The Seagull. Anton Chekhov

Life and Thought: Selected Letters and Commentary, edited and annotated by Simon Karlinsky, translated by Michael Henry Heim (Evanston, Illinois: Northwestern University Press, 1997), 284.

      † Ibid., 283.

      ‡ Quoted in Chekhov, Four Plays and Three Jokes, introduction and translation by Sharon Marie Carnicke (Indianapolis and Cambridge: Hackett, 2009), xxxi.

      § The Moscow Art Theatre Letters, edited and translated by Jean Benedetti (London: Routledge, 1991), 42.

      ¶ The Chekhov Play, by Harvey Pitcher (Berkeley and London: University of California Press, 1985), 13.

       A NOTE ON THE TRANSLATION

      In our translation of The Seagull, we include a number of lines from the 1896 copy of the play (sent to the censor for approval of the premiere production in St. Petersburg), which do not appear in the script for the Moscow Art Theatre 1898 revival, nor in subsequent translations of the play.

      The variants we include fall into three categories:

      First, there are simple additions throughout the play, which may help future directors discover a richer, even deeper understanding of the play and its characters, as well as of Chekhov’s intentions. For example, we have reinstated Masha’s line at the beginning of Act Two: “Mamma brought me up like that fairy-tale girl who lived in a flower. I don’t know how to do anything.” I think this offers an insight into Masha’s character and certainly into her background and the life she has lived on the estate. We separate these “restored” lines from the canonical text with brackets.

      Second, we suggest one small cut. In Act Three, after Arkadina has wooed back Trigorin, she has an aside: “(To herself) Now he’s mine” (see page 65). This line does not appear in the 1896 script of the play; it was added later, perhaps for the Moscow Art production, perhaps even during their rehearsals. It strikes me as a very odd addition, as it is certainly more melodramatic than anything else in the play or in any of Chekhov’s other mature plays.

      Third, in Act Four there is an alternative scenario, which includes different (and additional) lines and stage directions. They concern Sorin. In the canonical version, Sorin, in his wheelchair, is taken off to dinner and never returns. This has always seemed very odd to me, as until this point, Sorin, with his worsening illness, has been the entire reason for the gathering. So it seems strange that he is then forgotten for the rest of the play. In the earlier 1896 version, Sorin is not forgotten. In fact, he remains onstage, asleep, throughout the entire Treplyov/Nina scene and then for the rest of the play. There are lines and stage directions which reflect this. We have included both the canonical and this earlier interesting variation, also in brackets.

       —Richard Nelson

       THE SEAGULL

      CHARACTERS

      IRÍNA NIKOLÁEVNA ARKÁDINA, an actress

      KONSTANTÍN GAVRÍLYCH TREPLYÓV, her son, an aspiring writer

      PYÓTR NIKOLÁICH SÓRIN, her brother, a retired state councillor

      NÍNA MIKHÁILOVNA ZARÉCHNAYA, a young girl, daughter of a local landowner

      ILYÁ AFANÁSYICH SHAMRÁEV, a retired lieutenant, Sorin’s steward

      POLÍNA ANDRÉEVNA, his wife

      MÁSHA, their daughter

      BORÍS ALEXÉICH TRIGÓRIN, a successful writer

      EVGÉNY SERGÉICH DORN, a doctor

      SEMYÓN SEMYÓNYCH MEDVEDÉNKO, a teacher

      YÁKOV, a workman

      COOK

      MAID

      The action takes place on Sorin’s estate. Two years pass between Acts Three and Four.