Three Sisters (Chekhov)
Short summary
In a provincial Russian town at the turn of the 20th century, the Prozorov siblings—three sisters and their brother Andrey—longed to return to Moscow, where they grew up. On Irina's name day, the sisters received guests, including officers from the local military brigade. Among them was Lieutenant-Colonel Vershinin, who reminisced about Moscow and philosophized about the future.
Andrey married Natasha, who gradually took control of the household. She pushed the elderly nurse out and claimed the sisters' rooms for her children. Meanwhile, Andrey gambled away the family home by mortgaging it without his sisters' knowledge. He became increasingly submissive to his domineering wife, who began an affair with Protopopov, the head of the local council.
Masha, unhappy in her marriage to the schoolteacher Kuligin, fell in love with Vershinin. They began an affair that brought her temporary happiness. Irina, desperate to escape her meaningless job at the telegraph office, agreed to marry Baron Tuzenbach, though she admitted she didn't love him.
A fire broke out in town, bringing chaos and revealing the characters' true natures. Later, the announcement came that the brigade would be transferred to Poland. On the day of departure, Tuzenbach was killed in a senseless duel with Captain Soleni, who was jealous of his relationship with Irina. Vershinin bid farewell to Masha, leaving her heartbroken but resigned to return to her husband.
As the military band played in the distance, the three sisters stood together, contemplating their uncertain future. Despite their shattered dreams and the loss of their home to Natasha, they resolved to endure and find meaning in their lives.
Olga: Oh dear sisters, our life is not yet at an end. Let us live. The music is so gay, so joyful, and, it seems that in a little while we shall know why we are living, why we are suffering.... If we could only know, if we could only know!
The play ended with this note of fragile hope, as the sisters faced their provincial life with renewed determination, still yearning for understanding and purpose despite their thwarted dreams of Moscow.
Detailed summary by acts
Division into scenes within acts is editorial.
Act 1. Dreams of Moscow and provincial life discontents
The three sisters reminisce about Moscow on Irinas name day
The play opened in the Prosorov family home in a provincial Russian town. It was midday, and the sitting room was being prepared for lunch. Olga, dressed in a blue teacher's uniform, was correcting exercise books while Masha, in black, read a book, and Irina, in white, stood thoughtfully. It was Irina's name day, and also the anniversary of their father's death the previous year. The sisters reminisced about their father, a brigade commander who had moved them from Moscow to this provincial town eleven years earlier.
The sisters expressed their deep longing to return to Moscow, which they remembered as a place of culture and happiness. Irina, celebrating her name day, was particularly hopeful about the future. Baron Tuzenbach, a lieutenant, and Dr. Chebutikin, an army doctor, were present among the guests. Chebutikin, who had loved the sisters' mother, gave Irina an expensive silver samovar as a gift, despite Masha's protests about its extravagance.
Irina: To Moscow! Moscow! Moscow! Olga: Yes! To Moscow, and as soon as possible. Chebutikin and Tuzenbach laugh. Irina: I expect Andrey will become a professor, but still, he won't want to live here.
Meeting Vershinin and philosophical discussions about the future
Lieutenant-Colonel Vershinin arrived, introducing himself as the new battery commander. He remembered the Prosorov sisters from Moscow, where their father had been stationed. The sisters, especially Masha, were intrigued by this connection to their beloved Moscow. Vershinin was married with two daughters but mentioned his wife was unstable and had attempted suicide multiple times.
The conversation turned philosophical as Vershinin spoke about the future and how life would change in two or three hundred years. He believed that while they might not see this improved future, they were working toward it. Tuzenbach disagreed, arguing that life would remain essentially the same despite superficial changes. This philosophical debate engaged the sisters, particularly Masha, who found herself increasingly drawn to Vershinin's ideas and personality.
Vershinin: After two or three hundred years, after a thousand - the actual time doesn't matter - a new and happy age will begin. We, of course, shall not take part in it, but we live and work and even suffer today that it should come.
Meanwhile, Irina expressed her desire to work and find meaning in life. She felt that idleness was making her unhappy and longed for purposeful labor. Tuzenbach, who was clearly in love with her, supported her ideals about work, revealing that he planned to resign from the military to pursue civilian employment.
Natasha and Andreys budding relationship
Andrey, the sisters' brother, entered the scene playing his violin. He had once aspired to be a professor in Moscow but now worked for the local council. Natasha, his fiancée, arrived dressed in a green sash that Olga tactfully suggested was inappropriate. Natasha was visibly uncomfortable among the guests, especially when they teased her about her relationship with Andrey.
During lunch, the conversation became awkward when Chebutikin joked about Natasha having a secret admirer. Embarrassed, she fled the dining room with Andrey following to comfort her. In a private moment, Andrey confessed his love and proposed marriage to Natasha, which she accepted. Their intimate moment was accidentally witnessed by two officers who entered the room.
Act 2. Changing household dynamics and emerging relationships
Natashas growing control over the house
Act 2 opened eight months later, at 8 p.m. in the Prosorov home. Natasha, now married to Andrey and mother to their infant son Bobby, had begun to assert control over the household. She moved through the house with a candle, checking for fire hazards during the Shrovetide celebrations. When she encountered Andrey, she expressed concern about their son's health and suggested canceling the planned entertainment for that evening.
Andrey hesitantly pointed out that the house belonged to his sisters as well, but Natasha dismissed his concerns. She also hinted at her plans to move Irina from her room to accommodate the baby, claiming Irina's room was more suitable for a child. Natasha's growing dominance in the household was evident as she began making decisions without consulting the sisters, who were both absent at work - Olga at the high school and Irina at the telegraph office.
After Natasha left, Andrey confided in Ferapont, an elderly doorkeeper from the council offices, about his disillusionment with provincial life. He lamented how his dreams of becoming a professor in Moscow had faded, and he was now merely the secretary of the local council under Chairman Protopopov. Andrey expressed his loneliness and how he felt like a stranger in his own town.
Personal confessions and philosophical discussions
Masha and Vershinin entered, continuing their philosophical conversation about life in the provinces. Masha expressed her disdain for civilian life and her preference for military men, whom she found more cultured. Vershinin spoke about his troubled home life and his unhappy marriage. Their growing attraction was evident in their intimate conversation.
Irina returned from work at the telegraph office, visibly exhausted and disillusioned. She confessed to Tuzenbach that she found her job meaningless and devoid of poetry or ideas. Tuzenbach, still devoted to her, listened sympathetically. Irina's idealistic views about work from Act 1 had been replaced by the harsh reality of her tedious job.
Tuzenbach: When you come home from your work you seem so young, and so unfortunate... Irina: I am tired. No, I don't like the telegraph office, I don't like it. What I wanted, what I hoped to get, just that is lacking here. Labour without poetry, without ideas...
The philosophical discussions continued as Vershinin, Tuzenbach, and Soleni debated the future of humanity. Vershinin maintained his optimistic view that life would improve in the distant future, while Tuzenbach insisted that human nature would remain essentially unchanged. Chebutikin, increasingly cynical and alcoholic, participated marginally in the conversation while reading his newspaper.
The cancelled entertainment and domestic tensions
Natasha returned and announced that the planned entertainment for the evening was canceled because her baby was unwell. The sisters were skeptical of this excuse, suspecting Natasha was simply asserting her control. Andrey appeared briefly to confirm the cancellation, clearly under Natasha's influence and unable to stand up to her.
As the guests departed, Soleni lingered behind to speak with Irina. He awkwardly confessed his love for her, which she firmly rejected. Soleni ominously declared that he would not allow any rivals for her affection, hinting at his jealousy of Tuzenbach. Shortly after, Natasha reappeared, preparing to go out for a drive with Protopopov, the council chairman, suggesting the beginning of an affair.
Kuligin, Masha's husband, arrived looking for his wife. He demonstrated his contentment with life despite Masha's obvious unhappiness in their marriage. The act ended with Irina alone, crying out her longing for Moscow, symbolizing the sisters' continued yearning for escape from their provincial existence.
Act 3. Crisis decisions during the town fire
Taking refuge during the fire and helping victims
Act 3 took place in the bedroom shared by Olga and Irina. It was past 2 a.m., and a fire alarm had been ringing for some time. The sisters had taken in refugees from the fire that was ravaging part of the town. Olga was distributing clothes to the victims, assisted by the elderly nurse Anfisa. Masha was lying on a sofa, seemingly lost in thought.
Natasha appeared, complaining about the presence of the elderly Anfisa and suggesting she should be sent away to live in the country. Olga defended Anfisa, who had been with the family for thirty years, but Natasha was insistent. This confrontation highlighted Natasha's growing cruelty and her complete takeover of the household, as well as Olga's increasing powerlessness despite her recent appointment as headmistress of the high school.
Andreys confession about mortgaging the house
Chebutikin entered, visibly drunk, and accidentally broke a clock that had belonged to the sisters' mother. This symbolic act represented the breaking of the sisters' connection to their past and their hopes for the future. In his drunken state, Chebutikin also alluded to Natasha's affair with Protopopov, which everyone seemed to know about except Andrey.
Andrey himself appeared and confessed to his sisters that he had mortgaged their house without their permission. He admitted to gambling debts of thirty-five thousand roubles and defended Natasha against his sisters' disapproval. Andrey's confession revealed his complete surrender to his circumstances and his failure to achieve his earlier ambitions. He acknowledged his unhappiness but seemed unable to change his situation.
Andrey: I used to be young, happy, clever, I used to be able to think and frame clever ideas, the present and the future seemed to me full of hope. Why do we, almost before we have begun to live, become dull, grey, uninteresting, lazy, apathetic, useless, unhappy...
Masha reveals her love for Vershinin
In an emotional moment, Masha confessed to her sisters that she had fallen in love with Vershinin. She acknowledged the impropriety of loving a married man but explained that she could not help her feelings. Masha described how she initially found Vershinin strange, then felt sorry for him, and finally fell in love with him, his voice, and his words.
Masha: I want to make a confession... I love, I love... I love that man. You saw him only just now... I love Vershinin. First he seemed queer to me, then I was sorry for him... then I fell in love with him...
Olga, uncomfortable with this confession, pretended not to hear, but Irina listened sympathetically. Masha's confession highlighted the sisters' different approaches to their provincial existence: Masha found escape in a forbidden love, Olga in her work, while Irina continued to dream of Moscow but was beginning to lose hope.
Irina decides to marry Tuzenbach despite not loving him
Irina, overwhelmed by the events of the night and her growing disillusionment with life in the provinces, broke down in tears. She lamented that she had forgotten everything she had learned, including Italian words, and feared they would never escape to Moscow. Her work at the telegraph office had crushed her spirit, and she felt her life slipping away meaninglessly.
Irina: Where? Where has everything gone? Where is it all? Oh my God, my God! I've forgotten everything, everything... I don't remember what is the Italian for window or, well, for ceiling... I forget everything, every day I forget it...
Olga comforted her sister and suggested that Irina should marry Baron Tuzenbach, even though she did not love him. Olga argued that respect and admiration were sufficient foundations for marriage. Irina, desperate for any change in her circumstances, agreed to marry Tuzenbach, despite not loving him, seeing it as her duty and perhaps her only chance for a different life.
Act 4. Military departure and final goodbyes
Farewells to the officers leaving town
The final act took place in the garden of the Prosorov house at midday. The military brigade was being transferred out of town, and the officers were saying their goodbyes. Tuzenbach, having resigned his commission, was preparing for civilian life and his marriage to Irina the next day. Fedotik and Rode, two young officers, bid farewell to the sisters, exchanging gifts and promising to write.
Chebutikin, also preparing to leave, reminisced about his long association with the family. He expressed regret that he would soon be retired and separated from the sisters, whom he deeply cared for. Meanwhile, Kuligin appeared with his mustache shaved off to please the school director, symbolizing his complete submission to authority and convention.
Vershinin arrived to say goodbye to Masha, with whom he had been having an affair. Their parting was emotional, with Masha breaking down in tears. Olga comforted her sister while Kuligin, aware of the affair but choosing to ignore it, expressed his willingness to forgive and continue their marriage as before. This painful separation highlighted the end of Masha's brief escape from her unhappy marriage.
Masha: "There stands a green oak by the sea, And a chain of bright gold is around it..." I'm going off my head... "There stands... a green oak... by the sea." Oh, how the music plays! They are leaving us, one has quite left us, quite and forever.
Tuzenbachs duel and death
Throughout the act, there were ominous references to a duel between Tuzenbach and Soleni. Chebutikin mentioned it casually to Andrey, explaining that Soleni had challenged Tuzenbach after an argument. The duel was scheduled for that morning in the public wood visible from the garden. Despite the serious nature of the event, Chebutikin displayed a disturbing indifference, suggesting that one baron more or less made no difference.
Tuzenbach, aware of his impending duel, spent his final moments with Irina. He spoke poetically about his love for her and his hopes for their future together working at the brickworks. Though he knew she did not love him, he remained devoted to her. Before leaving, he kissed her hands and made a trivial request for coffee, unable to tell her he was going to a duel.
After Tuzenbach left, a shot was heard in the distance. Shortly after, Chebutikin returned with the news that the Baron had been killed in the duel. Irina wept quietly at the news, having lost her fiancé and her chance for a different life, even if it was not the one she had dreamed of in Moscow.
The sisters face their uncertain future
In the final scene, the three sisters stood together, coming to terms with their losses and disappointments. Masha had lost Vershinin, Irina had lost Tuzenbach, and Olga had resigned herself to her role as headmistress, abandoning her own dreams of Moscow. Natasha had completely taken over the house, planning to cut down the trees in the garden, symbolizing the destruction of the sisters' last connection to their past.
Despite these setbacks, the sisters found strength in their unity. Olga encouraged her sisters to look to the future, suggesting that their suffering might have meaning for future generations. Irina decided to go away alone to teach, dedicating herself to work even without love or Moscow. Masha, though heartbroken, resolved to continue her life with Kuligin.
As military music played in the background, signaling the final departure of the brigade, Olga delivered the play's closing speech. She expressed hope that their current suffering would eventually lead to a better world, even if they would not live to see it. The sisters embraced, finding comfort in their shared experience and their enduring bond, as Chebutikin softly sang to himself, repeating his nihilistic refrain that nothing really matters.