Art vs. Fame Theme Analysis

At the heart of The Seagull is the question of why writers write and why actors act: for artistic fulfillment, or in pursuit of fame? As the artistically-minded characters within the play—Arkadina, Trigorin, Treplyov, and Nina—navigate their competing desires for fame and fulfillment, Chekhov investigates the destructive nature of celebrity, ultimately arguing that the hollow pursuit of fame, glory, and renown will only end in misery.

All of the artist characters within The Seagull have a desperate need to express themselves—and to be adored for so doing. For Arkadina, Trigorin, Treplyov, and Nina, making art is not enough: fame and adoration are what they want, and though they pursue it doggedly, it ultimately fails to satiate them. The desire for it, in one case, even proves fatal. Arkadina, a middle-aged actress, is a vain woman who spends a great deal of time reminiscing about her younger days and recalling the roles that made her famous in Moscow. Treplyov often remarks upon his mother’s jealous nature, stating that she can’t bear to see anyone else enjoy success. Arkadina is happy enough to see Nina perform Treplyov’s original play, but only because the young, naïve Nina is obsessed with Arkadina and frequently flatters her. Every time Arkadina speaks about her life as an actress, she focuses on money, costumes, and fans—never on the roles themselves, or on how her art has helped her understand herself or the world around her. Ultimately, Arkadina is so dismissive of anyone else’s attempts at art-making that she alienates those who genuinely look up to her—namely, her son and Nina. She admits that she never reads Treplyov’s published work, and though she never comments upon Nina’s grave misfortunes in Moscow, it’s implied that she has ignored her protégé’s troubles because she sees Nina as a threat. By the end of the play, Arkadina is so disconnected from everyone around her that she plays bingo gaily while her son goes into the next room to commit suicide, a tragedy that demonstrates just how destructive the hollow pursuit of fame can be on artists, and on their relationships with others.

Trigorin, Arkadina’s younger lover, is a famous writer of fiction who publishes widely and enjoys a healthy fanbase back in Moscow. Nina is perhaps even more in awe of Trigorin’s fame than she is of Arkadina’s—Nina harbors romantic feelings for Trigorin, and seems to believe that part of being famous is having a famous lover. Trigorin, on the other hand, is ambivalent about his own fame—at least outwardly. He complains to Nina that no matter how many people tell him they enjoy his work, he never feels it’s good enough, and rarely experiences even a moment’s artistic satisfaction. However, Trigorin complicates his own statement when he succumbs, time and time again, to the flattery that both Nina and Arkadina dole out in attempts to make Trigorin love them. This shows that while Trigorin seems driven as an artist, his motives for writing are still tied to achieving his own personal glory.

Treplyov, Arkadina’s son, also longs to be a writer. Treplyov is the character who is the most driven by the pursuit of art itself: he says he wants to explore “new forms” in theater, and his work plunges the human struggle between good and evil. This is certainly the deepest material that Chekhov shows any of his artist characters working with throughout the play. However, Treplyov’s motives, like Trigorin’s, are ultimately confused. He wants to succeed as an artist due to his need to unseat Trigorin as Russia’s most celebrated writer in order to win back his distant, judgmental mother’s affection and attention. Treplyov seems to seek fame just as much as the other characters—and yet, in a strange turn of events, it is revealed that Treplyov is publishing his stories under a penname. He has no public persona, and Trigorin reports that Treplyov’s fans in Moscow often beg Trigorin to tell them what the mysterious Treplyov looks and acts like. Treplyov achieves the fame he sought—but he, like Nina, realizes too late that fame will not bring him the things he wants in life. He feels his art is worthless because it has not brought him glory the eyes of his mother or Nina, and he rips it all to shreds moments before taking his own life at the end of the play. His fate suggests that the pursuit of personal glory, as opposed to that of artist expression, is ultimately unsustainable and leaves people feeling empty and unfulfilled.

Nina, who idealizes the glamour of being an artist, sneaks away from her father and stepmother daily to enjoy stolen time near the lake with Arkadina, Treplyov, and Trigorin. Nina loves being around these artistic types, and she takes absurd delight in seeing famous people like Trigorin and Arkadina going about their summer holidays like common folk. Nina has great dreams of being an actress—dreams which Arkadina and Trigorin encourage after seeing her demonstrate some talent when she performs in Treplyov’s play. But Nina, for all her naivete and earnestness, slowly reveals herself to be driven by a hungry desire for fame. She tells Trigorin that she would abandon her family if she could be famous, and openly mocks her lover Treplyov’s work once Arkadina expresses her distaste for it. After following Trigorin to Moscow to seek fame, Nina fails to thrive as an artist and winds up performing in third-rate companies throughout the Russian provinces. She maintains that she is an actress and not the wounded “gull” that others perceived her to be—but years later when she reunites with Treplyov, it’s clear that Nina’s attempts at fame have failed. In chasing fame, Nina finds only subjugation and misery.

The characters who chase fame in The Seagull find themselves alienated from their creativity, their families, and the realization of their dreams. Chekhov argues, through his four main characters’ failures, that to seek fame while eschewing hard work and steady artistic practice is an empty goal—one that can result in pain, misery, and cruel twists of fate.