The Seagull - Themes - created from Mind Map

The Seagull Nina Trigorin Konstantin The seagull symoblises her 'idle' destruction at the hands of Trigorin, as well as Konstantin's creative frustration/impotence in conveying his feelings

The Lake Trigorin Dorn Nina Arkadina Each character is 'drawn' back to the lake for tragic/poignant reasons; mostly for the gratification and sense of self worth that is achieved in the company of their admirers, you could argue that the magic of the lake is no more than the intoxicating 'magic' of flattery and nostalgia.

Love/Destruction Nina and Konstantin Trigorin and Arkadina Konstantin and Masha Nina and Trigorin Dorn and Polina Shamrayev These relationships (which are essentially all the romantic relationships in the play) demonstrate the destructive power of love, as they are all respectively stripped of self worth, creativity, and happiness. The central irony to this theme is the fact that no one character appears to be interest in love that is given freely, and continuously pine over inaccessible/disinterested parties

Thwarted Ambition Sorin Konstantin Masha Trigorin Nina

Youth/Age Nina Sorin Masha Arkadina Konstantin all characters battling with either the niavety of youth or the bitter loss of it.

Time/Memory Sorin Dorn Arkadina this is also linked to the lake, the house and lake act as a focal point for nostalgia and subsequently causes characters to question their decisions, like Sorin, or wallow in their previous achievements in attempts to escape on going impotence/fading

Art/Life Sorin Konstantin Nina Each character wishes in some way to live life as art; sorin in his creative impotence seeks art in the company of artistic people, only to discover that these people are far from ideal; Konstantin's creative frustration and romantic/melodramatic temperament lead him in tragi-comic moments of expression, for example the seagull and his final and attemted suicide; and NIna's desperation to become an actress in order to be considered 'someone' leads her to a tragic life which robs her of artistic ability.

Comedy/Tragedy Sorin Konstantin Arkadina Masha Nina

The Seagull - Themes