How we cite our quotes: (Act.Line)
Quote #7
Irina: I kept waiting for us to move to Moscow. I knew I'd meet my true love there; I used to dream about him. But it was all a lot of nonsense. (3.103)
Romantic by nature, Irina has been holding out for a fairy tale. But there are no princes in shining armor in her little town—only barons in brick factory uniforms.
Quote #8
Irina: The baron and I are getting married tomorrow, and then we go away to the brick factory, and the day after, I start teaching, and that's when our new life begins. (4.40)
The eternal optimist is about to get schooled by life (again).
Quote #9
Chebutykin: I'll stay right here, left behind like a migrating bird that's too old to fly. You fly, sweetheart, you fly! (4.42)
Chekhov's kind of into bird metaphors. You've heard of a little play called The Seagull? Here, at least, we see the doc having hopes for someone—even if those, too, come to nothing.