Direct and Indirect Communication in A. P. Chekhov's Narrative «Three years»: on the Dialectic of Relationships Between the Main Characters

The relations of the main characters of A.P. Chekhov's narrative “Three Years”, Alexey Laptev and his wife Yulia Belavina, develop in communication with each other, the latter can be represented in the text by direct communication. In direct communication, the statements of both characters are verbally expressed. Characters 'utterances can be introduced with remarks that contain not only the verb of speech, but also words and word combinations that indicate the characters' gestures during communication.
Nonverbal gesture components are involved in the formation of the integral content of direct communication. Indirect communication represents the characters' understanding of the relationships that arise between them and is not voiced by them. It is aimed at the reader's perceiving consciousness and is framed as the inner speech of each of the characters. The interrogative sentences included
in the author's text also introduce the reflections of the characters, who may relate differently to what happened between them. The characters' questions relate to themselves and are usually left unanswered. Direct and indirect communication between Laptev and Yulia allows the reader to understand the change in the relationship of the characters over the course of three years: at the beginning
and end of the story each of them declares his love, but only one of them is experiencing this feeling.