Family Loneliness in Chekhov’s Work “Three Sisters”

The Three Sisters by Anton Chekhov revolves around Moscow-bred sisters Olga, Irina, and Masha Prosorov. They live in a big house in a Russian town with their brother Andrey. Their deceased father was a Russian army officer who left them in a Russian provincial town which is increasingly becoming hopeless for them. The three sisters’ course of life has taken an unfortunate turn after the death of their father and their only solace comes from a nearby artillery post and the company of the officers in the post. Being educated, the three sisters find it boring in the small town and are obsessed with going back to Moscow (a big city where they were raised) now that their father is deceased.

Following the personal lives of the three sisters makes the play interesting. Their aspirations of moving back to a big city only remain to be dreams that are never fulfilled. Olga, the eldest sister, is a high school teacher who hates her job. Her dream of a happy marriage slowly fades as she ages and remains a spinster. Masha is married to a schoolteacher, Kulygin, whom she believes is small-minded. Her love for intelligent men maker her develop an affair with officer Vershinin which only end with a heartbreak. Masha has no hopes for going back to Moscow.

The youngest sister, Irina, has fancy dreams of finding love and happiness in Moscow. She also at first value work but after some time realizes that it is tiring to work and working does not fit in her dreams of happiness. None of the three sisters realizes her dreams. In an unfortunate turn of events, the lives of the three sisters get worse as towards the end of the play they lose even control of their own house.

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Chekhov does a great job of exploring problems facing humans especially regarding the orientation of life. The apparent conflict in the play is a product of modern motif of family loneliness. The loneliness in the play is not related to the physical solitude. Instead, it is a question of finding a person who loves and understands your life perception. Chekhov explores the loneliness and complications related to finding a soul mate. The three sisters in the play and their brother all experiences complications in their efforts to find or maintain their partners. As mentioned earlier Masha ends up having an affair with an army officer.

This affair is a clear indication of the loneliness Masha experiences as a result of not finding a person who shares similar hopes, dreams and emotional mood as her. About her husband, Masha says “I used to think he was terribly wise, intelligent, and important. Now I've changed my mind' (26:56). This expresses Masha’s disappointment after finding out that her husband is not as wise as she thought. It is this revelation that makes Masha feel lonely.

Chekhov’s play does not fall short of discussing society and social classes. Having been raised in a big town, Moscow, the three sisters are advantaged in society and can be taken to represent the upper class in the society they currently live in. It is the societal social class difference between the Prozorov and others in their community that makes the three sisters feel the need to move to a bigger city. They are disappointed by their lives as they feel like they live in a place where they are surrounded by ignorant people with less knowledge.

The upper-class status of the three sisters is challenged by a working-class lady, Natasha, who seems to take control of the house at the end of the play. The interactions between Natasha and the three sisters marks a tilt in societal class orientation and clearly indicates the rise of the middle class in society. The deteriorating state of upper-class stature is also evident through Andrey who is academically talented but slowly turns out to be a small-time gambler.

The Three Sisters is truly an exceptional play. As evidenced in the discourse above, it is intriguing and summative of the wider society. It is cultivating to see how the three sisters Olga, Irina, and Masha becomes obsessed with a life they never get to live. Anton Chekhov also does a great job of integrating issues faced by humans such as loneliness. It is also amazing how Chekhov represents the rise of the middle class in society.

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