Three Sisters: Full Text and Introduction (NHB Drama Classics) by Anton Chekhov Stephen Mulrine

Author:Anton Chekhov, Stephen Mulrine
Format: epub
Publisher: Nick Hern
Published: 2017-01-07T16:00:00+00:00

Act Three

OLGA and IRINA’s room. To left and right are beds, behind screens. It is past two o’clock in the morning, and an alarm can be heard in the distance, sounding for a fire which started some time before. It is is obvious that no-one in the house has yet been to bed. MASHA is lying on the divan, wearing a black dress as usual. OLGA and ANFISA enter.

ANFISA. They’re sitting at the bottom of the stairs now … ‘Why don’t you go upstairs,’ I says, ‘You can’t sit there.’ And they’re crying, ‘We don’t know where our Papa is,’ they say, ‘Please God he hasn’t died in the fire.’ That’s what’s on their minds! And there’s more people out in the yard … still in their night things.

OLGA (taking some dresses out of a cupboard). Here, take this grey dress … And this one … And this cardigan, too … And here, Nanny, take this skirt … Oh God, this is a dreadful business – Kirsanov Street’s burnt to the ground, it seems … And take this … And this … (Flinging a dress into her arms.) The Vershinins got a terrible fright, the poor things … Their house only just escaped. They can spend the night here, we can’t let them go home … And poor Fedotik’s lost everything, completely burned out …

ANFISA. Olya dear, if you would call Ferapont – I can’t manage all these …

OLGA (rings the bell). I don’t think they can hear … (Calls through the door.) Will someone come up here, please!

The open door reveals a window, glowing red from the fire; a fire engine is heard passing the house.

This is terrible, terrible. And so exhausting …

FERAPONT enters.

Take these downstairs, please … Give them to the Kolotilin girls, they’re waiting in the hall … Give them this, too.

FERAPONT. Right, ma’am. Yes, there was a fire in Moscow too, in 1812. By God, the Frenchies didn’t half get a fright!

OLGA. Now go on, quickly.

FERAPONT. Yes, ma’am. (Exits.)

OLGA. Nanny dear, just give everything away. We don’t need it, give it all away, Nanny … I’m so tired, I can scarcely stand … We can’t let the Vershinins go home … The girls can sleep in the drawing-room, and we can put the Colonel downstairs with the Baron … Fedotik can move in with the Baron, too, or go into the ballroom … The Doctor’s drunk – it’s as if he did it on purpose – he’s terribly drunk, we can’t put anyone in with him. And put Vershinin’s wife into the drawing-room as well.

ANFISA (exhausted). Olya, dearest – please don’t send me away! Don’t send me away!

OLGA. Nanny, don’t talk nonsense. Nobody’s sending you anywhere.

ANFISA (lays her head on OLGA’s bosom). Oh, my dearest, darling Olya, I do my work, I work hard … But I’m getting feeble, and they’ll tell me to go. ‘Clear off!’ they’ll say. But where can I go? Where? I’m over eighty – coming up for eighty-two …

OLGA. Nanny, sit down … You’re worn out, you poor dear … (Makes ANFISA sit.

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