When authors refer to other great works, people, and events, it’s usually not accidental. Put on your super-sleuth hat and figure out why.
Literary and Philosophical References
- Dobrolyubov (1.33): Nikolai Dobrolyubov (1836-1861) was a well-known literary critic for the influential Russian journal Sovremennik ("The Contemporary"). Lazy Chebutykin would have done well to have read his works.
- "Beside the sea there stands a tree…" (1.38): Masha sings this little song repeatedly throughout the play. It comes from a poem by Aleksandr Pushkin, Russia's most famous writer. The song contains a reference to an educated cat walking in circles, and that probably reminds Masha of herself.
- Feci quod potui, faciant meliora potentes (1.150): Kulygin says this to show off his Latin. Probably sounds even weirder with a Russian accent. Anyway, this means: "I have done my best, let others do better if they can."
- His other quote, "Mens sana in corpore sano" means "A healthy mind in a healthy body" (1.158). Thanks, Kulygin.
- Gogol (2.86): Nikolai Gogol (1809-1852) was a famous Russian novelist whose stories hilariously and tragically critiqued the hypocrisy of Russian social life.
- Balzac (2.88): Honore de Balzac (1799-1850) was a French novelist. Knowing that Chebutykin is reading about Balzac's marriage helps us situate the play in 1850. It's also interesting because Chekhov, like Balzac, married late in his life. He wife was Olga Knipper, who starred as Masha in The Three Sisters.
- Lermontov (2.142): Mikhail Lermontov (1814-1841) was a Russian romantic writer and poet who was a contemporary of Pushkin. The two of them are part of why the 1820s-1840s are known as the "Golden Age" of Russian literature.