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The Seagull (Theatre)

 The Seagull (Theatre)
type
TVTItem
 The Seagull (Theatre)
label
The Seagull (Theatre)
 The Seagull (Theatre)
page
TheSeagull
 The Seagull (Theatre)
comment
An four-act play written in 1895 by Anton Chekhov.Konstantin, the only child of the acclaimed actress Arkadina, has written a play that will in one stroke repudiate the stodgy realism of his mother's work, announce his literary arrival, and, after a childhood of obscurity, win the respect of his family and neighbors. Unfortunately, his mother, who thinks little of her son and resents Nina, the pretty young star of the show, ruins the grand premiere with heckling.Titanically angry at Arkadina and immensely jealous of her lover Trigorin, a famous writer, Konstantin shoots a seagull and presents it to Nina as a cryptic omen of his despair, which succeeds only in driving her into Trigorin's arms. Konstantin then shoots himself in the head.He gets better. Things get worse...The Seagull, the first and perhaps most famous of Chekhov's major plays, was itself a horrendous failure at its first performance. Its very delicate treatment of human weakness can easily become leaden and somber if handled the wrong way, but good production and acting illuminates its immense insight and compassion, and can even pull some laughs from odd places.
 The Seagull (Theatre)
fetched
2023-04-07T14:59:57Z
 The Seagull (Theatre)
parsed
2023-04-07T14:59:57Z
 The Seagull (Theatre)
isPartOf
DBTropes
 The Seagull (Theatre) / int_1e1aa82a
type
Diabolus ex Machina
 The Seagull (Theatre) / int_1e1aa82a
comment
Diabolus ex Machina: One interpretation of the climactic scene of Act Four. Konstantin has finally achieved success as a writer and though he is glum and lifeless, he seems to have reached an emotional equilibrium. Perhaps part of him even has hope for the future. Then Nina returns, and even after everything that's happened, she still loves Trigorin, thus destroying Konstantin's last bit of hope and leaving him ready to kill himself.
 The Seagull (Theatre) / int_1e1aa82a
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1.0
 The Seagull (Theatre) / int_1e1aa82a
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 The Seagull (Theatre)
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The Seagull (Theatre) / int_1e1aa82a
 The Seagull (Theatre) / int_222dc873
type
Black Comedy
 The Seagull (Theatre) / int_222dc873
comment
Black Comedy: Chekhov actually labeled the play a comedy, and it does contain quite a few pratfalls and deadpan snarks. (Konstantin's play is hilarious.) Whether the blackness of the drama or the comedy of the characters' neuroses predominates in any given production is a matter of directorial choice. Most modern directors naturally go with the former.
 The Seagull (Theatre) / int_222dc873
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The Seagull (Theatre) / int_222dc873
 The Seagull (Theatre) / int_2260cfe3
type
Like Father, Like Son
 The Seagull (Theatre) / int_2260cfe3
comment
Like Father, Like Son: In one translation, Irina says this to Konstantin straight up: (referring to him) "People with no talent always try and belittle the ones with real talent! Just like your father!"
 The Seagull (Theatre) / int_2260cfe3
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The Seagull (Theatre) / int_2260cfe3
 The Seagull (Theatre) / int_25bc8511
type
Generation Xerox
 The Seagull (Theatre) / int_25bc8511
comment
Generation Xerox: Like her mother, Masha is doomed to marry a man she despises, and before Konstantin succeeds at his second suicide attempt, he seems set to become a wasted never-was like his uncle.
 The Seagull (Theatre) / int_25bc8511
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The Seagull (Theatre) / int_25bc8511
 The Seagull (Theatre) / int_297ab1b9
type
Parental Abandonment
 The Seagull (Theatre) / int_297ab1b9
comment
Parental Abandonment: Mr. Trepliev up and leaves right off, and through most of the rest of Konstantin's life his mother is a distant (if influential) figure.
 The Seagull (Theatre) / int_297ab1b9
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The Seagull (Theatre) / int_297ab1b9
 The Seagull (Theatre) / int_4523420b
type
Love Dodecahedron
 The Seagull (Theatre) / int_4523420b
comment
Love Dodecahedron: Medviedenko loves Masha, Masha loves Konstantin, Konstantin loves Nina, Nina loves Trigorin, Irina also loves Trigorin, Trigorin loves them both (sorta), and Konstantin loves Irina (though in what way depends upon your opinions about Freud). Meanwhile, Polina is married to Shamraev but loved/loves Dorn, and he's a difficult one to peg.
 The Seagull (Theatre) / int_4523420b
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The Seagull (Theatre) / int_4523420b
 The Seagull (Theatre) / int_4b316d47
type
Break the Cutie
 The Seagull (Theatre) / int_4b316d47
comment
Break the Cutie: Nina. Repulsed by Konstantin's strange gift of a dead seagull, she becomes vulnerable to Trigorin's advances. Their affair ends badly; the child they conceive dies in infancy, and Trigorin ultimately abandons Nina and returns to Irina. Nina's acting career suffers as a result, and she is forced to tour with a second-rate theatrical company. By the end of the play, she is still struggling to pick up the pieces of her professional and personal lives.
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The Seagull (Theatre) / int_4b316d47
 The Seagull (Theatre) / int_4e3d253b
type
Downer Ending
 The Seagull (Theatre) / int_4e3d253b
comment
Downer Ending: Nina, her acting career having stalled following her abandonment by Trigorin and the death of the child they had together, briefly reappears in Konstantin's life, but is such an emotional mess that she still feels love for Trigorin and is unmoved by Konstantin's pleas for her to stay with him on his uncle's estate. After she leaves again, the despondent Konstantin tears up the manuscripts he is writing, then commits suicide offstage.
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The Seagull (Theatre) / int_4e3d253b
 The Seagull (Theatre) / int_5fcb9ad1
type
Time Skip
 The Seagull (Theatre) / int_5fcb9ad1
comment
Time Skip: Two years between Act Three and Act Four.
 The Seagull (Theatre) / int_5fcb9ad1
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The Seagull (Theatre) / int_5fcb9ad1
 The Seagull (Theatre) / int_6d332aea
type
Driven to Suicide
 The Seagull (Theatre) / int_6d332aea
comment
Driven to Suicide: Konstantin tries to kill himself at the end of Act Two, but fails. He succeeds in Act Four.
 The Seagull (Theatre) / int_6d332aea
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 The Seagull (Theatre)
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The Seagull (Theatre) / int_6d332aea
 The Seagull (Theatre) / int_786bf97f
type
Real Life Writes the Plot
 The Seagull (Theatre) / int_786bf97f
comment
Real Life Writes the Plot: Trigorin's constantly taking notes on the action to create material for his stories, a practice depicted as little more than psychic cannibalism. On top of that, Trigorin is reportedly based on Chekhov himself, including the seduction and abandonment of Nina.
 The Seagull (Theatre) / int_786bf97f
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The Seagull (Theatre) / int_786bf97f
 The Seagull (Theatre) / int_820ac3c5
type
Dysfunction Junction
 The Seagull (Theatre) / int_820ac3c5
comment
Dysfunction Junction: Pretty much every character is solipsistic, cruel, cowardly, depressive, or all four at once.
 The Seagull (Theatre) / int_820ac3c5
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The Seagull (Theatre) / int_820ac3c5
 The Seagull (Theatre) / int_823c6e3e
type
Large Ham
 The Seagull (Theatre) / int_823c6e3e
comment
Large Ham: Arkadina, who's unwilling and/or unable to turn off the Great Actress persona when she's at home.
 The Seagull (Theatre) / int_823c6e3e
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1.0
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The Seagull (Theatre) / int_823c6e3e
 The Seagull (Theatre) / int_9843be73
type
As You Know
 The Seagull (Theatre) / int_9843be73
comment
As You Know: Partially invoked with Konstantin telling Dorn the story of Nina and Trigorin's affair in Act Four—Dorn knows half of it already, but Konstantin says it anyway.
 The Seagull (Theatre) / int_9843be73
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The Seagull (Theatre) / int_9843be73
 The Seagull (Theatre) / int_c1e6c92c
type
UnluckyChildhoodFriend
 The Seagull (Theatre) / int_c1e6c92c
comment
Unlucky Childhood Friend: Masha loves Konstantin, but he has eyes only for Nina, prompting Masha to enter into a dull married life with Medviedenko.
 The Seagull (Theatre) / int_c1e6c92c
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The Seagull (Theatre) / int_c1e6c92c
 The Seagull (Theatre) / int_c2393191
type
Show Within a Show
 The Seagull (Theatre) / int_c2393191
comment
Show Within a Show: Konstantin's play.
 The Seagull (Theatre) / int_c2393191
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 The Seagull (Theatre) / int_c2393191
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The Seagull (Theatre) / int_c2393191
 The Seagull (Theatre) / int_c83a589c
type
Luke, I Am Your Father
 The Seagull (Theatre) / int_c83a589c
comment
Luke, I Am Your Father: Averted. Chekhov all but states that Dr. Dorn is Masha's father, but no explicit revelation ever comes.
 The Seagull (Theatre) / int_c83a589c
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The Seagull (Theatre)

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

 The Seagull (Theatre)
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Adapted Out / int_2a6c1d5
 The Seagull (Theatre)
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All Love Is Unrequited / int_29835f5
 The Seagull (Theatre)
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Most Writers Are Writers / int_2a6c1d5
 The Seagull (Theatre)
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Muse Abuse / int_2a6c1d5
 The Seagull (Theatre)
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Our Acts Are Different / int_2a6c1d5
 Russian Reading
seeAlso
The Seagull (Theatre)
 The Seagull (Theatre)
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Setting Update / int_2a6c1d5
 TheSeaGull
sameAs
The Seagull (Theatre)
 The Seagull (Theatre)
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Bungled Suicide / int_2a6c1d5