Character Analysis
Medvedenko is Masha's suitor and then husband. He's a small-minded schoolteacher; a wimpy character Chekhov clearly enjoyed throwing into the mix. In Three Sisters, another Masha is married to another boring teacher, Kulygin, and is just as unhappy as her counterpart in The Seagull.
Medvedenko prattles on anxiously about his position as breadwinner:
"There's me, my mother, my two sisters, and my little brother. I'm the wage earner, and all I get is those twenty-three rubles. How am I supposed to buy a drink? Or sugar for tea? Or cigarettes, even?" (1.5)
Sure, we can understand why Masha's not exactly drooling over Medvedenko, but he's not entirely unsympathetic either. His commitment to supporting his family contrasts with Konstantin's self-centered impracticality. Medvedenko struggles to stay afloat and yet, in his helpless love for Masha, takes on the extra burden of her and her child. So he's a stand-up guy, even if he's not quite the catch of the century.