How we cite our quotes: (Act.Line)
Quote #1
Medvedenko: 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? I can't do it. (1.5)
Okay, maybe drinks, sugar, and cigarettes aren't a recipe for happiness, but Medvedenko has a point. Being financially comfortable can afford access to luxuries that might make life a little easier.
Quote #2
Konstantin: And she's stingy. I happen to know for a fact she has seventy thousand in the bank in Odessa, but go ask her for a loan and she has hysterics. (1.26)
Konstantin complains about one of Arkadina's character flaws. Her stinginess provides for a number of comic moments in the play, but it's also a painful reality for her penniless, dependent son.