Trigorin In Act Two Show Us About The Character Of Trigo Essay, Research Paper
??????????? Trigorin is
a difficult character to understand in Chekhov?s play ?the Seagull?, however,
there is much to be learnt about him during his conversation with Nina.? His comments give the reader a real sense of
the two differing sides to his character that emerge in this scene.? It is in this scene above any other in the
play that the reader truly begins to appreciate the character of Trigorin. ??????????? Trigorin feels
driven to write.? In the early part of
his conversation with Nina, he refers to the fact that he feels compelled to
write: ??????????? ?Well, I
have my own moon. Day and night I?m obsessed with one compelling thought: I
must write, I must?? ??????????? It is in
this frank admission to Nina that we see the vulnerable writer, who has seemed
up until this point to be quiet but self-assured.? In this outburst, we see his dissatisfaction with his life and
profession. ??????????? Furthermore, Trigorin constantly
feels inferior to great Russian writers such as Tolstoy and feels that he will
be described as ?charming and clever? but not as good as Tolstoy or
Turginev.? It is his failure to live up
to these literary geniuses that frustrates him.? At the same time, his writing is driven by an overwhelming desire
to produce a work of genius that will surpass those of Turginev and Tolstoy,
and establish him as a great writer.?
Unlike Nina, Trigorin no longer seeks fame; he seeks to be the best. As
a younger writer, when he believes he was at his best, he confesses to his fear
of audiences and literary circles, in his desire for fame.? It appears that Trigorin is longing for some
of the inspiration that he had during his youth, combined with the experience he
has now gained. ??????????? He has a
constant desire to produce a piece that will convince critics such as Kostya
that he is a great writer. As Kostya says in Act one: ?As for his writing ? it?s
charming, clever but after Tolstoy or Zola you won?t feel like reading
Trigorin.? For this reason, Trigorin is
constantly disappointed with the work he produces as he feels he can produce
something better.? Furthermore, each
time he produces something he likes and has it printed, once it is printed he
realises his mistakes and his hopes are dashed once more.? Trigorin?s existence has become an eternal
struggle to produce a piece of work, a ?tour de force? that will put the
name of Trigorin among the Great Russian writers.? Writing has become such an obsession that he can no longer relax
or enjoy his life, as he is constantly wanting to write the ?perfect novel? and
thus his life revolves around his work.?
Even his relationships with other people, such as that with Arkadina are
superficial, and one suspects that just as he later uses Nina, Arkadina is
being used as a tool for his next novel. ??????????? Trigorin
does not consider his ?famous? existence to be as wonderful as Nina portrays it
as being in there conversation.? His
fame in short has reduced him into a state bordering on the insane.? The obsession with success and striving for
recognition that has brought him fame has not brought him happiness.? In this description of striving for fame,
Chekhov attempts both to educate the reader to the fact that fame does not
bring happiness and also indicates the path that Nina?s future will take in her
constant belief that it is fame that will make her happy. ??????????? As well as
seeing a side of Trigorin that is driven by success, we also get an indication
as to the crueller side to his nature.?
Throughout his speeches, Trigorin indicates that uses observations in
his writing, and through his final speech in the passage, it is clear to the
reader that Trigorin referring to Nina?s future.? Trigorin intends to use Nina as an object to learn from to improve
his writing techniques, he sees her not as a person but as a mechanism for
improving his writing style. In this way he illustrates the mad obsession to
which he has previously referred.? His
intentions toward Nina are indicated far earlier in the scene when he says: ??????????? ?I
wouldn?t mind changing places with you for an hour even, to see what goes on in
your head, just generally what makes you tick.? ??????????? The final
speech makes it explicitly clear that Nina has simply inspired him with an idea
for a plot, and through exploiting her innocence; Trigorin intends to use her
for his own purposes. He shows his devious plans when he says: ??????????? ?Just
making a note?a plot for a short story.?
It?s about a girl not unlike you, who has lived all her life beside a
lake.? She loves the lake, the way a
seagull does, and she?s as happy and free as a seagull.? Then a man comes along, catches sight of
her, and in an idle moment, destroys her ? just like that seagull of yours.? ??????????? This short
speech shows us much about Trigorin.? It
is his obsession with writing that causes him to manipulate his relationship
with Nina in order that a good plot can be gleaned from it.? I do not believe that Trigorin is meant to
be seen as an inherently evil character, but simply as misguided.? His life has become so dependent upon his
writing that anything else that might have brought him happiness pales into
insignificance.? Furthermore, the fact
that his actions towards Nina were all planned out in such a cruel manner shows
that his writing is paramount in his life.?
He cares nothing for Nina, the hurt he will cause or the hopes he will
dash and is concerned only with making his story as realistic as possible.? The reference to Nina as a seagull is also
important in demonstrating Trigorin?s cruel intentions, the comparison between
the beautiful carefree seagull and Nina is apparent.? The destruction of the seagull earlier by Kostya is intended to
demonstrate the frailty of the seagull, and how, as Trigorin points out, it is
a relatively easy task to obliterate the happy and carefree existence. In this
objective Trigorin is less driven by his desire to write and more by his
jealousy.? Trigorin talks throughout
this passage of his desire to enjoy life without being driven entirely by
writing, and his jealousy of Nina?s ability to live life to the full frustrates
him and leads him to want to destroy it. ??????????? This scene
shows us much about the character of Trigorin, and one can conclude that
Trigorin is a character obsessed by his work.?
His desire not only to be famous but also to be the greatest drives him to
strive to produce the work that will bring him widespread acclaim and
happiness.? As we discover, being famous
has not made him happy, and instead has turned him into a character entirely
driven by his desire to write.? He has
begun to think of his relationships with others simply as writing tools, his
desire to write has made him a cruel and perverse character that can no longer
think in a rational manner or with any sort of morality.? It also appears that he is jealous of Nina?s
youth and vigour and it is this that he sets out to destroy.? We learn more than anything else in this
scene, that Trigorin cares little for people and much about his next novel, and
this explains many of his actions later in the play.