Selected plays

called a great one and remembered with respect. Now we have no torture-chamber, no executions, no invasions, but at the same time how much suffering there is!

SOLYONY [in a high-pitched voice]. Chook, chook, chook. . . . It's bread and meat to the baron to talk about ideas.

TUZENBAKH. Vassily Vassilyevitch, I ask you to let me alone . . . [moves to another seat]. It gets boring, at last.

SOLYONY [in a high-pitched voice]. Chook, chook, chook. . . . . .

TUZENBAKH [to VERSHININ]. The suffering which one observes now -- there is so much of it -- does indicate, however, that society has reached a certain moral level. . . .

VERSHININ. Yes, yes, of course.

CHEBUTYKIN. You said just now, Baron, that our age will be called great; but people are small all the same. . . [gets up]. Look how small I am. [A violin is played behind the scenes.]

MASHA. That's Andrey playing, our brother.

IRINA. He's the scholar of the family. We expect him to become a professor. Father was a military man, but his son has gone in for a scholarly career.

MASHA. It was father's wish.

OLGA. We've been teasing him today. We think he's a little in love.

IRINA. With a young lady living here. She'll come in today most likely.

MASHA. Oh, how she dresses! It's not that her clothes are merely ugly or out of fashion, they're simply pitiful. A weird gaudy yellowish skirt with some sort of vulgar fringe and a red blouse. And her cheeks scrubbed till they shine! Andrey is not in love with her -- I won't admit that, he has some taste after all -- it's simply for fun, he is teasing us, playing the fool. I heard yesterday that she is going to be married to Protopopov, the chairman of our District Council. And a very good thing too. . . . [At the side door] Andrey, come here, dear, for a minute!

[Enter ANDREY.]

OLGA. This is my brother, Andrey Sergeyevitch.

VERSHININ. My name is Vershinin.

ANDREY. And mine is Prozorov [mops his perspiring face]. You're our new battery commander?

OLGA. Can you believe, Alexandr Ignatyevitch comes from Moscow.

ANDREY. Really? Well, then, I congratulate you. My sisters will let you have no peace.

VERSHININ. I've had time to bore your sisters already.

IRINA. See what a pretty picture-frame Andrey has given me today! [Shows the frame] He made it himself.

VERSHININ [looking at the frame and not knowing what to say]. Yes. ., it is a thing. . . .

IRINA. And that frame above the piano, he made that too!

[ANDREY waves his hand in despair and moves away.]

OLGA. He's a scholar, and he plays the violin, and he makes all sorts of things with the fretsaw. In fact he's good all round. Andrey, don't go! That's a way he has -- he always tries to make off! Come here!