The World of the Play - Assignment 2
Macro context
1.) The rise in industrialism and the construction of railways including the famous Trans-Siberian Railway. “The Trans-Siberian Railway greatly influenced the composition and size of the population of Siberia.” It made travel across Russia much simpler… Especially to and from Moscow which may or may not have been the mode of transportation between the lake and Moscow that most of the guests had used. If it wasn’t for the railroad, Sorin may not even be living that far away from Moscow at this time.
http://www.irkutsk.org/fed/transsib.html
2.) Russia allies with France. French influences. “The adoption of the French language as the language of conversation and correspondence by the nobility encouraged access to French literature” in 1725. In this time the French language of the nobility helped spread the French culture across the Russian masses. This explains why the characters in “The Seagull” make many French references, on occasion use French words and even make French idioms.
http://www.answers.com/topic/french-influence-in-russia
3.) In 1894, the Russian Theatre Society is formed and contributed to the development of theatrical work and acted as the go-between for hiring actors. This is important because it describes where artists fit in during this time period. This information is useful for the actress playing Irina, because she is most definitely a member, opposed to Nina who dreams of being one.
http://www.encspb.ru/en/article.php?kod=2804033761
3.) Women in theatre in this time. Prior to the women’s rights movement, women usually were, obviously, beneath men. The thing about the theatre community, is that they were so free thinking that many women were relatively equal to their male counterpart. Salaries were nigh equal, “audiences booed them equally; they starved equally between engagements; and their contributions to the traditions of the theatre have been equally forgotten.” Acting in this time period requited a lot of stamina as rehearsals could be grueling and “the rigors of the acting profession necessitated that they be resilient, independent, strong-willed and determined.” This explains why Irina in The Seagull has many of these qualities as well as why she is so brusque and fiery. It is also stated that women who were particularly successful like Irina is, could have made anywhere between $100-$500 in rubles per week/7-10 day engagement, meaning she MAY have been pretty well off (if she didn’t squander it all on something) despite her claims of having no money at all.
http://content.lib.washington.edu/19thcenturyactorsweb/essay.html
5.) Social classes. Taking place during edge of the 19th century, the industrial revolution changed up the social hierarchy in Russia and moved a lot of people from being poor to being middle/working class. This is important because it explains how people who aren’t rich can live with some leisure like many of the characters in “The Seagull” do. The only people with money in “The Seagull” are Nina, Trigorin, Dorn and possibly Irina, but it isn’t stated directly for the latter.
http://faculty.ucc.edu/egh-damerow/19th_century.htm
6.) Lake life in Russia. Around the Black Sea, weather can be gorgeous in the Summer. So much so, that even the tourism aspect has spiked up recently with spas and resorts being built around the lake. Fishing and hunting around the lake are and were always popular leisurely activities in, not only this lake region, but near Lake Baikal as well. Trigorin actually goes out to the lake house for the sole purpose of fishing.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Black_Sea
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_baikal
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_lakes_in_Russia
7.) Summer in Russia vs. Winter in Russia. Russia is a huge country so climate varies from place to place and there are many lakes in Russia where The Seagull could have taken place to suit these climates. The play takes place in the Summer so it’s not possible to determine how frozen the lake gets in winter therefore pin pointing the location. In the east towards Siberia, climate is a cold arctic. More towards the Black Sea, climate is more sub-tropical which is a much more likely bet for this setting. If it’s more north, winters are more harsh and summers are a little warm while if they’re more south, winters are still very cold but summers are nice and hot. Being by a lake in the summer by Russia would definitely be beautiful, especially in this time period.
http://www.bestrussiantour.com/russian_climate
8.) Women gender roles. A lot of women were expected to raise families after getting married. In this period an upper class woman is usually a stay at home wife that cares for children (unless they hire a nanny/servant), does household chores if not done by servants, hires the servants and are dominated by the men. They also enjoy leisure activities that the wealthy usually afford. Women in the middle class tried to find work in the industrial revolution and the coming of women’s rights in terms of job opportunities. For the very first time, because of the booming middle class, women in this group were able to enjoy some leisure activities. The lower-class women usually worked outside their home as maids/servants, stenographers (typewriters were just invented), telephone switchboard operators (phones as well), seamstresses, and in textile factories. There were also a lot of teachers. For people like Irina who is an incredibly successful actress, she can escape the shackles of being placed in a social class. Women like Nina, however, are wealthy enough to pursue acting just because she thinks it’s fun.
http://www.slideshare.net/evanguilder/gender-roles-in-the-19th-century
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100326180637AAHEJ1d
9.) Coming of age as a woman. When does one detach from parents? In this period and place, a woman didn’t reach her age of majority until she was 20 years old. This is why Nina is still controlled by her parents and why she has to “sneak out” of the house to see people.
http://chnm.gmu.edu/cyh/teaching-modules/230?section=primarysources&source=39
10.) Medical system. At this time the medical system was more organized and factual, and many patients could actually rely on their doctors to do the right thing. Doctors were no longer giving their patients mercury as a cure. It was pretty common to see house visits by doctors, which is exactly what the doctor Dorn did in the script. Dorn prescribes the elderly patient: Sorin, to take Valerian drops quite often. Valerian is a medicinal herb that has been used to cure insomnia since ancient Greece.
http://library.thinkquest.org/15569/hist-9.html
Micro context
1.) Sea of Azov. Jumping off of “Lake life in Russia,” I decided to look a specific lake: The Sea of Azov. A lot of authors tend to model things in their books and plays about events or places in real life that have effected them. I looked up the biography of Chekhov and he grew up on The Sea of Azov. The sea is ABUNDANT in birds, many being seagulls. It has also been known in this time period to have been one of the most productive places for fishing, making it seem like a plausible place to have gone if you were an avid fisher like Trigorin. Summer temperatures in this area reach up to around 80 degrees Fahrenheit and Winter temperatures hit as low as -27 with anticyclone winds from Siberia. The ecology and the temperature make it a perfect place to look at as an example for where this play might take place and where I would set it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_of_Azov#Fauna
2.) Hunting rifles of 1890. Hunting in Russia is an old tradition that dates back to its indigenous peoples. A probable rifle that would have been used is the Winchester rifle Model 1892. This rifle would have been relatively new to Treplev, but not as expensive as the even more recent 94 and 95 models. The range on the rifle would be perfect enough to shoot a bird.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winchester_Model_1892
3.) Theatrical stagecraft of late 1800s.
Around this time electricity was in use and that lighted the shows instead of candles. All sound effects were created artificially. A lot of stage magic, however present. Things like stage fog and the shifting of stage platforms were abundant in order to give the audience some form of spectacle. This is important because in Treplev’s play within the play, he uses lighting to create orbs of glowing red lights behind Nina as well as use a form of fog/smoke creation which has been available even back at the Globe Theatre in 1600’s.
http://novaonline.nvcc.edu/eli/spd130et/histlighting.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theatrical_smoke_and_fog#Historical_usage
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outline_of_stagecraft#History_of_stagecraft
4.) Suicide in late 1800s. Going back to the religion of the time period in this general area, Eastern Orthodox, suicide according to them had no concrete statement about people who perform it. Many people of this faith believe “suicides are mostly likely not in their right minds and God will have mercy on them.” They put the judgment in the hands of God. With this in mind, yes the family is traumatized, but they most likely don’t believe Treplev is going to hell.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_views_of_suicide#Christianity
5.) Exploring new forms in plays. Chekhov, like Treplev, explored new forms unlike any other plays before him. The word forms is associated with Plato and his theory of forms. It’s a theory that deals with how one perceives things and finding out what they “really are.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory_of_Forms#What_are_the_Forms.3F
6.) Russian literature in 19th century. Literature in this time period and place was characterized with a romantic and free thought quality. Artists in this time often wrote with feeling uneasy in life: “as in a wrong place” and a very common theme was of “a needless man.” I feel like this goes very well with The Seagull with Treplev’s suicide over love and the irony of him being an author himself and in turn basically becoming a story ‘brought to life’ as a result. Another addition to this “becoming real” factor, is that men who committed suicide at this time in Russia were often considered martyrs.
http://www.russia-ic.com/culture_art/literature/805/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_literature#Suicide
7.) History of depression in the 19th century. In this point in time, among all studying doctors, the word “depression” wasn’t even acknowledged as a disorder. At this point, people referred to what we would call depression as “melancholia” and was described by French psychiatrist Louis Delasiauve as a “lowering of emotional function” and was most only associated with women. This is important because what Treplev is going through in the time could never be associated with clinical depression by former doctors.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_depression
8.) Becoming famous among peers as an author. In this time, in order to be recognized as an author, one has to finish a work and then distribute it to contemporary Russian editors and other authors who then spread it via magazine and books to the public. From then on out people decide whether or not they enjoy the stories or not and based on popularity make or crush the author. Trigorin, who writes from his soul based on his observations in life, has become a very famous author among Russian’s in the play through this method, where as Treplev has failed.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikolai_Gogol
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikolai_Leskov
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_Turgenev
9.) Being a single woman parent in the 19th century. In the 19th century, being a single woman itself would be hard, but being a single parent would be even harder. Most women were considered property of men and usually had “no means of subsistence… and would attract social disapproval and pity.” The thing about Irina however, is that she was a famous actress. Under that condition, she was able to shatter this image and made good money as well was able to support both herself and her son. Also, being renowned among the crowd, she was seen as a star and was well loved rather than pitied. Irina prides herself in her independence and the only thing she is insecure about and feels shackled down by is her age.
http://www.hastingspress.co.uk/history/19/overview.htm
10.) 19th century vacations. In this play Trigorin and Irina are going to this estate by the lake in the country as a vacation. In this period the middle class rose to power and took over with the industrial revolution, but the rich still had the ability to do more than them including vacation and leisure. The rich were more likely to avoid disease, could afford anesthetics, could afford electricity, owned telephones, could afford fast travel on railroads and were more likely to leave home for leisure. People like Trigorin could have left home in the summer to go have fun at a lake house is beyond normal and it’s very probable that he’s used it.
IMAGES AND SOUNDS
POPULAR MUSIC IN 19th CENTURY RUSSIA:
Operatic:
http://www.classical.com/album/NI7935/6
http://www.classical.com/album/RMSCD10016
Classical Russian:
http://www.classical.com/album/888880204837
The Russian Messenger: A common Russian magazine ran by academics and writers.
http://www.bookdrum.com/books/war-and-peace/9780199232765/bookmarks-726-750.html
Modern use of stage smoke.
http://neosophy.blogspot.com/2010/04/pineapple-pins-and-striped-leggings.html
1892 Winchester Rifle Model
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Winchester_Model_1892_1477.jpg
The Sea of Azov View and Seagulls
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Azow_Sea_Sunset.JPG
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ab_bird_023.jpg
Old Eastern Orthodox Bible
The World of the Play
Using my micro view of the world and my macro view of the world in the play The Seagull, I have attempted to construct a hodgepodge of information that the director and cast members could use to understand, as characters, the world around them. The time setting and location setting of my play is in late 19th century Russia; specifically around year 1895 in which it was written by Anton Chekhov.
Within the macro context of the world, the first thing I chose to view as a strong effecter towards the play is the industrial revolution and the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railroad. I included this because it made travel and things I examined in the micro context, like vacations, not only possible, but more frequent in Russian society as well as other industrialized nations. The second thing I picked out was the French influence on Russian culture. For the longest time France had been the center of the world in terms of fashion and were always “in.” It’s only natural that royalty from other countries would find their language not only beautiful but befitting to speak over other languages, including a countries own language. In fact, it wasn’t until recently that English surpassed French as the dominant language in Europe and the world. With leading philosophers of the Enlightenment being of French descent and the recent alliance between France and Russia in this time period, it’s only natural that the language would spread to Russia and be used not only commonly in this play, but in the micro context, within much Russian literature in the 19th century. The French also helped spur the romantic qualities of literature in Russia at the time as well as the beauty of suicide as a form of art. The third major effecter that I included in the macro context of this world is the power women held in theatre. Tying into the micro context of being a single female mother, being an actress may or not be a great thing. Being a failed actress probably wouldn’t work out for the character Irina, but since she became famous, she made a ridiculous amount of money as a woman, and didn’t necessarily have “the same rights” as a man, but based on her career and her for-sure involvement in the Russian Theatre Society made her almost live as if she were as powerful as one. In the world of theatre, people were so free thinking that gender basically didn’t matter: it was all about popularity and talent. This lack of restraint and not having to be tied down to a husband (but rather just traveling with a lover: Trigorin) affected the way Irina is as a character, making her more free-spirited and giving her a bigger personality. This money also gave her the ability to raise a child without relying on a man. Jumping off of that, the next macro contextual piece of research I did is the information on social classes relating to the characters in the show. In this time period the middle class rose in power due to the former macro context of the industrial revolution. This gave a lot of families and men a lot more power and freedom to explore leisure. People like Sorin, who is labeled as having no money to give, owns this country estate in which the play takes place, Treplev has the ability to pursue a life as an author and Masha is able to live on her own without a husband for a few years before marrying Medvendenko. These are all examples of how the middle class can not be forced into manual labor shown in this play. Another thing I took a look at was what it was like to live on a lake in Russia as well as what it was like to live in the country during the winter vs. the summer in macro contexts. In Russia, lakes are usually beautiful in the summer, often attracting many tourists and choosing the Sea of Azov as a micro contextual place to set the play, with temperatures staying around 80 degrees in the summer, being full of seagulls and allowing bountiful amounts of fishing. Although in other lakes, especially around Siberia, lakes would freeze over allowing you to walk over the lake, the Sea of Azov stays pretty thawed; even when the Siberian winds blow down to the lake. Being in the country at this time period would give a stunning view of the moon and stars adding a perfect backdrop to Treplev’s play in which he combined with micro contextual stagecraft tricks like smoke, sulphur and lights to make a spectacle.
All in all, I believe researching the world of the play is an important element into discovering what the lives of each of these characters was like and how they got to where they were based on what happened culturally in their lives.
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