Anton Chekov on Marriage

Murashkin: Now that's enough! You're acting like a crybaby! Listen to yourself! A man like you, a married man, with a good steady job... You ought to be ashamed of yourself.

Tolkachov: A married man! That's the whole problem! You know what it means, being a married man? It means a I suffer. It means I am a pack animal, a garbage collector. I am a slave, a serf; I am a coward who sits quietly waiting for the next disaster and hasn't got the brains to blow his brains out. I am a fool and an idiot. Why am I still alive? (Jumps to his feet) Well? Tell me, why am I alive! Oh, what is the point of it all, this uninterrupted concatenation of mental and physical punishments? Hm? Look, I can understand sacrifice, I could suffer for ideas, or ideals, but to suffer for ladies' dresses and lightbulbs, no! A thousand times no! No, no, and no! This is the end It's all over! I can't stand it anymore!