Love comes up every five seconds in The Seagull. Almost all of the characters are in love, typically with characters who don't love them back. The farm manager's daughter loves the young writer who loves the young actress who loves the older writer who is also loved by the older actress. We're not kidding.
There's no lasting mutual love in this play, and no one seems able to choose who he or she loves. Some characters try to get away from their unsuccessful loves; others embrace hopeless romance with reckless passion. In this play, love equals longing and dissatisfaction.
Questions About Love
- Does Chekhov show us any love that actually works? Why or why not? Is he pessimistic about love?
- Apart from all these romantic entanglements, what other forms of love does the play explore?
- Do you agree with Masha that you can uproot a love that has been settled in your heart? What is the play saying?
Chew on This
In The Seagull, Chekhov uses love as a means of exploring the universal human experience of unfulfilled desire.
Refusing to generalize, Chekhov uses a diverse cast of characters to portray the range of attitudes toward love.