Summary
As Natasha gushes about her baby, Solyony makes a joke about wanting to fry the baby in oil and eat him. Masha comments on the fact that if she was in Moscow, she wouldn't care about the weather. Vershinin tells her about a prisoner who was completely enamored with birds when he was imprisoned, but takes no notice of them now that he is free. He says, "You won't notice Moscow when you live there. We're not happy. We've never been happy. We only long to be."
Vershinin receives a letter from his daughter, and excuses himself, saying that his wife has taken poison again. Masha is in a horrible mood, snapping at Anfisa, the old servant, and others. When Chebutykin mimics her, she snaps at him, "60 years old and still a brat, blurting out every damned thing that comes into your head." Natasha tries to tell her to be kinder and more charming.
Tusenbach goes over to talk to Solyony, bringing cognac and seeking to make peace. "What do we need to make peace for? We haven't quarreled, you and I," says Solyony. Tusenbach tells him that there seems to be something antagonistic between them, but Solyony suggests that he is fine one-on-one, but becomes gloomy and shy in company.
Andrei enters, just as Solyony and Chebutykin get into an argument about food. Tusenbach drunkenly tells Andrei that they will go to Moscow together and go to university. The group begins to get rowdier, having fun, when Natasha enters and tells Chebutykin and Tusenbach that she wants people to leave because of the baby. People begin to leave as Masha refers to Natasha as a "small-town nobody."
Once everyone has left Chebutykin confides in Andrei that he has some regrets about not getting married, and that he loved Andrei's mother. "There's no reason to get married. None. It's a bore," says Andrei. Chebutykin counters that "...loneliness is a terrible thing." Andrei wants to go gamble with Chebutykin, worried that Natasha will try and stop him. He tells Chebutykin that he has been short of breath recently, but Chebutykin cannot remember any medicine and has no advice for him.
When the carnival people arrive outside, Irina tells Anfisa to turn them away. Suddenly Solyony comes into the room. He didn't realize everyone had gone home, and he takes the opportunity to tell Irina that he loves her. She denies him and he vows that he will "kill all rivals," even if he can never make her love him.
Natasha approaches Irina and asks her to move in with Olga for a bit so that the baby can sleep in her room. Anfisa approaches her and tells her that Protopopov is there and wants to take her on a ride in his troika, an invitation she accepts.
When Natasha rushes to dress, Kulygin, Olga, and Vershinin enter, confused by the fact that everyone is gone. Vershinin talks about the fact that his wife was trying to scare him with a suicide attempt, and invites Kulygin out for a drink, but Kulygin declines. Olga is upset about the fact that Andrei lost money gambling, and the whole town is gossiping about it.
When she leaves, Irina is left alone in the room, before Natasha comes out and tells Irina that she is going out for a quick ride. "To Moscow. Moscow. Moscow," Irina says.
Act 3. Olga and Irina's shared bedroom, after 2AM. A fire alarm is going off and Masha is lying on a sofa. Olga and Anfisa come in, Anfisa fretting about the fire. Olga says that Kirsanov Lane has burned down and Vershinin's house nearly caught fire. She also mentions that Fedotik's house caught on fire. Olga tells Anfisa to make the Vershinins stay, and Anfisa frets that, at 81, she will be sent away one of these days.
Olga reassures her and tells her to sit down. When Natasha comes in, she scolds Anfisa for sitting down, and Olga is taken aback. "There's no need for her here. She's a peasant. She belongs in the country," says Natasha. Olga admonishes Natasha for being so rude to Anfisa, and notes that Anfisa has been with the family for 30 years.
"I've aged 10 years tonight," says Olga, as Natasha continues to complain about Anfisa, saying that she wants her to leave the next day. Kulygin enters looking for Masha, and tells Olga that Chebutykin is completely drunk. "Two years without a drop, and suddenly he's drunk..." says Olga, upset.
Chebutykin enters and delivers a monologue, complaining that he has lost his memory and become a horrible doctor. He cries as he talks about the fact that a woman died on Wednesday because he is a bad doctor now. Irina, Vershinin, and Tusenbach enter. Vershinin talks about how the soldiers helped to quell the fire. Tusenbach wants to throw a concert, and talks about what a good pianist Masha is.
Analysis
A recurring theme in the play is the question of whether people can ever truly be happy. Characters experience longing, whether it is for a life in Moscow, a different marriage, more acceptance, a more prominent role in society, or love fulfilled, but none of them can seem to achieve any kind of realization of these desires. Only simple-minded characters, like Kulygin, seem able to achieve any kind of contentment in their lives. Otherwise, as Vershinin puts it rather fatalistically, "We're not happy. We've never been happy. We only long to be."
In this section of the play, Natasha has married Andrei and had his child, and has begun to butt heads with the Prozorov sisters, particularly Masha. She takes her role as mother very seriously, and uses it as an excuse to make large demands of the family. Just when everyone is starting to have fun, getting excited about the imminent arrival of the carnival people, Natasha asks them to leave, as Bobik isn't feeling well. Masha directly calls out Natasha's provincial attitude, calling her a "small-town nobody." There is an ugliness in the rivalry and antagonism between the refined Prozorov sisters and the more unsophisticated Natasha.
We also learn a little more about Solyony in this section of the play, even though he remains a puzzle. Tusenbach brings him some cognac, seeking to make peace with the eccentric contrarian, and Solyony tells him that he bears no personal grudge against the baron, but that he gets "gloomy and shy" in company, which causes him to behave antagonistically. This is a rare moment in which we hear Solyony express himself in an emotionally honest way, but it is not long before he is baiting and contradicting members of the household in a provocative and nonsensical way.
Solyony becomes an even more complicated character when he professes his love for Irina. He tells her that she is "high-minded and pure" and puts her on a pedestal as "the only one who can understand me." This is highly uncharacteristic for the provocative weirdo to be so baldly vulnerable, or to confess to his own marginalization within their coterie, and his admiration for Irina seems to come out of nowhere. She does not respond well to his abruptness, and dismisses him almost immediately. He becomes destructive at this rejection, vowing to kill anyone who rivals him for Irina's affections.
Tensions only continue to rise as time goes by. Andrei continues to gamble and become the subject of gossip in the town, while Natasha engages in an affair with Protopopov and becomes a fascist head of the household when it comes to overseeing the long-suffering servants. Masha becomes all the more enamored of Vershinin, even though they are both married. Chebutykin breaks two years of sobriety on the night of the fire, and bemoans the fact that he is losing his memory and can no longer practice medicine.
