How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Act.Line). Every time a character talks counts as one line, even if what they say turns into a long monologue. We used Julius West's translation.
Quote #7
GAEV. I'm a man of the eighties. ... People don't praise those years much, but I can still say that I've suffered for my beliefs. (1.214)
Gaev admits his antiquity without embarrassment. There's almost a willful denial of progress in the things he says.
Quote #8
FIERS. I'm not well. At our balls some time back, generals and barons and admirals used to dance, and now we send for post-office clerks and the Station-master, and even they come as a favour. I'm very weak. (3.75)
Even more than Lubov and Gaev, Fiers regrets how things have changed over time. By juxtaposing his observations of their social decline with comments about Fiers's health, Chekhov seems to hint that the two are (at least symbolically) connected.
Quote #9
Ladies and gentlemen, please remember that it's only forty-seven minutes till the train goes! You must go off to the station in twenty minutes. Hurry up. (4.10)
Lopakhin keeps time in the play, from beginning to end. It's clear that his modern and efficient way of doing things has triumphed over Lubov's romantic and elliptical way.