Comentary on Three Sisters by Anton Chekhov Essay Example

away” , as “she’s a peasant , she shouldn’t be in the house.She should be in the country somewhere. ” It is as if the poor “Natasha” with the tasteless green belt from Act 1 has entirely disappeared and now feeling comfortable with her new higher class status and subjected husband she controls, she can be a hypocrite and patronize all other peasants. Additionally Anfisa was probably a more respected village woman than her as she was a nanny to an aristocratic family, which was regarded a great honor. This makes Natalya’s actions are even more duplicitous.

Further on, the new sister-in-law tries to sound like a house-wife from the big city as she says that “a house must run in order. Like a machine” This is a simile which alludes to the working style of an urban, industrialized area, unlike the small town Natalya grew up with, where all she undertook was doubtlessly only manual labor. When addressing Olga, her tone changes decisively to make her sound more polite and delicate, however, the fact that she calls her “Olyetchka” and “dear”, patronizing her, proves that she cannot be freed from her disrespectful, provincial manners.Chekhov has used character development to emphasize on how much Natalya has changed in four years, also revealing her hidden intentions to marry Andrei so as to receive a higher social status and become the matriarch of the house. The previous woman whose words were determining was Olga. The chosen passage serves as a verbal duel between those two strong females who have developed differently throughout the course of the play.

Natalya has become domineering and rude, while Olga has given up

and tried to deal with her sister-in-law with calm disapproval.This is where the difference between the bringing up of a peasant and the behavioral education of a citizen from a metropolis is displayed. The provincial woman has become so powerful that she has even managed to make Olga doubt her standards, as the older woman says that “we, if you would understand have been brought up strangely. It’s true, but I cannot bear, bear to see such treatment.

” In Natalya’s final words, she in a way wins the battle over the position of the matriarch in the family, as she also she tries to convince Olga that she in charge now because Olga is too occupied with being a headmistress and Is not at home.The power in the house, and the influence over Andrei , is transferred from Olga to Natalya, but still in the Hands of a female. This passage is essential for the course of the play as through the dialogue, Chekhov emphasizes on three of the play’s most important themes: Provinciality, Hypocrisy and Matriarchy. He does that by contrasting Natalya’s behavior to Olga’s, the way the characters have developed through Acts One to Three, and the use of Irony of Situation.