The Seagull

by

Anton Chekhov

Arkadina’s brother. A retired government official who now owns a large country estate on the edge of a lake, the elderly and sickly Sorin fears he has let his life pass him by—and is determined, in spite of his age and declining health, to have the experiences he longs for. Sorin is a kind, funny old man whose wistfulness never turns to resentment. He lives vicariously through the young people and artists who flock to his estate over the summer. Though at the beginning of the play he seeks to prolong his remaining years through treatments and medicines, by its end he has relinquished his fear of death and is determined to simply enjoy the time he has left. Sorin, like Trigorin, Treplyov, and Dorn, is one of the play’s characters believed to represent a version of Chekhov himself—Chekhov, too, lived on a large rural estate which attracted many artists, visitors, and admirers, and around the time of The Seagull’s composition, Chekhov was living in the country in an attempt to mitigate the effects of his rapidly-declining health.

Pyotr Nikolaevich Sorin Quotes in The Seagull

The The Seagull quotes below are all either spoken by Pyotr Nikolaevich Sorin or refer to Pyotr Nikolaevich Sorin. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Art vs. Fame Theme Icon
).
Act 3 Quotes

ARKADINA: Now I’ve got to go and I still don’t know how come Konstantin took a shot at himself. I suppose the main reason was jealousy, so the sooner I take Trigorin away from here, the better.

SORIN: How can I put this? There were other reasons too. Take my word for it, a man who’s young, intelligent, living in the country, in the sticks, with no money, no position, no future. Nothing to keep him occupied. Gets ashamed of himself and alarmed by his own idleness.

Related Characters: Irina Nikolaevna Arkadina (speaker), Pyotr Nikolaevich Sorin (speaker), Konstantin Gavrilovich Treplyov
Page Number: 123
Explanation and Analysis:
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Pyotr Nikolaevich Sorin Quotes in The Seagull

The The Seagull quotes below are all either spoken by Pyotr Nikolaevich Sorin or refer to Pyotr Nikolaevich Sorin. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Art vs. Fame Theme Icon
).
Act 3 Quotes

ARKADINA: Now I’ve got to go and I still don’t know how come Konstantin took a shot at himself. I suppose the main reason was jealousy, so the sooner I take Trigorin away from here, the better.

SORIN: How can I put this? There were other reasons too. Take my word for it, a man who’s young, intelligent, living in the country, in the sticks, with no money, no position, no future. Nothing to keep him occupied. Gets ashamed of himself and alarmed by his own idleness.

Related Characters: Irina Nikolaevna Arkadina (speaker), Pyotr Nikolaevich Sorin (speaker), Konstantin Gavrilovich Treplyov
Page Number: 123
Explanation and Analysis: