How we cite our quotes: (Act.Line)
Quote #1
Tuzenbach: I would have left a woman like that a long time ago, but he just hangs on and complains about her. (1.18)
Tuzenbach is practical; Vershinin is romantic. This explains the discrepancy in women's attraction to them—and also, perhaps, in their own views on marriage.
Quote #2
Vershinin: Yes, when they called me the lovesick major, I was young and I was in love. Now I'm not. (1.88)
Vershinin is very forward with the sisters about his marital misery. Might he already have his eye on Masha at this point? Or is he just commenting on the blight of love passing with time?
Quote #3
Chebutykin: You just said, Baron, that people in the future will think of our life as a high point, but people nowadays are still pretty low. (Stands up.) Look how low I am. But of course you make me feel better by calling my life a high point. (1.113)
Chebutykin dismisses the baron's idealism with a joke about his height. The doctor may act tough, but his recurring alcoholism and sad little quips like this indicate that he's just as dissatisfied as the others.