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  • Essay / Isolation and tragedy: Natasha in “Three Sisters”

    “Three Sisters” is Anton Chekhov's only true tragedy, featuring a large ensemble of characters facing a succession of horrific events. Of all the characters in the play, Natasha is the only one who seems to gain power at the end. In reality, even though Natasha gains power in her house and is rude to all the other characters, her story remains tragic and she suffers as much as the other characters. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”?Get an original essayAt the beginning of the play, Natasha comes from a lower class background and is very intimidated by the upper class Prozorovs, especially when the sisters make fun of her clothing choices. She was about to marry Protopopov, but she was in love with Andrey. She wanted to be accepted by her family and for them to stop making fun of her. This is evident in the first act, when she is humiliated and leaves the party saying, "I'm so embarrassed." I just don't know what my problem is; they make fun of me all the time. I know it's not polite to leave the table like that, but I just couldn't stand it. I really couldn’t” (275). Their overall goal is to fit in and be accepted. When Andrey confesses his love for her, she moves one step closer to that goal by becoming a member of the family, whether she is welcomed or not. Natasha is largely defined by her relationships and interactions with other characters. More importantly, her story revolves around her relationship with Andrey. At first, she is in love with him, and he loves her back, which leads to them being teased by every other member of the Prozorov household. Despite this, Natasha finds both acceptance and social mobility through Andrey. She goes from a lower-class peasant girl to a member of one of the wealthiest families in their small town. As the play progresses, Andrey begins to ignore Natasha. She spends the majority of her time alone with their child and becomes very worried about him. At the beginning of the second act, she expresses this feeling to Andrey and says: "Why is he so cold?" Yesterday he had a fever, and today he's cold all over... I'm so worried! (276). Andrei does not respond to this authentically, only saying: “He is well, Natasha” (276). This only worsens Natasha's isolation and anxiety. She becomes too invested in her relationship with her child, because he is all she really has. She analyzes his every action, saying, “This morning the baby woke up and looked at me, and all of a sudden he smiled and I know he recognized me” (276). Andrey completely ignores all these statements, almost as if the child isn't even his. Immediately, there is a clear separation between Natasha and Andrey now that they are married and starting a family together. Their relationship is strained again when Natasha begins her affair with Protopopov. She was originally supposed to marry Protopopov before marrying Andrey, so when Andrey doesn't like her or pay attention to her, she turns to Protopopov, who will surely at least be willing to pay attention to her. In the fourth act, Protopopov is even at home and interacting with her while Andrey is away. This is evident when she makes an offhand comment saying, “Little Sophie is here with Protopopov, so tell Andrei to take care of Bobik” (317). Protopopov helps her take care of her own children when she can no longer even communicate directly with Andrey. At the end of the play, Andrey and Natasha are so separated from each other that Andrey describes her by saying: "...it's.