How we cite our quotes: (Act.Line)
Quote #1
Olga: Well, that's all right, it's God's will, but sometimes I think if I'd gotten married and could stay home all day long, that would be better somehow. (Pause) I would have loved my husband. (1.12)
Well, Olga, who knows if you would have. Masha doesn't. Irina's not planning on loving hers (until he dies, anyway). Most of the characters express regret, with varying degrees of self-pity, when it comes to marriage—whether they've got it or not.
Quote #2
Masha: I heard someone saying yesterday she's supposed to marry Protopopov, the chairman of the County Council, and I certainly hope she does. (1.19)
Perhaps the sisters' opposition to Natasha is part of what drives Andrey to fall in love with and propose to her. Also, we see the seeds of the Protopopov affair way early, before Andrey even proposes.
Quote #3
Vershinin: I have wife and two little girls, and my wife is not a well woman, and what with one thing and another, if I could start life over again, believe me, I certainly wouldn't get married. (1.149)
It's true: marriage is an unappealing prospect in this play. On the other hand, the alternatives lived out by Chebutykin and Olga are not so thrilling, either. Could this be saying that turn-of-the-century-Russia just wasn't that fun a place?
Quote #4
Kulygin: Masha, we're going to the headmaster's this afternoon at four. There's an outing for the teachers and their families. (1.158)
Masha is particularly miffed by Kulygin's control of her time, and bored to tears by his teacher buds. Though, frankly, she seems to do pretty much what she wants, when she wants.
Quote #5
Natasha: Andy, how come you never talk to me?
Andrey: Nothing; I was just thinking…What is there to say? (2.11-12)
Only two years into their marriage, Natasha and Andrey are already presenting an unappealing picture of the institution. Like Masha and Kulygin, they just can't communicate.
Quote #6
Masha: I got married when I was eighteen, and I was afraid of my husband because he was a teacher, and I was barely out of school. I used to think he was terribly wise, intelligent, and important. Now I've changed my mind. Unfortunately… (2.31)
Masha wants Moscow-level intellectual stimulation from her husband, and is bitterly disappointed by Kulygin. Guess that sets the scene for Vershinin…
Quote #7
Vershinin: We started fighting at seven this morning, and at nine I slammed the door and left. (2.40)
How much of Masha and Vershinin's mutual attraction stems from commiserating over their unsatisfactory marriages? Great foundation for a relationship, if you ask us…
Quote #8
Masha: The main thing is not to let Natasha find out he's lost all that money.
Irina: I don't think she even cares. (2.61-2)
Natasha and Andrey are recently married—Bobik's only a baby—but they've already drifted far apart.
Quote #9
Andrey: Nobody should get married. It's boring. (2.180)
Well, there you have it. Boredom is poison for the Prozorov family, which may explain why they're so bad at marriage.
Quote #10
Natasha: We should help out the poor anyway; that's one of your responsibilities if you're rich. (3.14)
Aha. So that's why Natasha married Andrey, even though she's still smitten with her former suitor Protopopov. Andrey raises her rank.
Quote #11
Olga: Dearest, let me talk to you, as your sister, as a friend. If you want my advice, marry the baron…People don't marry for love, they marry because they're supposed to. (3.102)
When it comes to marriage, the moral of the story in Three Sisters is clearly "damned if you do, damned if you don't."
Quote #12
Andrey: When I got married, I thought that we'd all live happily together…happily…But oh, my God… (Starts to cry). (3.123)
The crisis of the fire forces Andrey to finally be honest with his sisters. He sees the error of his misguided marriage to Natasha, and realizes it's driven him away from his own family, too.
Quote #13
Andrey: I love Natasha, you know that, but sometimes she disgusts me so much I get sick to my stomach, and I can't understand what it was…why I love her. Or why I used to. (4.77)
Whoa. Love tempered by disgust is pretty serious. Here, Andrey is frank with Chebutykin, who advises him to hightail it out of there.