SOURCE: "The Mosaic Design," in Chekhov and O'Neill: The Uses of the Short Story in Chekhov's and O 'Neill 's Plays, Akadémiai Kiadó, 1986, pp. 68-117.

In the following excerpt, Egri demonstrates how themes and motifs from Chekhov's short stories are incorporated into "mosaic patterns " in Three Sisters and The Cherry Orchard.

The most intricate and refined strategy of composing a dramatic whole out of short-story-like units is the application of the mosaic design. It represents a total integration of short-story-oriented elements, minor motifs, even fragmentary motives, into a dramatic pattern. How conscious Chekhov was of the nature and merits of the procedure is witnessed by his letter of May 8, 1889, to his brother, Alexander Pavlovich: "The large number of re-visions need not trouble you, for the more of a mosaic a work is, the better. The characters stand to gain by this. The play will be worthless if...