The symbolism of a spinning top: A sound detail in A. P. Chekhov’s play The Three Sisters

Abstract

The article deals with the study of the sound features of Chekhov’s creative legacy, and in particular, with the analysis and interpretation of the place and role of the sound detail of the spinning top in the play by A. P. Chekhov The Three Sisters, which has not been previously conducted by researchers. The analysis involves stage readings of the drama by major Russian and European directors of the 20–21st centuries – K. S. Stanislavsky, Vl. I. Nemirovich-Danchenko, A. V. Efros, P. Stein, E. Nyakroshus, P. N. Fomenko, L. A. Dodin, who show that for most of them the ‘amazing sound’ of the spinning top plays an important symbolic role in Chekhov’s play, and for its interpreters the character of this sound is important – instilling anxiety into the upcoming action, as well as foreshadowing the direction of its development and even the fi nale. The ‘amazing sound’ of the spinning top, according to the concept of parallelism of the fi rst and fourth acts proposed by G. I. Tamarli, is projected onto the sound of the shot that struck Tuzenbach at the end of the play. The conclusions drawn will help future drama directors in theater and cinema to pay more attention to Chekhov’s sound details and see the symbolism in seemingly everyday objects introduced into the plot.

Keywords

• a. p. chekhov
• the three sisters
• ‘amazing sound’ of a spinning top
• sound detail
• symbolic meaning
• stage interpretations