Failures and disappointments make time go by so fast that you fail to notice your real life, and the past when I was so free seems to belong to someone else, not myself.
-- Roger / Anton Chekhov (chapter 1)

Importance: The contents of the note given to Margot in Chapter 1, that she initially believes is from an anonymous fan in the audience but which the reader later learns was transcribed for her by Roger. The words of Chekhov resonate with Margot’s own sense of desperation and failure that she feels as a result of appearing in Mister Monkey the Musical. The domino effect of artistic influence continues when Margot channels her feelings of despair into her performance as Portia McBailey, resonating with Mario in the audience.

She could have been a great Sonya if she’d known what she knows now. That the thankless servitude Sonya describes, the life of lowered eyes and expectations, of unrelenting...
-- Margot/Narration (chapter 1)