Characters In Chekhov?s ?The Seagull?. Essay, Research Paper
??????????? Chekhov?s
play ?The Seagull? is very much centred on the themes of relationships and
ambitions for self-fulfilment.? This
intriguing combination of themes gives rise to a selection of unusual
characters, intent on their own aims and ambitions.? It is this portrayal of an element of human character that makes
the play so interesting and captivating to read.? It is clear that the play focuses on the theme of unrequited love
and this is one of the reasons for the frustrations experienced by the
characters, however, perhaps more integral to the plot is the desire within the
characters for self-fulfilment, and it is perhaps more interesting to first
focus on this aspect of the play. ??????????? The dreams
of the characters seem to be almost entirely centred on bigger, better more
fulfilling lives.? They all seem to be
discontented with their position, whatever their current circumstances.? The endless search for a more fulfilling
existence seems to stem from an inner discontentment with the people that they
are.? They look for material fulfilment
because they think that it will make them happy, when and if the goal is
achieved, they find the discontentment still exists, and therefore they try to
fill the gap with more material or superficial things. One feels that a closer
examination of themselves and a greater degree of self-knowledge might give
rise to a degree of self-worth.? Inner-contentment
is what they seek and perhaps they would be better to realise that this comes
from a knowledge and acceptance of oneself, than to continue the endless search
for something that appears to be what they want, and ends up being unattainable
goal. Unless they are fulfilled within themselves, no amount of superficial
status will change their dissatisfaction.?
What they are not all ready they will never be. ??????????? This is
shown particularly well in the character of Nina, her one ambition in life is
for fame, as she believes this will bring her contentment and
self-fulfilment.? (?I?d willingly put
up with poverty, disappointment ?I?d suffer terribly, I?d be so dissatisfied
with myself, so aware of my own shortcomings but in return I?d demand fame.?)
Her ambition for fame is so overwhelming that she gives up her family, and
security in order to pursue her dream of being a famous actress like
Arkadina.? Her desire for
self-fulfilment, and genuine belief that when famous she will feel contented
leads her to flee to Moscow to become an actress.? Her dreams quickly become harsh realities and she is left
pregnant after a failed love affair with Trigorin, and desolate after her
career as an actress instead of being the glorious success she had hoped for,
turns out to be a dismal failure due to her own lack of ability as an
actress.? In her pursuit of her dream of
happiness through the means of love and fame she has been faced with the cold
fact that perfect dreams are shattered by cruel reality.? She returns at the end of the play as a
broken shadow, the symbolism of her phrase ?I?m a seagull? is evident to
all.? She is drawing a direct analogy
between the seagull Kostya shot and herself, both are broken creatures once
proud.? In her search for
self-fulfilment she has found nothing but pain and reality.? She has discovered that unless one is
satisfied within oneself then one will never be contented. ??????????? Similarly
with Arkadina, she has achieved what Nina has failed to achieve and become a
famous actress, but she is perhaps the unhappiest of all the characters. Her
fame has not brought her the self-fulfilment she expected.? Instead, it is distanced her from those
around her and made her all the more unhappy.?
Furthermore, her beauty is now fading with age and her son Kostya is a
constant reminder to her that her best years are behind her.? It is clear that she harbours some regret
that she did not make better use of the years when she was in her prime as she
refuses to talk about the past with Kostya.?
(Kostya: I remember?when you were still acting in the State
theatres?there was a fight in our yard, and one of the tenants, a washerwoman
got badly beaten.? D?you remember?? Arkadina: No) Her acting career, fame and fortune has not brought her the
joy or fulfilment that she expected it would, consequently what is left behind
is a bitter woman full of regret and deeply unhappy, who finds it impossible to
find any consolation in her son because of his constantly reminding her of her
wasted years. Her search for self-fulfilment has been utterly fruitless as she
has found that despite the fame, she is still the same imperfect person that
she was dissatisfied with in the first place, only much older.? ??????????? Perhaps the
best example of a character feeling discontented and unfulfilled is Sorin who
feels that he has wasted his life. He appears to be perhaps the bitterest
character.? He feels unfulfilled because
he feels he has not made good use of his time, but I would expect that again
this stems from an inner-discontentment with his life and himself. (Well,
it?s alright for you.? You?ve lived life
to the full, but what about me? I?ve worked in justice for twenty-eight
years?that?s why I enjoy a sherry at dinner and smoke cigars and all that.)? His drinking and smoking habits seem to stem
from his discontentment, he drinks and smokes to remove the regrets and forget
his worries for a time. His dreams of self-fulfilment are thwarted because in
his opinion he has wasted many years of his life, but in reality, he is
probably not content with what he is or has been within himself. Trigorin again presents us with a
character to whom fame, as a writer has brought nothing but more pain.? With Trigorin, his inner-discontentment is
expressed in his writing.? He is forever
striving to write the perfect piece, an impossible target for which he
tirelessly aims.? His pain and
disappointment after each failed attempt is due to his belief that he will be
fulfilled when he finally writes his tour de force. Once more his dreams
shall never be fulfilled, as he will never be able to write something that
satisfies his own ambition.? Therefore,
his dreams of self-fulfilment will always be thwarted, and he is doomed to be
unhappy. (?I feel as if I?m devouring my own life: in order to deliver honey
to someone out there somewhere.?) ??????????? Chekhov?s
characters are extremely difficult to analyse in depth and their motivations
for actions are more difficult to understand in comparison to other writers
that I have studied.? This is partly to
do with the fact that the characters appear in a play and there is therefore no
authorial voice telling us information about how the characters are thinking
and feeling.? However, I feel that there
is more to it than this. The play is very much concerned with relationships
between the characters; hence we learn little about many of the characters
except how they feel about other characters.?
The only obvious exceptions to this rule are Nina, Kostya, Arkadina and
Trigorin who we learn more about as the play goes on.? Therefore, it is difficult to analyse the motivation or feelings
of a character such as Sorin as we learn so little about him. ??????????? Chekhov
seems to effectively show through his characters how all dreams of
self-fulfilment through achievement or contentment seem to be shattered when faced
with reality.? This clear picture
conveys a very moral picture that self-fulfilment can only be achieved within
oneself by being happy with what you have, rather than endlessly looking for
what you have not. The lack of self-fulfilment through realisation of one?s
ambitions or the failure to achieve one?s ambitions forms part of the
frustrations felt by the characters in Chekhov?s play ?The Seagull.?? However, perhaps more important is the
frustration felt within relationships, due to unrequited love.? In some ways the ambition to love and be
loved within the book forms part of the desire for self-fulfilment as
particularly in the case of Kostya, he feels that he will find what he lacks
inwardly in his relationship with Nina. ??????????? Kostya has
a great need for love from some external source, as he feels rejected by his
mother. It is Nina that initially fills this void in his life.? However, even during his time with Nina at
the start of the novel, he is still deeply unhappy.? His problems stem from a want for parental love from his mother,
and he is very jealous of Trigorin and the love he receives from Arkadina. This
jealousy eventually develops into an inferiority complex as Nina also falls in
love with Trigorin and his own writings are always described as inferior to
Trigorin?s.? In this way Kostya?s life
is dependent upon others value of him, he needs to be loved and valued in the
same way that every human being does.?
His feeling of self-value and self-fulfilment is clearly affected by the
way he is treated by others. In this way, Chekhov shows us as readers that it
is not simply our own opinion of ourselves that matters, as a human being is we
are constantly devalued and put down by others, our own self-worth can be
affected.? This is shown in Kostya?s
attempts to get attention through his killing of the seagull, which acts as a
sort of premonition and an indication prior to his two suicide attempts.? The initial suicide attempt appears to be
simply to get attention, and after this fails and people refuse to notice or
care about the state into which he has degenerated, he feels the only thing to
do is to end his ?worthless? life.?
Kostya?s frustrations are very much due to the lack of care and
attention bestowed upon him by the other characters. He has a simple desire to
be loved. ??????????? Kostya?s
frustrations are not so much to do with his relationship with Nina, as to do
with the attention and care paid him by others, and in particular Arkadina and
Nina.? On the other hand characters such
as Polina, Masha, Medvedenko and even Nina all feel the pangs and frustrations
unrequited love during the course of the novel.? For Nina, her love for Trigorin appears to be to do with her
desire for self-fulfilment.? To be the
lover of a famous actor gives her a status that she craves, little does she
realise that status and position does not make one happy and her relationship
with Trigorin ends in heart-break, disgrace and torment which appears to have
driven her mad at the close of the play. ??????????? We learn little of Polina and Masha in
the play as characters.? We know that
Polina is the wife of Shamraev, who is the manager of the estate and that she
is in love with Dr. Dorn.? However, it
seems that in this frustration too there is a point to be made about
self-fulfilment.? It seems that part of
the attraction held by Dr. Dorn for Polina is the fact that he does not return
her affection.? The illusive target is
more attractive to Polina as he cannot be hers.? She convinces herself that it is only him that can make her happy
and fulfilled and therefore she strives towards a target that can never be
realised, as the target is not what she thinks it is. ??????????? Masha
similarly looks for self-fulfilment in a relationship with Kostya. I feel that
Masha?s love for Kostya is genuine, but it is also selfish, as it seems to me
that Masha feels she needs Kostya in order to feel self-value.? When he rejects her, she looks to drink for
consolation.? She needs to fill the void
of dissatisfaction and discontentment within herself, and when Kostya does not
provide what she feels to be the solution, she tries to blot out reality
through drink. ??????????? In
conclusion, it is clear that the characters in Chekhov?s ?The Seagull?
experience many frustrations due to broken dreams, harsh realities and
unsuccessful love affairs.? The key
theme to all of this failure is the lack of self-fulfilment felt by the
characters due to their dissatisfaction with themselves as people. This causes
them to search for fulfilment through other means, trying to feel fulfilled by
achievements or partners.? At the end of
the play it is clear to us as readers that the characters are no happier
whether they have achieved their objectives or otherwise, showing us that the
only answer to feeling self-fulfilment is to be content with what one is, rather
than constantly striving for something that is unattainable.? The characters dreams of self-fulfilment are
thwarted because the things they dream of do not lead to self-fulfilment.? This leads to more frustration and
dissatisfaction.
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