Like all Chekhov pieces, “Drei Schwestern” defies a one-dimensional interpretation. 

Although the work is structured through chamber music, the complexity of the topics addressed and the accuracy of the character portraits allow a variety of accents and interpretations. The aspects described below are therefore only approaches for interpretation. Chekhov himself always refused to explain his play. When asked what he "meant" with a certain passage, he always replied that it was all in the script. In a way, Chekhov's drama can be understood as an “end time piece”. 

The story of the Prosorov siblings, who dream of a better life but are unable to tear themselves out of the atmosphere of weary listlessness, is a paradigmatic for the state of the Russian intelligentsia at the dawn of the new century. Although the siblings are educated and endowed with many talents, they remain in an unproductive waiting state and complain that their diverse talents are only "ballast" for them. 

In the first act, Irina critically examines this way of life and decides to go to work. But the longed-for satisfaction does not come. Both Irina and Olga find their work only draining and tiring. In the characters in the play, Chekhov paints a portrait of his own social class, which he considers incapable of giving impetus to social development. “The fire that destroyed half the city in the third act is a glimpse of the revolutions in which this layer will finally perish. The future belongs to people like Natascha - the pragmatic sister-in-law of the three sisters who, without scruples, asks about usefulness and efficiency. 

Andrej and the sisters are passive spectators in a theater that plays the story of their downfall.