The Sea-Gull | Page 9

each other] Then I
suppose we can't keep you, but it is very hard indeed to let you go.
NINA. If you only knew how hard it is for me to leave you all.
ARKADINA. Somebody must see you home, my pet.
NINA. [Startled] No, no!
SORIN. [Imploringly] Don't go!
NINA. I must.
SORIN. Stay just one hour more, and all. Come now, really, you know.
NINA. [Struggling against her desire to stay; through her tears] No, no,
I can't. [She shakes hands with him and quickly goes out.]
ARKADINA. An unlucky girl! They say that her mother left the whole
of an immense fortune to her husband, and now the child is penniless
because the father has already willed everything away to his second

wife. It is pitiful.
DORN. Yes, her papa is a perfect beast, and I don't mind saying so--it
is what he deserves.
SORIN. [Rubbing his chilled hands] Come, let us go in; the night is
damp, and my legs are aching.
ARKADINA. Yes, you act as if they were turned to stone; you can
hardly move them. Come, you unfortunate old man. [She takes his
arm.]
SHAMRAEFF. [Offering his arm to his wife] Permit me, madame.
SORIN. I hear that dog howling again. Won't you please have it
unchained, Shamraeff?
SHAMRAEFF. No, I really can't, sir. The granary is full of millet, and I
am afraid thieves might break in if the dog were not there. [Walking
beside MEDVIEDENKO] Yes, a whole octave lower: "Bravo, Silva!"
and he wasn't a singer either, just a simple church cantor.
MEDVIEDENKO. What salary does the church pay its singers? [All go
out except DORN.]
DORN. I may have lost my judgment and my wits, but I must confess I
liked that play. There was something in it. When the girl spoke of her
solitude and the Devil's eyes gleamed across the lake, I felt my hands
shaking with excitement. It was so fresh and naive. But here he comes;
let me say something pleasant to him.
TREPLIEFF comes in.
TREPLIEFF. All gone already?
DORN. I am here.
TREPLIEFF. Masha has been yelling for me all over the park. An
insufferable creature.

DORN. Constantine, your play delighted me. It was strange, of course,
and I did not hear the end, but it made a deep impression on me. You
have a great deal of talent, and must persevere in your work.
TREPLIEFF seizes his hand and squeezes it hard, then kisses him
impetuously.
DORN. Tut, tut! how excited you are. Your eyes are full of tears.
Listen to me. You chose your subject in the realm of abstract thought,
and you did quite right. A work of art should invariably embody some
lofty idea. Only that which is seriously meant can ever be beautiful.
How pale you are!
TREPLIEFF. So you advise me to persevere?
DORN. Yes, but use your talent to express only deep and eternal truths.
I have led a quiet life, as you know, and am a contented man, but if I
should ever experience the exaltation that an artist feels during his
moments of creation, I think I should spurn this material envelope of
my soul and everything connected with it, and should soar away into
heights above this earth.
TREPLIEFF. I beg your pardon, but where is Nina?
DORN. And yet another thing: every work of art should have a definite
object in view. You should know why you are writing, for if you follow
the road of art without a goal before your eyes, you will lose yourself,
and your genius will be your ruin.
TREPLIEFF. [Impetuously] Where is Nina?
DORN. She has gone home.
TREPLIEFF. [In despair] Gone home? What shall I do? I want to see
her; I must see her! I shall follow her.
DORN. My dear boy, keep quiet.
TREPLIEFF. I am going. I must go.

MASHA comes in.
MASHA. Your mother wants you to come in, Mr. Constantine. She is
waiting for you, and is very uneasy.
TREPLIEFF. Tell her I have gone away. And for heaven's sake, all of
you, leave me alone! Go away! Don't follow me about!
DORN. Come, come, old chap, don't act like this; it isn't kind at all.
TREPLIEFF. [Through his tears] Good-bye, doctor, and thank you.
TREPLIEFF goes out.
DORN. [Sighing] Ah, youth, youth!
MASHA. It is always "Youth, youth," when there is nothing else to be
said.
She takes snuff. DORN takes the snuff-box out of her hands and flings
it into the bushes.
DORN. Don't do that, it is horrid. [A pause] I hear music in the house. I
must go in.
MASHA. Wait a moment.
DORN. What do you want?
MASHA. Let me tell you again. I feel like talking. [She grows more
and more excited] I do not love my