. There are no decorations. The view opens directly onto the lake and the horizon. We will raise the curtain at exactly half past eight, when the moon rises. Sorin. Fabulous. Treplev. If Zarechnaya is late, then, of course, the whole effect will be lost. It's time for her to be. Her father and stepmother are guarding her, and it is as difficult for her to escape from the house as from prison. (Adjusts his uncle's tie.) Your head and beard are disheveled. I should get a haircut or something... Sorin (combing his beard). The tragedy of my life. Even when I was young, I looked like I was a heavy drinker and that was it. Women have never loved me. (Sitting down.) Why is your sister in a bad mood? Treplev. From what? Bored. (Sitting down next to him.) Jealous. She is already against me, and against the performance, and against my play, because her fiction writer might like Zarechnaya. She doesn't know my play, but she already hates it. Sorin (laughs). Just imagine, right... Treplev. She is already annoyed that on this small stage it will be Zarechnaya who will be successful, and not she. (Looking at his watch.) Psychological curiosity my mother. Undoubtedly talented, smart, capable of crying over a book, will tell you everything about Nekrasov by heart, looks after the sick like an angel; but try praising Duse in front of her! Wow! You only need to praise her alone, you need to write about her, shout, admire her extraordinary performance in “La dame aux camélias” or in “Children of Life,” but since here in the village there is no such intoxication, she is bored and angry, and we are all her enemies, we are all to blame. Then, she is superstitious, afraid of three candles, the thirteenth. She's stingy. She has seventy thousand in the bank in Odessa - I know that for sure. And ask her for a loan, she will cry. Sorin. You imagine that your mother doesn’t like your play, and you’re already worried and that’s it. Calm down, your mother adores you. Treplev (tearing off the flower's petals). Loves does not love, loves does not love, loves does not love. (Laughs.) You see, my mother doesn’t love me. Still would! She wants to live, love, wear light blouses, but I am already twenty-five years old, and I constantly remind her that she is no longer young. When I’m not here, she’s only thirty-two years old, but when I’m there, she’s forty-three, and that’s why she hates me. She also knows that I do not recognize the theater. She loves the theater, it seems to her that she serves humanity, sacred art, but in my opinion, modern theater is a routine, a prejudice. When the curtain rises and in the evening light, in a room with three walls, these great talents, the priests of holy art, depict how people eat, drink, love, walk, wear their jackets; when they try to extract a moral from vulgar pictures and phrases, a small, easily understandable moral, useful in everyday life; when in a thousand variations they present me with the same thing, the same thing, the same thing, then I run and run, like Maupassant ran from the Eiffel Tower, which was crushing his brain with its vulgarity. Sorin. It’s impossible without the theater. Treplev. New forms are needed. New forms are needed, and if they are not there, then nothing better is needed. (Looks at his watch.) I love my mother, I love her very much; but she smokes, drinks, lives openly with this fiction writer, her name is constantly being trashed in the newspapers and it tires me. Sometimes the egoism of an ordinary mortal simply speaks to me; It’s a pity that my mother is a famous actress, and it seems that if she were an ordinary woman, I would be happier. Uncle, what could be more desperate and stupid than the situation: it used to be that her guests were all celebrities, artists and writers, and among them there was only one me - nothing, and they tolerated me only because I was her son. Who am I? What am I? I left the third year of university due to circumstances, as they say, beyond the editor’s control, no talents, not a penny of money, and according to my passport I am a Kiev tradesman. My father was a Kiev tradesman, although he was also a famous actor. So, when it happened that in her living room all these artists and writers turned their merciful attention to me, it seemed to me that with their glances they measured my insignificance, I guessed their thoughts and suffered from humiliation... Sorin. By the way, please tell me what kind of person her fiction writer is? You won't understand him. Everything is silent. Treplev. A smart, simple man, a little, you know, melancholy. Very decent. He will not be forty years old soon, but he is already famous and full, fed up... Now he drinks only beer and can only love older people. As for his writings, then... how can I tell you? Nice, talented... but... after Tolstoy or Zola you won’t want to read Trigorin. Sorin. And I, brother, love writers. I once passionately wanted two things: I wanted to get married and I wanted to become a writer, but neither one nor the other succeeded. Yes. And it’s nice to be a little writer, after all. Treplev (listens). I hear footsteps... (Hugs her uncle.) I can’t live without her... Even the sound of her steps is beautiful... I’m incredibly happy. (Quickly walks towards Nina Zarechnaya, who enters.) Sorceress, my dream... Nina (excitedly). I'm not late... Of course I'm not late... Treplev (kissing her hands). No no no... Nina. I was worried all day, I was so scared! I was afraid that my father would not let me in... But he has now left with his stepmother. The sky is red, the moon is already beginning to rise, and I drove the horse, drove it. (Laughs.) But I'm glad. (He shakes Sorin’s hand firmly.) Sorin (laughs). My eyes seem to be teary... Ge-ge! Not good! Nina. It's like this... You see how hard it is for me to breathe. I'll be leaving in half an hour, I have to hurry. You can’t, you can’t, for God’s sake don’t hold back. Father doesn't know I'm here. Treplev. In fact, it's time to start. We need to go call everyone. Sorin. I'll go and that's it. This minute. (Goes to the right and sings.)“Two grenadiers to France...” (Looks around.) Once I started singing the same way, and one of the prosecutor’s comrades said to me: “And you, Your Excellency, have a strong voice.”... Then he thought and added: “But. .. nasty.” (Laughs and leaves.) Nina. My father and his wife won't let me come here. They say that there are bohemians here... they are afraid that I will become an actress... But I am drawn here to the lake, like a seagull... My heart is full of you. (Looks around.) Treplev. We are alone. Nina. It seems like someone is there... Treplev. No one. Nina. What kind of tree is this? Treplev. Elm. Nina. Why is it so dark? Treplev. It’s already evening, everything is getting dark. Don't leave early, I beg you. Nina. It is forbidden. Treplev. What if I go to you, Nina? I will stand in the garden all night and look at your window. Nina. You can't, the guard will notice you. Trezor is not yet used to you and will bark. Treplev. I love you. Nina. Shh... Treplev (hearing steps). Who's there? Are you, Yakov? Yakov (behind the stage). Exactly. Treplev. Take your places. It's time. Is the moon rising? Yakov. Exactly. Treplev. Is there any alcohol? Do you have sulfur? When red eyes appear, you want it to smell like sulfur. (To Nina.) Go, everything is ready there. Are you nervous?.. Nina. Yes very. Your mother is okay, I’m not afraid of her, but you have Trigorin... I’m scared and ashamed to play in front of him... A famous writer... Is he young? Treplev. Yes. Nina. What wonderful stories he has! Treplev (coldly). I don't know, I haven't read it. Nina. Your piece is difficult to perform. There are no living persons in it. Treplev. Live faces! We must depict life not as it is, and not as it should be, but as it appears in dreams. Nina. There is little action in your play, only reading. And in the play, in my opinion, there must certainly be love...

Both go off the stage. Enter Polina Andreevna and Dorn.

Polina Andreevna. It's getting damp. Come back, put on your galoshes. Dorn. I feel hot. Polina Andreevna. You are not taking care of yourself. This is stubbornness. You are a doctor and know very well that damp air is harmful to you, but you want me to suffer; you deliberately sat on the terrace all evening yesterday... Dorn (hums). “Don’t say that you ruined your youth.” Polina Andreevna. You were so engrossed in conversation with Irina Nikolaevna... you didn’t notice the cold. Admit it, you like her... Dorn. I am 55 years old. Polina Andreevna. No big deal, for a man this is not old age. You are perfectly preserved and women still like you. Dorn. So what do you want? Polina Andreevna. You are all ready to prostrate yourself in front of the actress. All! Dorn (hums). “I am again before you...” If society loves artists and treats them differently than, for example, merchants, then this is in the order of things. This is idealism. Polina Andreevna. Women have always fallen in love with you and hung around your neck. Is this also idealism? Dorn (shrugging). Well? There were a lot of good things in women's relationships with me. They loved me mainly as an excellent doctor. About 10-15 years ago, you remember, in the entire province I was the only decent obstetrician. Then I have always been an honest person. Polina Andreevna (grabs his hand). My dear! Dorn. Quiet. They're coming.

Arkadina enters arm in arm with Sorin, Trigorin, Shamraev, Medvedenko and Masha.

Shamraev. In 1873, at a fair in Poltava, she played amazingly. One delight! She played wonderfully! Would you also like to know where the comedian Chadin, Pavel Semyonich, is now? In Rasplyuev he was inimitable, better than Sadovsky, I swear to you, dear one. Where is he now? Arkadina. You keep asking about some antediluvians. How do I know! (Sits down.) Shamraev (sighing). Pashka Chadin! There are no such people now. The stage has fallen, Irina Nikolaevna! Before there were mighty oaks, but now we see only stumps. Dorn. There are few brilliant talents now, it is true, but the average actor has become much taller. Shamraev. I can't agree with you. However, this is a matter of taste. De gustibus aut bene, aut nihil.

Treplev comes out from behind the stage.

Arkadina (to son). My dear son, when did it start? Treplev. After a minute. Please be patient. Arkadina (reads from Hamlet). "My son! You turned my eyes inside my soul, and I saw it in such bloody, such deadly ulcers - there is no salvation! Treplev (from Hamlet). “And why did you succumb to vice, looking for love in the abyss of crime?”

Behind the stage they play a horn.

Gentlemen, let's begin! Attention please!

I start. (He taps his stick and speaks loudly.) O you, venerable old shadows that flutter over this lake at night, put us to sleep, and let us dream of what will happen in two hundred thousand years!

Sorin. In two hundred thousand years nothing will happen. Treplev. So let them portray this as nothing to us. Arkadina. Let be. We are sleeping.

The curtain rises; overlooks the lake; the moon above the horizon, its reflection in the water; Nina Zarechnaya sits on a large stone, all in white.

Nina. People, lions, eagles and partridges, horned deer, geese, spiders, silent fish that lived in the water, starfish and those that could not be seen with the eye, in a word, all lives, all lives, all lives, having completed a sad circle, faded away ... For thousands of centuries the earth has not carried a single living creature, and this poor moon lights its lantern in vain. Cranes no longer wake up screaming in the meadow, and cockchafers are no longer heard in the linden groves. Cold, cold, cold. Empty, empty, empty. Scary, scary, scary.

The bodies of living beings disappeared into dust, and eternal matter turned them into stones, into water, into clouds, and the souls of them all merged into one. The common world soul is me... I... I have the soul of Alexander the Great, and Caesar, and Shakespeare, and Napoleon, and the last leech. In me, the consciousness of people has merged with the instincts of animals, and I remember everything, everything, everything, and I relive every life in myself again.

Swamp lights are shown.

Arkadina (quietly). It's something decadent. Treplev (pleadingly and reproachfully). Mother! Nina. I'm alone. Once every hundred years I open my lips to speak, and my voice sounds dull in this emptiness, and no one hears... And you, pale lights, do not hear me... In the morning a rotten swamp gives birth to you, and you wander until dawn, but without thought, without will, without the flutter of life. Fearing that life does not arise in you, the father of eternal matter, the devil, every moment in you, as in stones and in water, carries out an exchange of atoms, and you change continuously. In the universe, only spirit remains constant and unchanging.

Like a prisoner thrown into an empty deep well, I don’t know where I am or what awaits me. The only thing that is not hidden from me is that in a stubborn, cruel struggle with the devil, the beginning of material forces, I am destined to win, and after that matter and spirit will merge in beautiful harmony and the kingdom of world will will come. But this will only happen when little by little, after a long, long series of millennia, the moon, and bright Sirius, and the earth turn to dust... Until then, horror, horror...

Pause; Two red dots appear against the background of the lake.

Here comes my mighty enemy, the devil. I see his terrible crimson eyes...

Arkadina. It smells like sulfur. Is this necessary? Treplev. Yes. Arkadina (laughs). Yes, this is an effect. Treplev. Mother! Nina. He misses the person... Polina Andreevna(to Dorn). You took off your hat. Put it on, otherwise you'll catch a cold. Arkadina. It was the doctor who took off his hat to the devil, the father of eternal matter. Treplev (outburst, loudly). The play is over! Enough! A curtain! Arkadina. Why are you angry? Treplev. Enough! A curtain! Bring on the curtain! (Stamping his foot.) Curtain!

The curtain falls.

Guilty! I lost sight of the fact that only a select few can write plays and act on stage. I broke the monopoly! I... I... (He wants to say something else, but waves his hand and goes to the left.)

Arkadina. What about him? Sorin. Irina, you can’t treat young pride like that, mother. Arkadina. What did I tell him? Sorin. You offended him. Arkadina. He himself warned that it was a joke, and I treated his play as a joke. Sorin. Still... Arkadina. Now it turns out that he wrote a great work! Tell me please! Therefore, he staged this performance and perfumed it with sulfur not for a joke, but for demonstration... He wanted to teach us how to write and what to play. Finally, it gets boring. These constant attacks against me and heels, as you please, will bore anyone! A capricious, proud boy. Sorin. He wanted to please you. Arkadina. Yes? However, he didn’t choose any ordinary play, but made us listen to this decadent nonsense. For the sake of a joke, I’m ready to listen to nonsense, but this is a claim to new forms, to a new era in art. But, in my opinion, there are no new forms here, but simply a bad character. Trigorin. Everyone writes as they want and as they can. Arkadina. Let him write as he wants and as he can, just let him leave me alone. Dorn. Jupiter, you're angry... Arkadina. I am not Jupiter, but a woman. (Lights a cigarette.) I’m not angry, I’m just annoyed that the young man is spending his time so boringly. I didn't want to offend him. Medvedenko. No one has any reason to separate spirit from matter, since, perhaps, spirit itself is a collection of material atoms. (Quickly, to Trigorin.) But, you know, we could describe in a play and then perform on stage how our brother, the teacher, lives. Life is hard, hard! Arkadina. This is fair, but let's not talk about plays or atoms. Such a nice evening! Do you hear, gentlemen, singing? (Listens.) How good! Polina Andreevna. It's on the other side. Arkadina (to Trigorin). Sit next to me. About 10-15 years ago, here on the lake, music and singing were heard continuously almost every night. There are six landowners' estates on the shore. I remember laughter, noise, shooting, and all the novels, novels... Jeune premier and the idol of all these six estates was then, I recommend (nods at Dorn), Dr. Evgeniy Sergeich. And now he is charming, but then he was irresistible. However, my conscience begins to torment me. Why did I offend my poor boy? I'm restless. (Loudly.) Kostya! Son! Kostya! Masha. I'll go look for him. Arkadina. Please, honey. Masha (goes left). Aw! Konstantin Gavrilovich!.. Hey! (Leaves.) Nina (coming out from behind the stage.) Obviously there will be no continuation, I can leave. Hello! (Kisses Arkadina and Polina Andreevna.) Sorin. Bravo! Bravo! Arkadina. Bravo! Bravo! We admired. With such an appearance, with such a wonderful voice, it is impossible, it is a sin to sit in the village. You must have talent. Do you hear? You must go on stage! Nina. Oh, this is my dream! (Sighing.) But it will never come true. Arkadina. Who knows? Let me introduce you: Trigorin, Boris Alekseevich. Nina. Oh, I'm so glad... (Confused.) I always read you... Arkadina (seating her next to her). Don't be embarrassed, honey. He is a celebrity, but he has a simple soul! You see, he himself was embarrassed. Dorn. I guess I can raise the curtain now, it's creepy. Shamraev (loudly). Yakov, raise the curtain, brother!

The curtain rises.

Nina (to Trigorin). Isn't it a strange play? Trigorin. I did not get anything. However, I watched with pleasure. You played so sincerely. And the decoration was wonderful.

There must be a lot of fish in this lake.

Nina. Yes. Trigorin. I love fishing. For me there is no greater pleasure than sitting on the shore in the evening and looking at the float. Nina. But, I think, whoever has experienced the pleasure of creativity, for him all other pleasures no longer exist. Arkadina (laughing). Don't say that. When good words are spoken to him, he fails. Shamraev. I remember that in Moscow, at the opera house, the famous Silva once took the lower C. And at this time, as if on purpose, a bass from our synodal choristers was sitting in the gallery, and suddenly, you can imagine our extreme amazement, we hear from the gallery: “Bravo, Silva!” a whole octave lower... Like this (in a low bass voice): bravo, Silva... The theater froze. Dorn. A quiet angel flew by. Nina. It's time for me to go. Farewell. Arkadina. Where? Where to go so early? We won't let you in. Nina. Dad is waiting for me. Arkadina. What kind of guy is he, really... (They kiss.) Well, what to do. It's a pity, it's a pity to let you go. Nina. If you only knew how hard it is for me to leave! Arkadina. Someone would accompany you, my baby. Nina (scared). Oh no no! Sorin (to her, pleadingly). Stay! Nina. I can’t, Pyotr Nikolaevich. Sorin. Stay for one hour and that's it. Well, really... Nina (thinking through tears). It is forbidden! (Shakes hands and quickly leaves.) Arkadina. An unhappy girl, basically. They say that her late mother bequeathed her entire enormous fortune to her husband, every penny, and now this girl is left with nothing, since her father has already bequeathed everything to his second wife. It's outrageous. Dorn. Yes, her daddy is a decent brute, we must give him complete justice. Sorin (rubbing his cold hands). Come on, gentlemen, we too, otherwise it’s getting damp. My legs hurt. Arkadina. They look like wood, they can barely walk. Well, let's go, unfortunate old man. (Takes him by the arm.) Shamraev (giving his hand to his wife). Madam? Sorin. I hear the dog howling again. (To Shamraev.) Please, Ilya Afanasyevich, order her to be untied. Shamraev. It’s impossible, Pyotr Nikolaevich, I’m afraid that thieves will get into the barn. I have millet there. (To Medvedenko walking nearby.) Yes, a whole octave lower: “Bravo, Silva!” But he’s not a singer, just a simple synodal choirboy. Medvedenko. How much salary does a synodal choir receive?

Everyone leaves except Dorn.

Dorn (one). I don’t know, maybe I don’t understand anything or maybe I’m crazy, but I liked the play. There's something about her. When this girl talked about loneliness and then when the red eyes of the devil appeared, my hands trembled with excitement. Fresh, naive... It seems he is coming. I want to say more nice things to him. Treplev (enters). There is no one anymore. Dorn. I'm here. Treplev. Mashenka is looking for me all over the park. An intolerable creature. Dorn. Konstantin Gavrilovich, I really liked your play. It’s kind of strange, and I didn’t hear the end, but still the impression is strong. You are a talented person, you need to continue.

Treplev shakes his hand tightly and hugs him impulsively.

Wow, so nervous. Tears in my eyes... What do I want to say? You took the plot from the realm of abstract ideas. This was as it should be, because a work of art must certainly express some great thought. Only what is beautiful is what is serious. How pale you are!

Treplev. So you say continue? Dorn. Yes... But depict only the important and eternal. You know, I lived my life variedly and tastefully, I am satisfied, but if I had to experience the upsurge of spirit that artists experience during creativity, then, it seems to me, I would despise my material shell and everything that is characteristic of this shell , and would be carried away from the ground further into the heights. Treplev. Sorry, where is Zarechnaya? Dorn. And here's another thing. The work must have a clear, definite idea. You must know why you are writing, otherwise if you go along this picturesque road without a specific goal, you will get lost and your talent will destroy you. Treplev (impatiently). Where is Zarechnaya? Dorn. She went home. Treplev (in despair). What should I do? I want to see her... I need to see her... I'll go...

Masha enters.

Dorn (to Treplev). Calm down my friend. Treplev. But I'll go anyway. I have to go. Masha. Go, Konstantin Gavrilovich, into the house. Your mother is waiting for you. She is restless. Treplev. Tell her I left. And I ask you all, leave me alone! Leave it! Don't follow me! Dorn. But, but, but, honey... you can’t do that... It’s not good. Treplev (through tears). Goodbye, doctor. Thank you... (Leaves.) Dorn (sighing). Youth, youth! Masha. When there is nothing more to say, they say: youth, youth... (Sniffs tobacco.) Mandrel (takes the snuffbox from her and throws it into the bushes). This is disgusting!

They seem to be playing in the house. Need to go.

Masha. Wait. Dorn. What? Masha. I want to tell you again. I want to talk... (Worrying.) I don't love my father... but my heart goes out to you. For some reason, I feel with all my soul that you are close to me... Help me. Help, otherwise I’ll do something stupid, I’ll laugh at my life, ruin it... I can’t go on longer... Dorn. What? How can I help you?

Year of publication: 1896

Chekhov's play "The Seagull" was first published in the magazine "Russian Thought" in 1896. In the same year, a play based on the plot of the work was staged in St. Petersburg. Today, “The Seagull,” Chekhov’s play, has many productions in Russian and foreign theaters. Several films were made based on the play. The latest of them is the Russian film “The Seagull” (2005). The popularity of the work led to its inclusion in the school curriculum along with other masterpieces.

Plays "The Seagull" summary

Chekhov's play "The Seagull" begins with the famous actress Irina Arkadina coming to visit her brother Pyotr Sorin with her chosen one, the fiction writer Boris Trigorin, and her son Konstantin. They all gather in Sorin's garden waiting for the performance. Konstantin Treplev specially wrote a play for his Nina Zarechnaya, with whom he has long been in love. The girl must play the main and only role in the production.

Teacher Semyon Medvedenko also goes to visit Sorin. He is accompanied by Masha, the daughter of Sorin's manager. Medvedenko admits to Masha that he is not indifferent to her. But the girl cannot reciprocate his feelings.

Sorin and Treplev talk about the future production and about the theater in general. Treplev believes that the theater in the form in which it now exists is a relic of the past. The young man wants to bring something new, to become a reformer. He also confesses to Sorin that he feels that his mother does not love him. He claims that Arkadina is angry with him because she did not get the main role in the play. He feels uncomfortable around her and her fellow actors.

Further in the summary of Chekhov’s play “The Seagull” we read that Sorin asks about Trigorin. The novelist seemed to him rather modest and taciturn. It turns out that despite the fact that Trigorin is not yet forty years old, he is a fairly famous writer. By nature he is a good person, but rather melancholy. Sorin admits to his nephew that he himself once wanted to become a writer. But writing the book didn’t work out for him, and he went to work in the judicial department.

Nina Zarechnaya arrives. The girl was afraid that she was late, but she didn’t manage to show up earlier. Her father and stepmother do not approve of her impulse to engage in theatrical art and she had to secretly leave the house. She compares herself to a seagull: just as a bird is drawn to water, so Nina is drawn to the theater. She admits that she must return back in half an hour. Everyone takes their seats and Treplev prepares to announce the start of the performance. Nina tells him that she is afraid to go on stage because of Trigorin's presence. The girl considers him an incredibly talented writer. In addition, she admits that she does not understand the play, because there are no living characters and a love line in it. But Treplev believes that this is precisely a new stage in theatrical art.

Just before the start of the performance, Masha, Medvedenko, Arkadina, and Trigorin gather in Sorin’s garden. They are joined by Dr. Evgeniy Dorn, manager Ilya Shamraev and his wife Polina Andreevna. Treplev announces the start of the performance. Nina begins to read a monologue, but the talking spectators irritate Konstantin, he interrupts the performance and quickly leaves. Masha wants to find the young man and calm him down. Nina meets Trigorin. He says that he is not delighted with the play, but he liked the performance of the young actress. The girl communicates with Arkadina and Polina. They also praise her acting. Suddenly Nina realizes that she needs to go home.

Further in the brief description of Chekhov’s play “The Seagull” we read that Treplev returns to the stage. He sees that everyone except the doctor has gone about their business. Dorn says he is delighted with the production and advises Konstantin to continue writing. After Treplev finds out that Zarechnaya has gone home, he decides to go after her. Masha admits to Evgeniy Dorn that she, like Juliet, loves Konstantin.

Further in Chekhov’s play “The Seagull” we can read that Arkadina, Dorn and Masha gathered at Sorin’s croquet court. They are discussing the problems of youth and beauty when Peter, Nina and Medvedenko approach them. The girl reports that her father and stepmother left for a few days and she is now free.

Arkadina and Polina Andreevna want to go to the city. However, Shamraev cannot find horses for them, since they are involved in collecting rye. Arkadina throws a tantrum and leaves. Polina tells Dorn that she is in love with him. However, a little later she notices that the doctor is not indifferent to Nina Zarechnaya.

Nina, meanwhile, goes out into the garden, thinking about the lives of artists. There she meets Konstantin, who is holding a gun and a dead seagull. Treplev feels that Nina's attitude towards him has changed. He tells the girl about this. He wants to confess his feelings to her, but notices Trigorin. Konstantin sees Nina looking at the writer and leaves the garden.

Zarechnaya and Trigorin are walking together. Nina admits that she admires the life that Boris and Arkadina live. The writer, on the contrary, sees his life as gray and boring. He tells the girl that he is leaving Sorin’s estate today, albeit against his wishes. He wanted to get to know Nina better. He sees a seagull killed by Treplev. An idea for a new story is born in his head. A story about a girl who looked like a seagull, who lived by the lake and enjoyed life. But one day a man came and, out of boredom, destroyed her, just as Constantine destroyed a bird.

Masha confesses to Trigorin that she is marrying Medvedev. The girl does not want to suffer all her life from unrequited love for Treplev and hopes that marriage will change her life. That same day, Sorin begins to feel uneasy, but he soon recovers and plans to accompany his sister to the station.

Nina gives Trigorin an engraved pendant as a keepsake. It bears the writer's name and the page and line number of one of his books. Boris wants to find out what words Zarechnaya wanted to tell him. In the book, on the indicated page, there is an inscription: “If you ever need my life, then come and take it.” He realizes that he is falling in love with Nina and tells Arkadina about it. She does not want to let him go and assures him that Zarechnaya is just another hobby that will not end in anything serious. Further in Chekhov’s play “The Seagull” we learn that Nina decided to move to Moscow and become an actress. Trigorin asks the girl to inform him about her arrival.

Two years pass. Medvedenko and Masha have a growing child, although their relationship is far from ideal. Konstantin writes for magazines and begins to earn money from it. Sorin is seriously ill and moves exclusively in a wheelchair.

Nina met with Trigorin. They had a child, but some time later the baby died. Boris lost interest in Zarechnaya. The girl auditioned for many theaters, but, not having talent, could not stay in any of them. In correspondence with Treplev, she complained that she was unhappy. She ended each letter with Chaika’s signature.

Arkadina and Trigorin arrive at the estate. Dorn and Polina are also there. All the guests are going to have dinner, but Konstantin decides to stay in the room. Suddenly he hears some rustling. Nina appears in front of him. She says that she has to leave tomorrow for work and came to say goodbye. Treplev again confesses his love to her, but the girl believes that she does not deserve her. She rejects the young man and leaves.

During dinner, guests hear a shot. Dorn says it was most likely something from his first aid kit that burst. He goes to see what happened. The outcome is similar to the ending. Returning, Dorn takes Trigorin away and asks him to immediately take Arkadina out of the room, since her son shot himself.

The play “The Seagull” on the Top books website

Chekhov's play "The Seagull" is so popular to read that the work took a high place among. At the same time, interest in the work has remained at a consistently high level for many decades. Therefore, we can safely say that in the future the play “The Seagull” will occupy high places in our history.

You can read Anton Chekhov’s play “The Seagull” online on the Top Books website.

Anton Pavlovich Chekhov.

Material provided by the internet portal briefly.ru, compiled by Yu.V. Polezhaeva.