Monologue

Trigorin Monologue from The Sea-Gull

From The Sea-Gull by Anton Chekhov

male · contemplative · 1:10 min

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Yes. Writing is a pleasure to me, and so is reading the proofs, but no sooner does a book leave the press than it becomes odious to me; it is not what I meant it to be; I made a mistake to write it at all; I am provoked and discouraged. Then the public reads it and says: “Yes, it is clever and pretty, but not nearly as good as Tolstoi,” or “It is a lovely thing, but not as good as Turgenieff’s ‘Fathers and Sons,’” and so it will always be. To my dying day I shall hear people say: “Clever and pretty; clever and pretty,” and nothing more; and when I am gone, those that knew me will say as they pass my grave: “Here lies Trigorin, a clever writer, but he was not as good as Turgenieff.”

About this piece

Trigorin reflects on his struggles with writing and the public's perception of his work, revealing his deep dissatisfaction and sense of inadequacy.

30s · melancholy · identity · ambition · death · isolation

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