ARKADINA。Ismellsulphur。Isthatdoneonpurpose？
TREPLIEFF。Yes。
ARKADINA。Oh，Isee;thatispartoftheeffect。
TREPLIEFF。Mother！
NINA。Helongsforman——
PAULINA。[ToDORN]Youhavetakenoffyourhatagain！Putiton，youwillcatchcold。
ARKADINA。ThedoctorhastakenoffhishattoSatanfatherofeternalmatter——
TREPLIEFF。[Loudlyandangrily]Enoughofthis！There’sanendtotheperformance。Downwiththecurtain！
ARKADINA。Why，whatareyousoangryabout？
TREPLIEFF。[Stampinghisfoot]Thecurtain;downwithit！[Thecurtainfalls]Excuseme，Iforgotthatonlyachosenfewmightwriteplaysoractthem。Ihaveinfringedthemonopoly。I——I———
Hewouldliketosaymore，butwaveshishandinstead，andgoesouttotheleft。
ARKADINA。Whatisthematterwithhim？
SORIN。Youshouldnothandleyouthfulegoismsoroughly，sister。
ARKADINA。WhatdidIsaytohim？
SORIN。Youhurthisfeelings。
ARKADINA。Buthetoldmehimselfthatthiswasallinfun，soI
treatedhisplayasifitwereacomedy。
SORIN。Nevertheless———
ARKADINA。Nowitappearsthathehasproducedamasterpiece，ifyouplease！Isupposeitwasnotmeanttoamuseusatall，butthathearrangedtheperformanceandfumigateduswithsulphurtodemonstratetoushowplaysshouldbewritten，andwhatisworthacting。Iamtiredofhim。Noonecouldstandhisconstantthrustsandsallies。Heisawilful，egotisticboy。
SORIN。Hehadhopedtogiveyoupleasure。
ARKADINA。Isthatso？Inotice，though，thathedidnotchooseanordinaryplay，butforcedhisdecadenttrashonus。Iamwillingtolistentoanyraving，solongasitisnotmeantseriously，butinshowingusthis，hepretendedtobeintroducingustoanewformofart，andinauguratinganewera。Inmyopinion，therewasnothingnewaboutit，itwassimplyanexhibitionofbadtemper。
TRIGORIN。Everybodymustwriteashefeels，andasbesthemay。
ARKADINA。Lethimwriteashefeelsandcan，butlethimsparemehisnonsense。
DORN。Thouartangry，OJove！
ARKADINA。Iamawoman，notJove。[Shelightsacigarette]AndI
amnotangry，Iamonlysorrytoseeayoungmanfoolishlywastinghistime。Ididnotmeantohurthim。
MEDVIEDENKO。Noonehasanygroundforseparatinglifefrommatter，asthespiritmaywellconsistoftheunionofmaterialatoms。[Excitedly，toTRIGORIN]Somedayyoushouldwriteaplay，andputonthestagethelifeofaschoolmaster。Itisahard，hardlife。
ARKADINA。Iagreewithyou，butdonotletustalkaboutplaysoratomsnow。Thisissuchalovelyevening。Listentothesinging，friends，howsweetitsounds。
PAULINA。Yes，theyaresingingacrossthewater。[Apause。]
ARKADINA。[ToTRIGORIN]Sitdownbesidemehere。Tenorfifteenyearsagowehadmusicandsingingonthislakealmostallnight。
Therearesixhousesonitsshores。Allwasnoiseandlaughterandromancethen，suchromance！Theyoungstarandidolofthemallinthosedayswasthismanhere，[NodstowardDORN]DoctorEugeneDorn。Heisfascinatingnow，buthewasirresistiblethen。
Butmyconscienceisbeginningtoprickme。WhydidIhurtmypoorboy？Iamuneasyabouthim。[Loudly]Constantine！
Constantine！
MASHA。ShallIgoandfindhim？
ARKADINA。Ifyouplease，mydear。
MASHA。[Goesofftotheleft，calling]Mr。Constantine！Oh，Mr。
Constantine！
NINA。[Comesinfrombehindthestage]Iseethattheplaywillneverbefinished，sonowIcangohome。Goodevening。[ShekissesARKADINAandPAULINA。]
SORIN。Bravo！Bravo！
ARKADINA。Bravo！Bravo！Wewerequitecharmedbyyouracting。
Withyourlooksandsuchalovelyvoiceitisacrimeforyoutohideyourselfinthecountry。Youmustbeverytalented。Itisyourdutytogoonthestage，doyouhearme？
NINA。Itisthedreamofmylife，whichwillnevercometrue。
ARKADINA。Whoknows？Perhapsitwill。ButletmepresentMonsieurBorisTrigorin。
NINA。Iamdelightedtomeetyou。[Embarrassed]Ihavereadallyourbooks。
ARKADINA。[DrawingNINAdownbesideher]Don’tbeafraidofhim，dear。Heisasimple，good—naturedsoul，evenifheisacelebrity。See，heisembarrassedhimself。
DORN。Couldn’tthecurtainberaisednow？Itisdepressingtohaveitdown。
SHAMRAEFF。[Loudly]Jacob，myman！Raisethecurtain！
NINA。[ToTRIGORIN]Itwasacuriousplay，wasn’tit？
TRIGORIN。Very。Icouldn’tunderstanditatall，butIwatcheditwiththegreatestpleasurebecauseyouactedwithsuchsincerity，andthesettingwasbeautiful。[Apause]Theremustbealotoffishinthislake。
NINA。Yes，thereare。
TRIGORIN。Ilovefishing。Iknowofnothingpleasanterthantositonalakeshoreintheeveningwithone’seyesonafloatingcork。
NINA。Why，Ishouldthinkthatforonewhohastastedthejoysofcreation，nootherpleasurecouldexist。
ARKADINA。Don’ttalklikethat。Healwaysbeginstoflounderwhenpeoplesaynicethingstohim。
SHAMRAEFF。IrememberwhenthefamousSilvawassingingonceintheOperaHouseatMoscow，howdelightedweallwerewhenhetookthelowC。Well，youcanimagineourastonishmentwhenoneofthechurchcantors，whohappenedtobesittinginthegallery，suddenlyboomedout:
\"Bravo，Silva！\"awholeoctavelower。Likethis:[Inadeepbassvoice]\"Bravo，Silva！\"Theaudiencewasleftbreathless。[A
pause。]
DORN。Anangelofsilenceisflyingoverourheads。
NINA。Imustgo。Good—bye。
ARKADINA。Whereto？Wheremustyougosoearly？Weshan’tallowit。
NINA。Myfatheriswaitingforme。
ARKADINA。Howcruelheis，really。[Theykisseachother]ThenI
supposewecan’tkeepyou，butitisveryhardindeedtoletyougo。
NINA。Ifyouonlyknewhowharditisformetoleaveyouall。
ARKADINA。Somebodymustseeyouhome，mypet。
NINA。[Startled]No，no！
SORIN。[Imploringly]Don’tgo！
NINA。Imust。
SORIN。Stayjustonehourmore，andall。Comenow，really，youknow。
NINA。[Strugglingagainstherdesiretostay;throughhertears]
No，no，Ican’t。[Sheshakeshandswithhimandquicklygoesout。]
ARKADINA。Anunluckygirl！Theysaythathermotherleftthewholeofanimmensefortunetoherhusband，andnowthechildispennilessbecausethefatherhasalreadywilledeverythingawaytohissecondwife。Itispitiful。
DORN。Yes，herpapaisaperfectbeast，andIdon’tmindsayingso——itiswhathedeserves。
SORIN。[Rubbinghischilledhands]Come，letusgoin;thenightisdamp，andmylegsareaching。
ARKADINA。Yes，youactasiftheywereturnedtostone;youcanhardlymovethem。Come，youunfortunateoldman。[Shetakeshisarm。]
SHAMRAEFF。[Offeringhisarmtohiswife]Permitme，madame。
SORIN。Ihearthatdoghowlingagain。Won’tyoupleasehaveitunchained，Shamraeff？
SHAMRAEFF。No，Ireallycan’t，sir。Thegranaryisfullofmillet，andIamafraidthievesmightbreakinifthedogwerenotthere。[WalkingbesideMEDVIEDENKO]Yes，awholeoctavelower:\"Bravo，Silva！\"andhewasn’tasingereither，justasimplechurchcantor。
MEDVIEDENKO。Whatsalarydoesthechurchpayitssingers？[AllgooutexceptDORN。]
DORN。Imayhavelostmyjudgmentandmywits，butImustconfessIlikedthatplay。Therewassomethinginit。WhenthegirlspokeofhersolitudeandtheDevil’seyesgleamedacrossthelake，I
feltmyhandsshakingwithexcitement。Itwassofreshandnaive。
Butherehecomes;letmesaysomethingpleasanttohim。
TREPLIEFFcomesin。
TREPLIEFF。Allgonealready？
DORN。Iamhere。
TREPLIEFF。Mashahasbeenyellingformealloverthepark。Aninsufferablecreature。
DORN。Constantine，yourplaydelightedme。Itwasstrange，ofcourse，andIdidnotheartheend，butitmadeadeepimpressiononme。Youhaveagreatdealoftalent，andmustpersevereinyourwork。
TREPLIEFFseizeshishandandsqueezesithard，thenkisseshimimpetuously。
DORN。Tut，tut！howexcitedyouare。Youreyesarefulloftears。
Listentome。Youchoseyoursubjectintherealmofabstractthought，andyoudidquiteright。Aworkofartshouldinvariablyembodysomeloftyidea。Onlythatwhichisseriouslymeantcaneverbebeautiful。Howpaleyouare！
TREPLIEFF。Soyouadvisemetopersevere？
DORN。Yes，butuseyourtalenttoexpressonlydeepandeternaltruths。Ihaveledaquietlife，asyouknow，andamacontentedman，butifIshouldeverexperiencetheexaltationthatanartistfeelsduringhismomentsofcreation，IthinkIshouldspurnthismaterialenvelopeofmysoulandeverythingconnectedwithit，andshouldsoarawayintoheightsabovethisearth。
TREPLIEFF。Ibegyourpardon，butwhereisNina？
DORN。Andyetanotherthing:everyworkofartshouldhaveadefiniteobjectinview。Youshouldknowwhyyouarewriting，forifyoufollowtheroadofartwithoutagoalbeforeyoureyes，youwillloseyourself，andyourgeniuswillbeyourruin。
TREPLIEFF。[Impetuously]WhereisNina？
DORN。Shehasgonehome。
TREPLIEFF。[Indespair]Gonehome？WhatshallIdo？Iwanttoseeher;Imustseeher！Ishallfollowher。
DORN。Mydearboy，keepquiet。
TREPLIEFF。Iamgoing。Imustgo。
MASHAcomesin。
MASHA。Yourmotherwantsyoutocomein，Mr。Constantine。Sheiswaitingforyou，andisveryuneasy。
TREPLIEFF。TellherIhavegoneaway。Andforheaven’ssake，allofyou，leavemealone！Goaway！Don’tfollowmeabout！
DORN。Come，come，oldchap，don’tactlikethis;itisn’tkindatall。
TREPLIEFF。[Throughhistears]Good—bye，doctor，andthankyou。
TREPLIEFFgoesout。
DORN。[Sighing]Ah，youth，youth！
MASHA。Itisalways\"Youth，youth，\"whenthereisnothingelsetobesaid。
Shetakessnuff。DORNtakesthesnuff—boxoutofherhandsandflingsitintothebushes。
DORN。Don’tdothat，itishorrid。[Apause]Ihearmusicinthehouse。Imustgoin。
MASHA。Waitamoment。
DORN。Whatdoyouwant？
MASHA。Letmetellyouagain。Ifeelliketalking。[Shegrowsmoreandmoreexcited]Idonotlovemyfather，butmyheartturnstoyou。Forsomereason，Ifeelwithallmysoulthatyouareneartome。Helpme！Helpme，orIshalldosomethingfoolishandmockatmylife，andruinit。Iamattheendofmystrength。
DORN。Whatisthematter？HowcanIhelpyou？
MASHA。Iaminagony。Noone，noonecanimaginehowIsuffer。
[Shelaysherheadonhisshoulderandspeakssoftly]IloveConstantine。
DORN。Oh，howexcitableyouallare！Andhowmuchlovethereisaboutthislakeofspells！[Tenderly]ButwhatcanIdoforyou，mychild？What？What？
Thecurtainfalls。
ACTII
ThelawninfrontofSORIN’Shouse。Thehousestandsinthebackground，onabroadterrace。Thelake，brightlyreflectingtheraysofthesun，liestotheleft。Thereareflower—bedshereandthere。Itisnoon;thedayishot。ARKADINA，DORN，andMASHAaresittingonabenchonthelawn，intheshadeofanoldlinden。AnopenbookislyingonDORN’Sknees。
ARKADINA。[ToMASHA]Come，getup。[Theybothgetup]Standbesideme。Youaretwenty—twoandIamalmosttwiceyourage。
Tellme，Doctor，whichofusistheyoungerlooking？
DORN。Youare，ofcourse。
ARKADINA。Yousee！Nowwhyisit？BecauseIwork;myheartandmindarealwaysbusy，whereasyounevermoveoffthesamespot。
Youdon’tlive。Itisamaximofminenevertolookintothefuture。Ineveradmitthethoughtofoldageordeath，andjustacceptwhatcomestome。
MASHA。IfeelasifIhadbeenintheworldathousandyears，andItrailmylifebehindmelikeanendlessscarf。OftenIhavenodesiretoliveatall。Ofcoursethatisfoolish。Oneoughttopulloneselftogetherandshakeoffsuchnonsense。
DORN。[Singssoftly]
\"Tellher，ohflowers——\"
ARKADINA。AndthenIkeepmyselfascorrect—lookingasanEnglishman。Iamalwayswell—groomed，asthesayingis，andcarefullydressed，withmyhairneatlyarranged。DoyouthinkI
shouldeverpermitmyselftoleavethehousehalf—dressed，withuntidyhair？Certainlynot！Ihavekeptmylooksbyneverlettingmyselfslumpassomewomendo。[Sheputsherarmsakimbo，andwalksupanddownonthelawn]Seeme，trippingontiptoelikeafifteen—year—oldgirl。
DORN。Isee。Nevertheless，Ishallcontinuemyreading。[Hetakesuphisbook]Letmesee，wehadcometothegrain—dealerandtherats。
ARKADINA。Andtherats。Goon。[Shesitsdown]No，givemethebook，itismyturntoread。[Shetakesthebookandlooksfortheplace]Andtherats。Ah，hereitis。[Shereads]\"Itisasdangerousforsocietytoattractandindulgeauthorsasitisforgrain—dealerstoraiseratsintheirgranaries。Yetsocietylovesauthors。Andso，whenawomanhasfoundonewhomshewishestomakeherown，shelayssiegetohimbyindulgingandflatteringhim。\"ThatmaybesoinFrance，butitcertainlyisnotsoinRussia。Wedonotcarryoutaprogrammelikethat。Withus，awomanisusuallyheadoverearsinlovewithanauthorbeforesheattemptstolaysiegetohim。Youhaveanexamplebeforeyoureyes，inmeandTrigorin。
SORINcomesinleaningonacane，withNINAbesidehim。
MEDVIEDENKOfollows，pushinganarm—chair。
SORIN。[Inacaressingvoice，asifspeakingtoachild]Sowearehappynow，eh？Weareenjoyingourselvesto—day，arewe？
FatherandstepmotherhavegoneawaytoTver，andwearefreeforthreewholedays！
NINA。[SitsdownbesideARKADINA，andembracesher]Iamsohappy。Ibelongtoyounow。
SORIN。[Sitsdowninhisarm—chair]Shelookslovelyto—day。
ARKADINA。Yes，shehasputonherprettiestdress，andlookssweet。Thatwasniceofyou。[ShekissesNINA]Butwemustn’tpraisehertoomuch;weshallspoilher。WhereisTrigorin？
NINA。Heisfishingoffthewharf。
ARKADINA。Iwonderheisn’tbored。[Shebeginstoreadagain。]
NINA。Whatareyoureading？
ARKADINA。\"OntheWater，\"byMaupassant。[Shereadsafewlinestoherself]Buttherestisneithertruenorinteresting。[Shelaysdownthebook]Iamuneasyaboutmyson。Tellme，whatisthematterwithhim？Whyishesodullanddepressedlately？Hespendsallhisdaysonthelake，andIscarcelyeverseehimanymore。
MASHA。Hisheartisheavy。[Timidly，toNINA]Pleaserecitesomethingfromhisplay。
NINA。[Shrugginghershoulders]ShallI？Isitsointeresting？
MASHA。[Withsuppressedrapture]Whenherecites，hiseyesshineandhisfacegrowspale。Hisvoiceisbeautifulandsad，andhehasthewaysofapoet。
SORINbeginstosnore。
DORN。Pleasantdreams！
ARKADINA。Peter！
SORIN。Eh？
ARKADINA。Areyouasleep？
SORIN。Notabitofit。[Apause。]
ARKADINA。Youdon’tdoathingforyourhealth，brother，butyoureallyoughtto。
DORN。Theideaofdoinganythingforone’shealthatsixty—five！
SORIN。Onestillwantstoliveatsixty—five。
DORN。[Crossly]Ho！Takesomecamomiletea。
ARKADINA。Ithinkajourneytosomewatering—placewouldbegoodforhim。
DORN。Why，yes;hemightgoaswellasnot。
ARKADINA。Youdon’tunderstand。
DORN。Thereisnothingtounderstandinthiscase;itisquiteclear。
MEDVIEDENKO。Heoughttogiveupsmoking。
SORIN。Whatnonsense！[Apause。]
DORN。No，thatisnotnonsense。Wineandtobaccodestroytheindividuality。AfteracigaroraglassofvodkayouarenolongerPeterSorin，butPeterSorinplussomebodyelse。Youregobreaksintwo:youbegintothinkofyourselfinthethirdperson。
SORIN。Itiseasyforyoutocondemnsmokinganddrinking;youhaveknownwhatlifeis，butwhataboutme？IhaveservedintheDepartmentofJusticefortwenty—eightyears，butIhaveneverlived，Ihaveneverhadanyexperiences。Youaresatiatedwithlife，andthatiswhyyouhaveaninclinationforphilosophy，butIwanttolive，andthatiswhyIdrinkmywinefordinnerandsmokecigars，andall。
DORN。Onemusttakelifeseriously，andtotakeacureatsixty—fiveandregretthatonedidnothavemorepleasureinyouthis，forgivemysayingso，trifling。
MASHA。Itmustbelunch—time。[Shewalksawaylanguidly，withadraggingstep]Myfoothasgonetosleep。
DORN。Sheisgoingtohaveacoupleofdrinksbeforelunch。