THREE SISTERS PLAY ANALYSIS
HISTORICAL AND SOCIAL BACKGROUND
About the Author
The author of Three Sisters, Anton Pavlovich Chekhov, was born on 29 January 1860. A Russian playwright and short story writer, he lost his father at an early age and shouldered the responsibility of supporting his family. He initially made a living from short sketches, later became famous and produced major works, and died of tuberculosis on 15 June 1904.
Chekhov wrote fifteen plays besides his stories. His main profession was medicine, and he said, “Medicine is my lawful wife, literature my mistress.” Though he saw himself as an unsuccessful playwright, his works were revived by Stanislavski and the Moscow Art Theatre. Offering a “theater of mood” rather than the customary theater of action, he challenged both audiences and actors. He never apologized for the difficulties this new style caused and stated that an artist’s role is to ask questions, not to provide answers.
Period and Society
The period in which Three Sisters was written coincided with major political, social and cultural changes in Russia. The chaotic state of that era is reflected throughout the play. Written just before the October Revolution, the existential anxieties of the privileged class are clearly seen through the characters. The play centers on the contradictions and personal collapse of a family from this privileged class faced with changing conditions and new values.
Regarding the Moscow factor that adorns the leading characters’ dreams: at the time Moscow had become everyone’s focal point. We can read this in the translations of some of Marx’s works into Russian. Learning Marx’s ideas broadened Russia’s intellectual base. Translating these works heralded various quests for how a revolution might happen in Russia. Under Alexander III, industrialization progressed rapidly, leading to the growth of cities and the influx of peasants. Moscow and Petersburg were the cities that benefited most from this social change.
GENRE AND FORM CHARACTERISTICS
Number of Acts: 4
Number of Scenes: 4
Page Count: 83
Publisher: Türkiye İş Bankası Kültür Yayınları
Translator: Ataol BEHRAMOĞLU
Genre: Drama — Comedy
Form: Closed Form
CONTENT CHARACTERISTICS
Plot
Irina’s name day celebration is held and various guests arrive. During the celebration emotional attractions develop between Vershinin and Masha, and between Andrey and Natasha. There are minor quarrels between Solyony and Tuzenbach. Two years pass. Andrey and Natasha are married and have a child. During a party at home the child is unwell, so everyone is sent out. Solyony tells Irina he loves her but she rejects him. A year passes. A big fire breaks out. Chebutykin comes home drunk and says Natasha is cheating on Andrey. Tuzenbach confesses his love for Irina but does not receive the answer he hopes for. Masha admits to her sisters that she loves Vershinin. Andrey has fallen into gambling debt. After a while the guests begin leaving the house. At the end it is learned that Solyony killed Tuzenbach in a duel. The three sisters cannot go to Moscow.
Action Plan
Soldiers visit the Prozorovs’ house as guests. They grow close with the residents. A fire erupts. The soldiers leave. Two of them duel and one dies.
Main Theme — Subthemes
The play’s main theme is longing. Subthemes include love, regret, hope, revenge, hatred, pride, betrayal, fear, faith, jealousy and anger.
Main Story — Side Stories
The play is the story of the personal collapse of three sisters from a privileged family in the face of changing conditions.
The side stories are: Andrey’s story, who works at the town council though expected to be a professor; Vershinin’s story, who is married yet loves Masha; likewise Masha’s story, who loves Vershinin despite being married to Kuligin; Anfisa’s story, the longtime servant later driven out of the house; Tuzenbach’s story, who loves Irina and dies for it; Solyony’s story, who also loves Irina and kills a man; and Natasha’s story, mocked early on but later becoming mistress of the house.
Characters (Main, Opposed, Supporting)
Main characters: Olga, Masha, Irina
Opposed characters: Natasha, Anfisa, Solyony, Tuzenbach, Andrey
Supporting characters: Vershinin, Chebutykin, Fedotik, Rode, Kuligin, Ferapont, Anfisa
OLGA: She is the oldest. She sometimes complains about this and longs for youth. She is not as popular as Irina or as attractive as Masha, so she is filled with nostalgia. She serves somewhat as the stabilizer in the house. She reacts to her siblings’ excesses. When Masha confesses her love for Vershinin, Olga covers her ears; she is the one who complains most about Andrey’s situation and is protective toward him. At the beginning she obsesses over the green sash around Natasha’s waist and reveals her jealousy. Toward the end Natasha dominates the house and Olga is crushed by this, unable even to go to Moscow.
MASHA: Calm and withdrawn. A typical middle child, she is unhappy in her marriage to Kuligin and feels nothing for her husband. Luckily Vershinin appears and excites her as much as the dream of Moscow. But because he is married this love is impossible, which devastates her. Besides the dream of going to Moscow, the collapse of the Vershinin dream deeply saddens her.
IRINA: The youngest member of the family, in her twenties. Everyone adores her and she is the source of joy. At first she dances and looks to the future with hope. She says “work is very important”(!). She is the sister who wants most to go to Moscow. Early on, though she wonders if the yet‑unseen Vershinin is interesting, she refuses the love of Solyony and Tuzenbach. We can say she is indecisive. Her mood fluctuates—one moment she is ecstatic, the next crying. Near the end she experiences disaster yet still has hope: to go to Moscow.
Andrey: The brother of the three sisters. Interested in music and languages. He wanted to become a professor but works on the town council. Although he says he is satisfied, he secretly complains. Married to Natasha and father of two. His gambling passion eventually harms him. A lonely and introverted character.
Natasha: She is emotional and sensitive, yet also vindictive. She never forgot the sisters’ attitude toward her and took revenge when the time came. She is heartless enough to dismiss the servant for being old. On top of all this she openly cheats on Andrey. Selfish and unfaithful.
Solyony: A frivolous, incompatible, unsympathetic and vindictive man with an inferiority complex. At the same time he is fragile. He finds people insincere yet wants a place among them. He loves showing off and strives to be the center of attention. He has won two duels and adds another by killing Tuzenbach.
Tuzenbach: Unlike Solyony, he is very agreeable and gentlemanly. Because he shares Irina’s view he plans to resign from the army and work—work is also important to him(!). A naive personality. Because of his love for Irina he is killed by Solyony.
Vershinin: A middle-aged man whose hair has not yet turned gray. Romantic and fond of philosophizing. He constantly predicts the future and understands time as a whole. He disdains military life and dreams of a house full of flowers. He has a wife and two daughters, and is not happy to be married. He reads a lot and concludes from what he reads that “we must work for the future.” Around the second acts he confesses his love to Masha but is caught between his family and Masha. In the end he leaves her.
Chebutykin: An old, lazy man. He has spent his life reading newspapers. His philosophy is ontological. He often says none of this really exists and it is all an illusion. Others mock him, attributing these thoughts to his age. Nevertheless he tries to get along with everyone. He loves Irina most, and once loved her mother. Because of his age he is experienced and is the first to realize Andrey is being cheated on and has the courage to say so.
Fedotik: In love with Irina. Always buys her gifts. A young man who sees life through rose-colored glasses. Even when his house burns down he dances and says, “My house burned down, it’s gone, turned to ash.”
Rode: Friend of Fedotik. His presence in the play is barely mentioned.
Kuligin: Masha’s high school teacher husband. He knows his wife cheats on him but will not give her up. A naive and henpecked man. He stays out of trouble but is also something of a flirt. He is interested in Olga.
Ferapont: An elderly man hard of hearing. Acts almost like the house steward. He also handles Andrey’s municipal affairs. One of the supporting characters who constantly talks about the past.
Anfisa: An old servant. She has worked in the house for many years and is important to the sisters. Toward the end she faces being dismissed, which frightens her greatly. Disruption of her routine is a matter of life and death for her. She begs the three sisters and cries.
Main Conflict — Subconflicts
We can see the main conflict as an internal or personal struggle with fate for each character. Olga, Masha and Irina are motivated by the desire to go to Moscow, but circumstances do not allow it. Their personal collapse results from submitting to this fate. As stated above, other characters also feel this conflict.
As for subconflicts, though not very distinct, we can express them as follows: the moderation–excess conflict between Tuzenbach and Solyony, the male–female conflict between Andrey and his sisters, and the servant–master conflict between Natasha and Anfisa.
Main Theme — Secondary Themes
The main theme is humanity’s expectation for the future that arises with changing conditions. Therefore a person should not simply complain about the future but take action. Waiting for someone to come change your life is wrong. One’s fate is in one’s own hands and one must act.
A secondary theme is that one should not run from reality but confront it.
Historical Essence — Universal Essence
Examining Three Sisters historically, we see it was written during a period of great upheaval and development in Russia. Based on various motifs in the play we can also mention the laziness of the privileged class, the futile efforts of the intelligentsia, the dissolution of family structure, migration to large cities, and the increase in individual and social crises. In these respects the play successfully reflects its era. Indeed, soon after it was written the October Revolution took place in Russia.
The play remains topical today for the same reasons. Even now, wherever prosperity is lacking, existential problems arise. As soon as a person pauses their work they start questioning themselves and their place in the universe. Unable to find adequate answers, daily life becomes unbearable. In the slightest change they falter and have difficulty adapting.
We can liken the sisters’ dream of Moscow to today’s longing for the metropolis. Migration from villages and towns to cities still continues today.
DRAMATIC MATERIAL
(Three Sisters lacks some dramatic material. Therefore the answers below are also incomplete.)
Inciting Incident
The greatest desire of the three sisters—the wish to go to Moscow because they are unhappy with their lives and hope to return to their old life—can be considered the inciting incident. Yet this is not a sufficient answer. In this play ruled by inaction, it is hard to pinpoint one exact inciting incident.
First Turning Point
Apart from the inciting incident above, we consider the first turning point in terms of the overall plot: the three sisters who dream of Moscow meet the officers who come to the military garrison.
Final Turning Point
Again paralleling the first turning point, we can call the final turning point “the soldiers leaving the house.” Yet there is an alternative final turning point if we focus on Irina: Tuzenbach being killed in a duel. Here we could ask “what now?” But the earlier-mentioned inaction also causes trouble for this alternative. We know what happens—nothing. And so it is: nothing happens.
Climax
To find the play’s climax we can look to the main characters. One example is the scene where Masha confesses her love and then others reveal their feelings. In that scene Andrey also pours out his heart to his sisters and everyone faces reality. Additionally, there is a climax centered on Irina when she learns that Tuzenbach has died.
COMMENTARY AND SUGGESTIONS
To be added…