Question by klodjana82: How bad is Natalia Ivanovna in “Three Sisters” of Chekhov?
I am a student in the 4-th year for acting and I am going to get my diploma with this character in this play. The problem is that I think that there is got to be another way for characterising Natasha exept the bad one. She has got to have other problems exept her war for power. I would like to see something more human that may cause me a real pain. In this way I can believe her better and it would be easier for me to play this role.
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Answer by zeebaneighba
This is a great question! I’m assuming you’ve already done your character analysis of Natalia, so you’ve come to some ideas about her background, what she wants, etc. My question for you is: does NATALIA think she’s bad? Or does she have reasons for everything she does, which make sense to her? Consider that she’s mocked by the sisters early on, made to feel inferior, her husband turns out to be a disappointment, she’s got little Bobik to worry about and SOMEBODY has got to do the hard work of raising him, and never mind somebdy having to run the household as well since the sisters aren’t doing a very good job of it…How much is her “attitude” a cover for feelings of inferiority that haven’t gone away? A need to see this marriage and household work for Bobik’s sake, and if that means throwing her weight around, then so be it–somebody has to be responsible. Besides: none of the sisters have children, how can they know what it’s like, what you have to go through, who are they to tell Natalia she’s inferior? (And though it’s never said in the play–it would have to be a total invention for you to use, to find some personal pain: what if she lost an earlier child, and Bobik–who survived–has become her obsession to deal with that pain?)
Great challenge. Good luck.
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