Futility · Chapter
II explained
The narrator is invited to the Bursanov family's dacha, where he meets the three sisters—Sonia, Nina, and Vera—and their father Nikolai Vasilievich, along with Fanny Ivanovna, who is not their mother.
What happens
The narrator is invited to the Bursanov family's dacha, where he meets the three sisters—Sonia, Nina, and Vera—and their father Nikolai Vasilievich, along with Fanny Ivanovna, who is not their mother. After dinner, they attend a performance of Chekhov's 'Three Sisters,' which deeply affects the narrator and reveals underlying tensions in the family.
Themes in this chapter
Family and Dysfunction
The Bursanov family dynamics are revealed through the narrator's observations: the sisters' contemptuous treatment of their father, Fanny Ivanovna's pestering, and Nikolai Vasilievich's sullenness, hinting at deeper entanglements.
Art vs. Life
The narrator contrasts the 'careless and free' Bursanov sisters with the hopeless characters in Chekhov's 'Three Sisters,' only to realize that life imitates art as family tensions surface.
Optimism vs. Pessimism
The narrator's buoyant and impatient optimism clashes with Nikolai Vasilievich's sad, resigned view that 'life is not so simple,' reflecting a tension between hope and despair.
Characters to notice
- Nikolai Vasilievich
The father of the three sisters, who appears bored and sullen, and later becomes sad and reflective during the play.
- Fanny Ivanovna
The woman presiding over the samovar, mistaken by the narrator for the mother; she has a German accent and is pestering toward Nikolai Vasilievich.
- Nina Bursànova
One of the three sisters, aged fifteen, with steel-grey eyes and a charming, disquieting sidelong look; she clings to the narrator's arm on the walk home.
- Sonia
The eldest sister, aged sixteen, who introduces herself first.
- Vera
The youngest sister, aged fourteen, who introduces herself last.
Key passages
“It was somewhat in the manner of an Ibsen drama with retrospective revelations that I was initiated into the complicated affairs of the Bursanov family.”
The narrator learned about the Bursanov family's complexities gradually, like in an Ibsen play where the past is revealed over time.
Sets up the chapter's structure of unfolding family secrets.
“How can there be such people, Nikolai Vasilievich? Think of it! They can’t do what they want. They can’t get where they want. They don’t even know what they want.”
The narrator expresses frustration at the characters in Chekhov's play for their inability to act or know their desires.
Highlights the narrator's initial naivety and contrasts with the later revelation of the Bursanovs' own struggles.
“It’s all very well to talk. Life is not so simple. There are complications, so to speak, entanglements. It cuts all ways, till … till you don’t know where you are.”
Nikolai Vasilievich responds that life is complex and full of entanglements that make it hard to find clarity.
Foreshadows the family's hidden troubles and the narrator's growing understanding.