The Three Sisters: Character Analysis
There were many interesting characters in the play “The Three Sisters” by Anton Chekhov. Each of the three sisters told an interesting story of their lives throughout this play. Most of the characters in this play stayed the same. However, one character stood out above the rest Natasha, was the character that under went the most changes in this novel.
At the beginning of the play Natasha was simple minded. She was engaged to be married to Andrey. Andrey’s three sisters insulted her behind her back. They made cruel jokes about the way she dressed and what she said. Natasha was innocent back at the beginning of the play. Natasha didn’t pay much attention to anything but her love for Andrey. In the beginning she wore a pink dress with a bright green sash across it.
The nice, youthful Natasha didn’t last for very long in the play. By the second act she was transformed into a mother. She didn’t speak all that much except about the condition of her son Bobik. Natasha’s life revolved around her son. She speaks a great deal about her son in this part of the play. However, Bobik was becoming more sick. Natasha began to show her mean side her in act two. She has Irena move in with Olga to make an empty room for Bobik.
Toward the end of the novel Natasha became an evil person to be around. She was controlling and mean. She and her husband lived in the house with the three sisters. Natasha thought of the house as being her’s and her husband’s. Natasha wanted to kick the three sisters out of the house. Also, near the end of the play Natasha really wants Anfisa to be kicked of the house. Natasha wants to kick out a woman that has dedicated her life to helping the Serghyevna family. Natasha was nearly moved to tears over the subject of allowing Anfisa to finish her life while enjoying free meals and a bed to sleep in. Natasha goes so far as to call Anfisa a thief.
Natasha’s character changes in this novel more than any other character. The views of the other characters remain the same throughout the novel. Natasha changes from a young girl in love to a cruel old woman throughout the play. At the end she says things that the youth wearing a pink dress with a green belt never would.

The Three Sisters: Line Analysis

All of the lines that I highlighted when I was reading the play all fall under the same category. They all have to do with the grass being greener on the other side. The people speaking in these lines always want something they don’t have.
The first line that stood out in the play The Three Sisters was a line from Toozenbach. He said “...I’ll work. I’d like to do such a hard day’s work that when I came home in the evening I’d fall on my bed exhausted and go to sleep at once. I should think working men sleep well at nights!” This line illustrated the main point of Checkhov’s play. Toozenbach wants something that he doesn’t have. This longing for something happens quite a lot in this novel. Vershinin also makes the same statement later in the novel when he says “...We’re not happy and we can’t be happy: we only want happiness.” This line shows how every character in the play wants something that they don’t have. No one takes the time to be thankful for what they have. This need to have something that one can’t have is brought to a high point by Masha. She said, “ ...I love a man... I love Vershinin.” Masha and Vershinin are both married to different people. Masha must realize that a love between her and Vershinin would never work. This fantasy is just another example of two people from this play that are trying to find happiness.
Act three ends on this idea of finding happiness just over the hill when Irena gets to speak. She says, “... There’s no where in the world like Moscow. Let’s go, Olia! Let’s go!” Irena believes that if she goes to Moscow her life will be perfect. However, when she gets to Moscow she will only want to be somewhere else. Andrey reinforces this point with his comment, “ I hate the life I live at the present, but oh! the sense of elation when I think of the future.” This is the last line that brings up Chekhov’s central idea about this play. That no matter what humans have they will always what something else.

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