[Chekhov]
IRINA: Promise me you'll stay home.
SORIN: But you're going away, and it gets lonely here.
IRINA: What's there to do in town?
SORIN: Not much. They're laying the foundation for the new City Hall. I've been lying around here like an old cigar butt, so I've arranged the horses so we can leave together.
IRINA: Whatever you say. Just try and keep yourself occupied when you return. Try to avoid catching cold. And try to look after Konstantin. Maybe you can give him some advice. (A pause.) I have no idea why he tried to kill himself. Maybe it was jealousy - in which case, the sooner I get Trigorin out of here, the better.
SORIN: There may be more to it than that. He's bright and young - but he's isolated here and doesn't have money or position. He probably thinks he has no future at all. There's nothing for him to do here, and maybe he's ashamed of that. I love him dearly, and I think he cares for me, too - but he must feel in the way here, like he's sponging. He does have his pride.
IRINA: I worry so much about him! Maybe you could help him get a job in the civil service or something.
SORIN: Personally, I think the best thing would be for you to give him a little money. He needs some decent clothes, he's been wearing that same old sportscoat for three years and doesn't even have an overcoat. If wouldn't be bad for a young man to go abroad either, would it? It shouldn't cost much.
IRINA: Well, perhaps I could manage a new suit but going abroad is out of the question. I'm not even sure I can afford to buy him clothes! I don't have the money. (Sorin laughs.) Well, I don't.
SORIN: Of course not. You're a warm-hearted woman who does the best she can.
IRINA: (almost to tears) I'm not as wealthy as you think I am.
SORIN: If I had any money, I'd send him myself. Ilya takes my pension and spends it on the farm, so he can raise his bees and cattle, and everything ends up going down the drain. The damn bees die, the cows die, and when I want to go somewhere I can't even get a horse.
IRINA: I have some money, of course, but the cost of my costumes alone is enough to ruin me.
SORIN: You're a kind and generous woman. (His demeanor changes.) I feel dizzy all of a sudden. My head is swimming . . .
(He uses the table for support.)
IRINA: Petrusha! (She tries to support him. Then she calls:) Someone help me!
(Treplev and Medvedenko enter.)