Setting

A Month in the Country is set in Russia during the mid-1800s on the estate of a wealthy landowner. The entire play takes place within one week and the majority of the action takes place in the Islayev's drawing room. By setting the play during the 1840s, Turgenev adds a political dimension to the work. The expansion of the secret police and the increase in censorship during Tsar Nicholas I's reign limited the degree to which Russian citizens could express themselves freely. To the extent that Natalya wants to break free from the constraints imposed upon her by men and the institution of marriage, A Month in the Country can be symbolically read as a political commentary about Russian citizens wanting to assert their free wills and act in accordance with their desires and passions. Like Natalya, who seeks the freedom to do as she pleases without...