He is, however, convinced that the subtext (or underlying subject or theme) of Yelena's cross-examination is her own desire and that she is finally responding to his longtime advances. Astrov asks how long they are staying; Vanya jokes wryly that they will be there for a hundred years. Vanya thinks that Yelena should betray her old husband so that she can be true to herself and enjoy her youth. The professor, Serebryakov, his young and lovely second wife Helen, his daughter Sonya from his first marriage (to Vanya’s sister, now deceased), and Telegin, an elderly landowner and Sonya's godfather, come down into the garden and join them. Act 1 Summary. He has spent his academic career pretending to be important but has not written anything new or memorable. Helen stays faithful to Serebryakov, and both of them depart the estate. In particular, Voynitsky envies Serebryakov's success with women: the examples he adduces are his angelic late sister, his mother (who worships the professor), and the beautiful Yelena. They all complain about how life has gotten complicated ever since Serebryakov showed up to stay at the house with his much-younger new wife, Yelena. Dreamily Voynitsky sighs about Yelena's beauty. Astrov chats about the weather, noting that the days are getting shorter, and he exits. Sonya produces a number of possibilities: help with the estate, teaching, nursing, and so on. Marina, an old nanny, sits knitting by a samovar as Astrov, the country doctor, paces back and forth. Astrov, a doctor, is called away to the factory and as he goes Sonya starts bragging about what a great guy he is. For Sonya, Yelena's idleness is "infectious"—her effect on Vanya, herself, and the doctor, all of whom having deserted their work to follow her, make this clear. Recalling Vanya's quip about the mermaid, she wonders if she should flee with him—her conscience, however, prevents it. Set in the daytime, Act III opens in the drawing room with Voynitsky and Sonya seated as Yelena paces in thought. He complains that ever since Professor Serebryakov and his wife have come to the house to live his schedule has been interrupted. He calls him a "discarded academic," a "dried up old turd," and a "Caspian cockroach." Voynitsky adds that she must have the blood of a mermaid and should flee the estate by … For Sonya, Yelena's idleness is "infectious"—her effect on Vanya, herself, and the doctor, all of whom having deserted their work to follow her, make this clear. Voynitsky, aka Vanya, comes out of the house after his nap. Use up and down arrows to review and enter to select. Much to Yelena's dismay, he embraces her passionately and insists upon arranging a rendezvous. Indeed, Serebryakov has spent his life "pouring from one empty pot into the next"—the empty pot of this joke referring to the vacant bodies of his mind, ideas, works, and students. One of his patients died while under chloroform, and he is plagued with guilt. Mariya tries to start talking about a philosophical or political debate that she's been reading, but Vanya cuts her off rudely. The professor has called a meeting at one o'clock. Yelena cannot imagine being interested; only people in ideological novels undertake such work. Serebryakov and Helen doze in the dining room that evening. Vanya expresses his disdain for the professor. He complains that the professor and his wife, having recently relocated to the estate from the city, have thrown the estate out of kilter, drawing everyone into sleep, boredom, and lethargy. Bitterly, he goes on to caricaturize the other members of the household. It is clear to Astrov that Yelena is uninterested. This really gets Astrov going and he starts on a tirade against the people who are cutting down the trees instead of using peat to burn and building their houses of stone instead of wood. Indeed, she already feels guilty, ready to prostrate herself before Sonya and weep. He complains that the professor and his wife, having recently relocated to the estate from the city, have thrown the estate out of kilter, drawing everyone into sleep, boredom, and lethargy. Vanya confesses his love to Yelena, and she begs him to stop before someone hears. Refusing Marina's offer of food, Astrov then recounts how he went to Malitskoe over Lent to treat an epidemic of spotted typhus. The fourth and final act of Uncle Vanya is, to say the least, anticlimactic (e.g., nothing happens to a character who tried to murder his own brother-in-law, and the encounter is merely described as a "row" and "a thorough disgrace"). Use up and down arrows to review and enter to select. He says the professor writes all day and night but does not produce anything the public reads. Vanya gets in some jabs about how old the Professor is and also moons over how beautiful the Professor's wife is. Marina notes that since then Astrov has lost his good looks, started to show signs of age, and taken to drinking. Sadly Sonya then puts her head on Yelena's breast and once again begins pining for the doctor. Yelena replies that she is dying of boredom and is without an idea of what to do. JavaScript seems to be disabled in your browser. Yelena is enraged: Voynitsky offers to pick her a bouquet of roses in apology and exits. Marina also notices that the Professor has screwed up the house's eating schedule, and Vanya worries that they'll stay for a hundred years. Marina comforts him: God will remember. Visit BN.com to buy new and used textbooks, and check out our award-winning NOOK tablets and eReaders. Forests, settlements, and wildlife have disappeared in the "downhill struggle for existence"; instead of progress, the same swamps, diseases, and disasters remain. Voynitsky adds that she must have the blood of a mermaid and should flee the estate by diving into a whirlpool with some water sprite. Nervously, Yelena insists that Voynitsky prevail upon her husband for an immediate departure from the estate; a shaken Voynitsky replies that he has seen everything. Yelena then delivers a soliloquy, ruminating on how Sonya cannot help falling for such a "fascinating" man amidst such boredom and admits her own fascination for the doctor. By entering your email address you agree to receive emails from Shmoop and verify that you are over the age of 13. When Astrov reproaches him for not joining the conversation, Voynitsky replies listlessly that he has nothing to say, that he has grown old and lazy. SparkNotes is brought to you by Barnes & Noble. This section contains 1,877 words (approx. Speaking of plans to visit a forest preserve, the party enters the house; Telegin joins the group in the garden. He's jealous of how much his mother admires the Professor and makes vaguely suicidal references. Print Word PDF. He laments the repulsiveness of old age and how no one can stand the sight of him. Marina concurs, bemoaning the disruption of their dining schedule. He then points out the illogic of Yelena's fidelity to her dottering, decrepit husband. He complains that ever since Professor Serebryakov and his wife have come to the house to live his schedule has been interrupted. Telegin thinks that's not such a great idea. Voynitsky (or Uncle Vanya), Serebryakov's brother-in-law by his marriage to Vera Petrovna and caretaker of the estate, then enters yawning. This Study Guide consists of approximately 55 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more - everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of Uncle Vanya. No one gets any work done with those two around and the schedule is all out of whack. Astrov also laments that future generations will not bother to remember those living in the present. Marina also notices that the Professor has screwed up the house's eating schedule, and Vanya worries that they'll stay for a hundred years. Act I opens on a muggy autumn afternoon in the garden of Professor Serebryakov's estate. He breaks off, and she cross-examines him with regards to Sonya. © 2020 Shmoop University Inc | All Rights Reserved | Privacy | Legal. Marina, the housekeeper/nanny who is like part of the family, sits with Doctor Astrov and Vanya in the garden. Uncle Vanya - Act 1 Summary & Analysis. Astrov thinks that he has become old and eccentric. Astrov then enters with a cartogram and proceeds to explain the progressive degeneration of the region. Marina and Astrov drink tea in the garden of Serebryakov's country house. Sonya pauses for a moment, wondering if uncertainty is better and exits to fetch him. The professor is an "old, dried up biscuit, a learned, smoke-cured fish", a pompous charlatan of an art historian who knows nothing about art and has already faded into obscurity. Only Telegin joins Marina for tea. Astrov does not love her. As a result, his feelings are "dead to the world": Astrov needs nothing, wants nothing, and loves no one. For the best experience on our site, be sure to turn on Javascript in your browser. Marina, an old nanny, sits by a samovar as Astrov, the country doctor, reminisces about the time when he first came to the region, a time when Vera Petrovna—Serebryakov's first wife and mother to his daughter Sonya—was still alive. He questiones how it can be moral to deny one's vitality and youth while immoral to deceive a husband one despises. Sonya and Yelena come out into the garden, and Mariya, the mother of Vanya and of the Professor's first wife, joins them. Suddenly Serebryakov,—ridiculously over-dressed in an overcoat, a pair of galoshes, and a pair of gloves—his current young wife Yelena, Sonya, and Telegin, an impoverished landowner dubbed "Waffles" for his pockmarked face, return from a stroll.
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