Previous
Olga Prozorov
Masha, 23, is the middle Prozorov sister, between Olga and Irina. Less emotionally demonstrative than her sisters, Masha is bookish and musically talented. At 18, she married Kulygin, thinking him intimidatingly clever; within a few years, however, she realizes he isn’t as smart as she thought, and she grows increasingly discontent in her marriage. Masha quickly becomes attracted to Vershinin because of his intellectual conversation, and they begin an affair that spans several years. The affair is somewhat of an open secret—even though she eventually confides in her sisters about her love for Vershinin, their lack of surprise suggests that they’ve known about the arrangement for a long time. After Vershinin leaves, Kulygin forgives her and recommits to their marriage, though Masha remains unsatisfied and bereft.
Masha Prozorov Quotes in The Three Sisters
The The Three Sisters quotes below are all either spoken by Masha Prozorov or refer to Masha Prozorov. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Act Four Quotes
VERSHININ: What else can I say to you as a goodbye? What bit of philosophy?… [Laughs.] Life is a heavy load. Many of us find it blank, hopeless, but still one has to admit it is becoming brighter and easier every day, and one can see the time is not far off when it will be filled with light. [Looking at his watch.] I must go, I must! Once humanity was occupied with wars, filling the whole of its existence with campaigns, invasions, victories, all that has now had its day, and left behind a huge empty space, which for the time being there is nothing to fill; humanity is passionately seeking that and of course will find it. Oh, if only it could be quick about it!
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
When Olga and Vershinin say goodbye before the brigade’s departure, Vershinin offers some spontaneous “philosophy” as a parting gift. In contrast to his earlier speeches, however, his optimism about the future is now tempered by an acknowledgement of life’s difficulty and a desire that humanity would quickly figure out the meaning of it all. His slightly more pessimistic outlook stems from the fact that he’s about to say goodbye to his lover, Masha, presumably for good, resigning himself anew to his unhappy marriage. His matter-of-fact glance at his watch, right after declaring the imminent transformation of life, adds a note Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Ve
OLGA [embracing both her sisters]: The band is playing so gaily and cheerfully, it makes one want to live! My God! Time will pass and we will be gone for ever, they’ll forget us, forget our faces, our voices and how many there were of us, but for those who live after us our sufferings will become joy —happiness and peace will come down on earth, and there’ll be a kind word and a blessing for those who are living now. Dear sisters, our life is not yet over. We shall live! The band is playing so gaily, so joyfully, and I think in a little while we too will know why we live, why we suffer… If we only knew, if we only knew!
CHEBUTYKIN: […] What can it matter! What can it matter!
OLGA: If we only knew, if we only knew!
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
These final lines of the play bring the Prozorovs’ sufferings to an ambiguous close: Olga is stuck in an unwanted job; Masha has said goodbye to her true love; and Irina’s fiancé has just been killed in a duel. Olga admits that life has an inescapable futility; the best they can hope for is that their struggles will benefit future generations. Yet the raucous cheer of the retreating army band seems to mock whatever comfort they might draw from this. In the end, Olga suggests, it’s impossible for people to know why they suffer, no matter how they try to Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia
Get the entire The Three Sisters LitChart as a printable PDF.
"My students can't get enough of your charts and their results have gone through the roof." -Graham S.
Masha Prozorov Character Timeline in The Three Sisters
The timeline below shows where the character Masha Prozorov appears in The Three Sisters. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Act One
The middle sister, Masha, is reading a book and quietly whistling. Olga scolds her and goes on to complain...
(full context)
Irina feels “radiant” and hopeful. Olga observes that Irina and Masha are still beautiful, but that at 28, she’s gotten thin and lost her looks. She...
(full context)
Masha prepares to leave, too, singing “an oak in leaf […] a chain of gold.” She...
(full context)
...street. The sisters tell him that they expect to move to Moscow by the autumn. Masha suddenly remembers Vershinin—when they were girls, they’d teasingly called him “The Lovesick Major.” She says...
(full context)
Vershinin mentions the sisters’ mother, and Masha remarks that she’s beginning to forget her mother’s face—and that someday, they, too, will be...
(full context)
...chair. They like to tease Andrey about his love for a local woman, whose clothes Masha mocks as “pathetic.” Andrey has better taste than that and is probably just teasing them...
(full context)
...that their late father “piled education onto us,” like foreign languages; Irina even speaks Italian. Masha calls it “superfluous knowledge.” Vershinin says that even backward provincial towns need educated people, and...
(full context)
Olga announces that lunch is served. Masha sternly warns Chebutykin not to drink, and he insists that he no longer drinks excessively;...
(full context)
Act Two
Masha and Vershinin enter. Masha is telling him about her marriage—how she was intimidated by Kulygin’s...
(full context)
...She wants to find another job—the Telegraph Office is “work with no poetry.” She tells Masha that Andrey has recently been losing money playing cards. If he lost everything, perhaps they’d...
(full context)
...life follows unchanging, inscrutable laws. For example, migratory birds fly without knowing why or where. Masha interjects that unless people have faith and search for meaning, life is empty and nonsensical.
(full context)
...and Rode, continues to converse around the table. They complain of the lingering winter, and Masha remarks that if she were in Moscow, she wouldn’t mind the weather. In response, Vershinin...
(full context)
Act Three
Kulygin enters in search of Masha. Offhandedly, he tells Olga that if he hadn’t found Masha, he would have married her...
(full context)
...for it. He starts singing an aria about love from Tchaikovsky’s opera Eugene Onegin, and Masha sings along.
(full context)
Masha tells Kulygin that he should go home. Kulygin calls her an “astonishing woman” and declares...
(full context)
Masha comes in, saying she wants to confess; her spirit is heavy: “In a word, I...
(full context)
...have it out, once and for all”—what do they all have against him? Just then Masha hears Vershinin singing in the distance and excuses herself. The other sisters want to sleep...
(full context)
Kulygin passes through the room in search of Masha. Andrey notices that his sisters aren’t listening, but he repeats, “Natasha is an exceptional, honest...
(full context)
Act Four
...says it’s rumored that Solyony loves Irina, which one can understand, although, personally, he loves Masha.
(full context)
...Army’s departure, everything will go back to what it was before. Whatever anyone else says, Masha is “a fine, honest woman,” and he’s thankful for his destiny. He asks about Olga’s...
(full context)
When the others go in to greet Olga’s arrival, Masha sits down with Chebutykin and asks about his love for her mother. He says that...
(full context)
...exchange. In fact, it’s about time for the duel now. Solyony has survived duels before. Masha says this duel shouldn’t be allowed, as the Baron could be killed, but Chebutykin says,...
(full context)
While Anfisa goes in search of Masha, Olga and Vershinin say goodbye. Olga comments that “nothing happens as we want it”—now that...
(full context)
Olga moves aside as Masha enters and kisses Vershinin goodbye. He asks her not to forget him and quickly leaves....
(full context)
In the distance, there’s the sound of a muffled shot. Olga and Irina sit with Masha, trying to comfort her. Kulygin puts on a fake mustache and beard he’d confiscated from...
(full context)
The three sisters stand clinging to one another. Masha says they must start life anew. Irina says that someday, they’ll understand the reason for...
(full context)
