Anton Chekhov began writing in earnest for the theater with The Seagull, an understated drama of familial conflict. When the play was first staged in 1896, its audience turned increasingly hostile. The principle actress became so nervous she lost her voice, and a devastated Chekhov fled the last two scenes. At a later production in 1899, the initial flop turned into a success; Chekhov, in hearing the news, thought his admirers were trying to be polite. Below, he addresses Lydia Alexeyevna, a fellow writer, exultant after learning of the show’s eighteenth performance.
February 26, 1899, Yalta
Dear Lydia Alexeyevna,
…Five or six days ago I sent you a letter and today I am writing again. What is new in St. Petersburg and in literature? Do you like Gorki? In my opinion he is genuinely talented, his brushes and colors are genuine, but his is a sort of unrestrained, devil-may-care gift. His “On the Steppe” is a magnificent thing. But I don’t like Veresayev or Chirikov a bit. Theirs is not writing, but chirping; they chirp and then sulk. And I don’t like the writer Avilova because she writes so little. . Women authors should write a great deal, if they want to master the art; just take these Englishwomen as an example. What marvelous workers! But I seem to have gone in for criticism; I am afraid that in reply you are going to write me something edifying.
Today the weather is delightful, springlike. The birds are trilling, the almond and cherry trees are in blossom and it is hot. But still I should be going north. My “Seagull” is being performed in Moscow for the eighteenth time and I am told it is staged magnificently.
Keep well. I cordially clasp your hand.
Yours,
A. Chekhov
From The Selected Letters of Anton Chekhov. Edited by Lillian Hellman. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1984. pp. 237-238.
FURTHER READING
An article about Avilova and Chekhov’s relationship.
Chekhov’s Seagull in its latest production.