Three Sister Anton Chekhov

¶ … Sisters by Anton Chekov When a child becomes an adult, one of the things they must accept is that the world does not always work the way they want it to. Children often have dreams that go unfulfilled, and when they accept this, it is one of the step to becoming an adult. Acceptance of one's circumstances is also one of the factors in becoming happy and being content with one's own life.

Anton Chekov, in his play, Three Sisters, examines how three sisters, disillusioned by their circumstances with life, deal with the fact that their dreams and aspiration will never be fulfilled, and how at least a degree of happiness can be found. The Prozorov family was originally from the sophisticated and cultured city of Moscow, but had moved to a small provincial village some years in the past. After the death of their father, the three sisters, Olga, Masha, and Irina, are stuck there; but dream of escaping.

Unfortunately for the sisters, circumstances will not allow it. Olga is trapped in a teaching position, and while she longs to move to Moscow, only receives a promotion, and the certainty of staying for her trouble. The middle sister Masha is trapped in a loveless marriage and also dreams of escaping to enjoy a better, more sophisticated life. And the youngest sister, Natasha, is trapped by her childish dreams of life and a glorious future that she will not have.

All three attempt to escape their circumstances in their own way, each having their own plans for their eventual happiness, which end in failure. In the end, the three must learn that happiness in life can be attained only through acceptance of one's circumstances and the attempt to make the best of a bad situation.

"Life is hard, it seems to many of us dull and hopeless; but yet we must admit that it goes on getting better, clearer, and easier, and it looks as though the time were not far off when it'll be full of happiness…" (Chekov, Act IV) Vershinin's words are at the core of the meaning of the play and assert that as one gets older, one gradually comes to accept what life has given them, and when that happens, they gradually become content with their lives and gain happiness.

When it comes to the three sisters, it is the eldest, Olga, who seems to learn this lesson by accepting the position of headmistress, taking the old nurse, Anfisa, with her. Masha on the other hand still has yet to fully accept her circumstances, but seems to be on the way to doing so. She must be pulled from Vershinin's arms, signifying her remaining desire to escape, but is accepted back by her husband, signifying the happiness she could have if she accepted her fate.

But the youngest sister, Irina, represents youth, and as such does not yet seem to have a life to accept. It is true that she decided to settle for the Baron Tuzenbach, signifying that she had accepted a fate for herself, but when the Baron is killed in a duel, she is left once again with no direction in life. The death of the Baron signifies the death of the life she had settled for, the fate that she had accepted with the hopes that.