Natasha Ivanovna, the Lonely Bourgeoise

Natasha Ivanovna, the Lonely Bourgeoise! MARINA MAJDALANY Whilst all commentators of Chekhov's play dwell at length upon the aesthetic longings of the three sisters, and tenderly evoke their sensitivity bruised by frustration , no comparable sympathy is extended to Natasha, their brother's young wife. She is indeed as vain, selfish and even ruthless as she has been categorized; but what all these attributions have crowded out is the fact that first and foremost she is a disoriented petite bourgeoise, socially insecure and lonely in an alien and hostile environment. To maintain objectivity, the critic must resist the temptation to redress the balance by tilting it in Natasha's favour. She is no more a flawless heroine than any of her sisters-in-law, but she deserves a fair appraisal. Natasha should be examined as an individual with feelings and attitudes which, although they may lack subtlety and charm, still have a right to our understanding and a claim on our compassion. Yet, what invariably seems to happen is that she is criticized as the sisters' antagonist, who she is in a sense, and it is not taken into account that the source of the conflict resides in a personal and social incompatibility for which all four women must share equal responsibility. Harvey Pitcher comes close to explaining the reason for the general indictment of Natasha when he writes: "Everyone has always agreed that Natasha is an odious character and that to dislike her thoroughly is only right and proper. But there is such an impatient desire to find someone to blame in the Three Sisters, such a gleeful rush to castigate Natasha for her most obvious failings, that comment on her has often been superficial."2 Yet, even after this caveat, he goes on to say: "When the gauche and tastelessly dressed Natasha makes her belated appearance, the audience is inclined to share the sisters' scepticism."3 By whose standards is Natasha's attire tasteless? Further, is Masha's venomous outburst which introduces the girl to the audience amere expression of scepticism? This indirect presentation sets the tone and indicates the nature )06 MARINA MAJDALANY of the antagonism between the parties, as we see the balance of power shifting to the final effective dominance of Natasha. Her raw physicality explodes through Masha's outburst: she is garish, loves brightly coloured clothes, those yellows and reds which have no status amid the sober monochromes adopted by the sisters. Her shiny cheeks, which "look as though they've been scrubbed" (p. 261), reinforce the image of red-blooded sexuality, that earthy vitality which stirs the pallid emotions of Andrey: "Oh, how young you are, Natasha, how wonderfully, beautifully young!" (p. 271). Natasha makes her first entrance "wearing a pink dress with a green bell." Awkward among a social elite, upset at being late, eager to please, her reactions are perfectly natural: she looks at the mirror, tidies her dress, and goes in to kiss Irena. Feeling shy, she admits as much to Olga, who takes one look at her and responds: "(Alarmed, dropping her voice.) You've got a green belt on! My dear, that's surely a mistake!" The bewildered young woman is guileless enough to believe that Olga's dismay is due to some esoteric knowledge of the occult: "Why, is it a bad omen, or what?" (p. 268). Far from sharing the sisters' scepticism, an unbiased audience gasps at what J.L. Styan accurately describes as "Olga's feline cruelty.'" But even as he credits Olga with the unpleasantness she richly deserves, he hints that Natasha's behaviour is already indicative of vanity, deceit and hypocrisy. As for David Magarshack, this exchange provides him with the Chekhov-sent opportunity of proving Natasha's vindictiveness5 when, at the end of Act IV, she tells Irena: "My dear, that belt you're wearing doesn't suit you at all" (p. )28). If this is vindictiveness, it is amply justified by the family's behaviour towards her in the intervening years. When she has not been ignored, she has been either slighted (by Masha, Toozenbach, Soliony) or reminded ofherlowly background (by Olga, e.g., in Act III, patronizingly: "Please try to...