Where It All Goes Down
Sorin's farm, Russia, late 19th Century
Chekhov doesn't tell us exactly where Sorin's farm is located in Russia, but we can assume (according to translator Paul Schmidt) that it resembles the estate Chekhov bought in 1891. It was fifty miles south of Moscow in open country with rivers, ponds, and lots of trees.
The first act takes place on the back lawn that overlooks the lake. It's summer, just a little after sunset—a bewitching moment for the premiere of Konstantin's play and the potentialities of love. It's very romantic, an ironic setting for the play's ridiculous failure and the subsequent implosion of relationships.
Act 2 also places the conflicts against a backdrop of leisure. It takes place at a hot noon, on a side lawn set up for croquet. The magical lake is still visible, casting a spell over Trigorin and Nina at the end of the act.
Act 3 is in Sorin's dining room—a more claustrophobic setting for the uncomfortable departure of Trigorin and Arkadina. Their luggage is piled up waiting to go.
Two years later we're in Act 4, in a parlor that Konstantin has converted into a study. Family and friends invade the workspace to chat and play cards, pushing Konstantin into an adjoining room to kill himself. Stormy weather underscores the tragic ending: dum dum dummm.