The Seagull Study Guide (12MB) - Goodman Theatre

A Study of Self
BY ELIZABETH MORK
misadventures of the naïve and profoundly honest
Prince Myshkin. Although the story is an account
of Myshkin’s life, Dostoyevsky never allows the
incidents Myshkin encounters to propel the story
onward. Instead, the reader finds an enriching
account of how Myshkin perceives these events,
and subsequently applies these thoughts to his
next course of action. His perceptions of life, his
interactions with other characters and his journey
out of the sanitarium, all document the changing
mindset of the character. Never does a malady
occur, such as robbery or illness, but Myshkin must
ponder the situation in how it changes him and his
outlook regarding the rest of life.
Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
What happens to objects beneath a magnifying
glass? Details come to the surface. Fine lines,
texture and divots form upon things that otherwise
appear smooth to the bare eye. Another world
comes forth that was always presen, but out of
focus. Authors of Russian literature, particularly
Anton Chekhov, portray characters under such a
glass. These character-centric tales drive forward
on inner turmoil, daydreams and secret joy rather
than by popular standard plot devices of the 19th
century. In contrast to English novelists of the
same time period, such as Charles Dickens and
Thomas Hardy — who wrote masterpieces with
subtly intriguing events, foreshadowing and outside
influences propelling the narratives forward —
Russian writers more often than not place their
character’s inner life at center.
Authors such as Chekhov, Fyodor Dostoyevsky
and Leo Tolstoy compose in fascinating detail how
life, in all its intricacies, impacts a single person.
Dostoyevsky’s novel The Idiot chronicles the
Chekhov likewise was a master at composing
stories around the character’s perceptions of life.
In his short story “The Kiss”, Chekhov introduces
a gaggle of army officers recently invited to spend
the evening with a wealthy couple. He details how
this party is being held more out of social obligation
rather than genuine affection for the troops. After
exquisitely describing the cold night, Chekhov
moves the action into a dining room. Ryabovitch, an
officer of little note, becomes the focus of the tale.
Chekhov introduces him in the following way: “The
most ill at ease of them all was Ryabovitch — a little
officer in spectacles, with sloping shoulders, and
whiskers like a lynx’s. While some of his comrades
assumed a serious expression, while others wore
forced smiles, his face, his lynx-like whiskers, and
spectacles seemed to say: ‘I am the shyest, most
modest, and most undistinguished officer in the
whole brigade!’ ”
Shy, modest and otherwise bland, Ryabovitch steals
the show after his lackluster entrance. After getting
lost in the corridors of the large home, Ryabovitch
tries a door and finds himself in a dark room. The
sound of footsteps break the silence, before the
arms of a woman are around his neck and a kiss
is left upon his lips. A scream follows once the
woman realizes her mistake, and Ryabovitch is
left alone again. Because of this surprise moment,
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