You discover the boredom which is inseparable from poverty; the times when you have nothing to do and, being underfed, can interest yourself in nothing … You discover that a man who has gone even a week on bread and margarine is not a man any longer, only a belly with a few accessory organs. George Orwell, Down and Out in Paris and London
But the lack of facilities was only part of the problem. Swanley was built around domesticity. Its population had quadrupled in ten years, not because it offered work, but because it offered housing, out of the hubbub of London. So its purpose was boredom. The stultifying listlessness of the place seeped through the emptiness of the new estates and the deserted main road, which pottered past a fenced-off stagnant pond, Woolworths, and away up to the big city that was Sidcup. Sidcup was never busy. Mark Steel, Reasons to be Cheerful
The presidency has many problems, but boredom is the least of them. Richard M Nixon
Believe me, Captain, immortality consists mostly of boredom. Star Trek s2e9: Metamorphosis, Cochrane
I have devoted my life to the study of death. And do you know what I have found? Death is nothing more than the result of cellular boredom. Star Trek s5e25: Deep Space Nine: In the Cards, Dr Giger
Idleness as such is by no means a root of evil; on the contrary, it is truly a divine life, if one is not bored. Søren Kierkegaard, Either/Or: A Fragment of Life
Kill the light and I’ll go. Play for Today: A Sudden Wrench by Paula Milne, husband to wife in bed, BBC 1982
Is it a sexual problem, Christine? Lack of orgasm perhaps? … Foreplay? … ibid. telephone helpline lady
I feel like a stranger here. ibid. Christine
I’m 43. I’ve got varicose veins and stretch marks … ibid.
I dress in black to match my life. I am unhappy. Anton Chekhov: The Sea-Gull, Masha, written 1895; viz 1968 starring James Mason & Vanessa Redgrave et al
Happiness does not depend on riches; poor men are often happy. ibid.
The tragedy of my existence: even when I was young I always looked as if I were drunk; I never had any success with women. ibid. Sorin
I feel that they only endure me because I am her son. ibid. Treplieff
It must be pleasant to be even an insignificant author. ibid.
I think love should come in every play. ibid. Nina
All is void, void, void. All is terrible, terrible. The bodies of all living creatures have dropped to dust … ibid. Nina’s monologue re future
Let him write and he feels and can, but let him spare me his nonsense. ibid. Arkadina
An angel of silence is flying over our heads. ibid. Dorn
I am in agony. No-one, no-one can imagine how I suffer. ibid. Masha
Often I have no desire to live at all. ibid.
One still wants to live at 65. ibid. Sorin
Wine and tobacco destroy the individuality. ibid. Dorn
What could be duller than this dear tedium of the country? ibid. Arkadina
I was base enough today to kill this sea-gull. I lay it at your feet. ibid. Treplieff to Nina
If the critics praise me, I am happy; if they condemn me, I am out of sorts for the next two days. ibid. Trigorin
Violent obsessions sometimes take hold of a man. ibid.
I cannot escape myself though I feel I am consuming my life. ibid.
I have never pleased myself. As a writer, I do not like myself at all. ibid.
I have no will of my own. I never had. I am too indolent, too submissive, too phlegmatic, to have any. ibid.
It is only a pity that he [Constantine] has no definite object in view. He creates impressions, and nothing more, and one cannot go far on impressions alone. ibid. Dorn
Take a little tea, my son … A little vodka instead? Anton Chekhov, Uncle Vanya, published 1897; Marina to Astroff, viz BBC production 1991
I am overworked. Nurse, I am on my feet from dawn to dusk. I know no rest. ibid. Astroff to Marina
My life has gone completely off the track. I sleep in the dark, drink wine … ibid. Voitski
What’s he [Professor] doing in there [library] all day? What’s he working on? ibid.
We destroy the forests, the rivers run dry, the wildlife is all but extinct, the climate is ruined … ibid.
This is not a happy home … One would not say this is a happy home. ibid. Helena
Soon the rain will be over, and all nature will sigh and awake refreshed. ibid. Voitski
Do you know, I couldn’t live a month in this house? This atmosphere would stifle me. ibid. Astroff
You drink and you gamble. Please stop. ibid. Sonia to Astroff
I am dying of this tedium. What shall I do? ibid. Helena to Sonia
We are confronted by the degradation of our country brought on by the fierce struggle for existence of the human race. It is a consequence of the ignorance and unconsciousness of starving, sick humanity that to save its children instinctively snatches at everything that can warm it and still its hunger. ibid. Astroff to Helena
What can we do? We must live our lives. Yes, we shall live, Uncle Vanya. We shall live through the long procession of days before us, through the long evenings; we shall patiently bear the trials that fate imposes on us; we shall work for others without rest, both now and when we are old: and when our last hour comes we shall meet it humbly, and there, beyond the grave, we shall say that we have suffered and wept, that our life was bitter, and God will have pity on us. ibid. Sonia