Evgeny Sergeevich Dorn Character Analysis in The Seagull

A country doctor carrying on an affair with Polina Andreevna. Dorn is a dear friend of Sorin’s, a lover of the arts, and, by his own admission, a womanizer whose status as a physician has brought him many adoring lovers over the course of his life. Dorn is one of the many characters in the play believed to be a reflection of Chekhov, who was a doctor by training and often roamed the country helping patients in rural areas (and, according to rumor, carried on multiple affairs with women who were attracted to him for his success as a doctor and a writer alike).

Evgeny Sergeevich Dorn Quotes in The Seagull

The The Seagull quotes below are all either spoken by Evgeny Sergeevich Dorn or refer to Evgeny Sergeevich Dorn. 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:

). Note: all page numbers and citation info for the quotes below refer to the W. W. Norton & Company edition of The Seagull published in 2010.

MASHA: Help me. Help me, or I’ll do something stupid, I’ll mess up my life, wreck it… I can’t stand it anymore…

DORN: What do you mean? Help you how?

MASHA: I’m in pain. Nobody, nobody knows how much pain I’m in. (Lays her head on his chest, quietly.) I love Konstantin.

DRON: They’re all so high-strung! They’re all so high-strung! And all this love… Oh, spellbinding lake! (Tenderly.) But what can I do, my child? What? What?

Related Characters: (speaker), (speaker)

Page Number and Citation: 98

Explanation and Analysis:

DORN: Well, I have faith in Konstantin Gavrilovich. There’s something there! There’s something there! He thinks in images, his stories are colorful, striking, and I have a real fondness for them. […] Irina Nikolaevna, are you glad your son’s a writer?

ARKADINA: Imagine, I still haven’t read him. Never any time.

Related Characters: (speaker), (speaker),

Page Number and Citation: 153

Explanation and Analysis:

Evgeny Sergeevich Dorn Character Timeline in The Seagull

The timeline below shows where the character Evgeny Sergeevich Dorn appears in The Seagull. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Polina Andreevna, the wife of Sorin’s estate overseer Shamraev, comes down to the lake with Dorn, a doctor and guest of Sorin—and her own lover. She chides Dorn for failing to... (full context)

...willed the entirety of her late mother’s fortune to his new wife, leaving Nina penniless. Dorn agrees that Nina’s father is a controlling “swine.” Arkadina, Sorin, and all the others except... (full context)

Mediocrity and Lost Potential Theme Icon

Dorn, alone, says to himself that he really enjoyed the play. He spots Treplyov and resolves... (full context)

Treplyov asks where Nina went, and Dorn tells him that she left for home. Treplyov despairingly begins muttering about how he has... (full context)

Masha tells Dorn that she needs his help. She tells him that she feels on the verge of... (full context)

Later in the week, Arkadina, Dorn, and Masha are together on the croquet lawn at midday. It is bright and hot... (full context)

...been snoring—and chides him for not taking better care of himself or seeking help from Dorn. Dorn says that he doesn’t prescribe treatments for patients as old as Sorin. Medvedenko suggests... (full context)

...Medvedenko to come up to the house with him to try to change Arkadina’s mind. Dorn and Polina stay behind. (full context)

Polina tells Dorn that Shamraev’s “crudeness” and his penchant for squabbling with guests is making her feel “ill.”... (full context)

Nina walks by picking flowers on the lawn—Dorn asks her how things are going inside. Nina reports that Arkadina is crying and Sorin... (full context)

...the music, and says again that once she moves, she’ll forget Treplyov within a month. Dorn and Medvedenko, who hasn’t left after all, wheel Sorin into the room in a chair.... (full context)

Sorin asks where Arkadina has gone, and Dorn answers that she’s gone to the station to meet Trigorin. Sorin says that for Arkadina... (full context)

Dorn asks Treplyov where Nina Zarechnaya has gotten to these days—he’s heard she’s living “a rather... (full context)

Dorn asks how the stage has treated her, and Treplyov replies that Nina hasn’t had any... (full context)

Arkadina, Dorn, Masha, Polina, and Shamraev all play at a card table and discuss Treplyov’s career. Polina... (full context)

Dorn and the others re-enter the room. Arkadina gaily sits down at the lotto table, seeming... (full context)

The sound of a gunshot echoes offstage. Arkadina stands up and asks what’s happening—Dorn tells her not to worry, and goes out of the room to check on things.... (full context)