Dr. Astrov Uncle Vanya. "Uncle Ivan

1. The play "Uncle Vanya" as a continuation and aggravation of the theme.
2. A new type of drama.
3. The theme of philistinism and vulgarity in the drama.
4. Chekhov's dream of the inner liberation of the individual.

Everything should be beautiful in a person: face, clothes, soul, and thoughts. She is beautiful, there is no doubt, but ... after all, she only eats, sleeps, walks, enchants us all with her beauty - and nothing more. She has no responsibilities, others work for her. .. It is so? And an idle life cannot be pure.
A. P. Chekhov

The first line of this excerpt from Dr. Astrov's monologue from A.P. Chekhov's play "Uncle Vanya" became winged. In the broad context of the entire statement, it is rarely used. But it is precisely in these words that the main idea of ​​one of the best, in my opinion, works of the writer lies. Reflections on this play and I have chosen to reveal the theme of the composition.

The theme of a wasted personality, missed opportunities, barren beauty, a senselessly spent life, blind service to an “idol” is the main theme in the play. It continues and deepens the ideological component of Chekhov the writer.

Each of the heroes of the play suffers from the inability or inability to change his life, each understands that he is doing wrong, but he can do nothing about it. Disappointment, helplessness and hopelessness are the main moods of the work. A small family conflict develops into an internal conflict of each character with himself and has no resolution. In the end, everything remains the same.

In "Uncle Vanya" (1899) and a little later "Three Sisters" (1901), Chekhov creates a new type of drama. Before him, the center was a clash of actors, ideas, or insoluble contradictions. In his works everyday life becomes the main and only source of dramatic conflict. All the eternal Russian questions: who is to blame? (A. I. Herzen), what to do? (N. G. Chernyshevsky) and when will the real day come? (N. A. Dobrolyubov) - find their ideological embodiment in the plot of Chekhov's plays. As G. A. Vyaly notes, ".. in the world of Chekhov's drama, everyone or almost everyone suffers, and no one in particular is to blame for this." A.P. Skaftymov deepens this remark: "... it is not individual people who are to blame, but the whole existing composition of life as a whole."

Indeed, nothing tragic happens in the lives of the heroes, they are all - some in anguish, some in impotent rage, some in lazy boredom, some in idleness. The established order of life made them worse than they could be. People become vulgarized like Dr. Astrov, become embittered like Voinitsky, degenerate like Serebryakov, remain idle like Elena Andreevna, dedicate their lives to people who do not deserve it, and at the same time patiently bear “their cross” to the end, like Sonya. As a result, they become unfair, indifferent to each other, and most importantly - in relation to themselves. And that's how life goes...

In each of the heroes, the thought is latently ripening that life must certainly change, they talk a lot about this, but there is only one ending - everything returns to its place. The very title of the play indicates the simplicity, everyday ordinariness of what is happening in the life of the characters, themselves. This is a favorite technique of Chekhov the artist. Consider each of the main characters in more detail. The main character, Uncle Vanya, works on the estate of the late sister's husband, together with his niece Sonya. Almost all his life, he, and now Sonya, have been working to create material well-being for Sonya's father, Professor Serebryakov. They will explain this subordination of their life to someone else's high goal - serving science, helping a "big" person who, it would seem, has achieved a lot in life on his own. In fact, it turns out that Serebryakov is a rather ordinary, mediocre person who was lucky enough to easily take the right place in life. He knows how to speak beautifully, to carry along, to show himself. But at the same time, he lives all his life by someone else's work and does not think about it. Now he is old, sick, irritated, pestering both those around him and his second wife Elena Andreevna with his whims and nit-picking. This beautiful, young woman, whose life is also wasted. She misses, suffers, but nevertheless spends her life in idleness. She is able to captivate. Both Uncle Vanya and Dr. Astrov fall in love with her, but she herself is no longer able to get carried away by anything. The theme of empty beauty is continued in this work. Chekhov's beauty is very different from the beauty of F. M. Dostoevsky, which can save the world. Elena Andreevna is not the embodiment of evil, she is a victim herself, but at the same time she passively destroys the lives of others. Uncle Vanya is torn between hatred for the professor and love for his young wife. Dr. Astrov, who planned to connect his life with the meek and hardworking Sonya, leaves her forever.

The tension rises when Serebryakov decides to sell the estate in order to spend the rest of his life quietly in the capital. The indifference and callousness with which he decides the fate of people close to him is shocking. He is not interested in what will happen to them, those who provided everything necessary and worked for his well-being. The culmination of the play is Uncle Vanya's "rebellion", a shot sounds that does not kill anyone and leads to nothing. Rebellion is useless, just as the whole way of life is meaningless.

Dead and dying beauty is another important leitmotif of the play. "Eccentricity" of Dr. Astrov - in his concern for the thoughtless elimination of forests, the destruction of their majestic age-old beauty. He, who has become a cynic over the years, an indifferent, down-to-earth person, reveals himself in his experiences about nature from the best side. This longing is not only about nature, but also about the departing beauty of the earth, integrity and truth in life, human relationships. He dreams of a different order, where “... people are beautiful, flexible ... their speech is elegant, their movements are graceful. Their sciences and arts flourish, their philosophy is not gloomy, their attitude towards women is full of elegant nobility ... ". Elena Andreevna also feels this and regrets this, believing that in all people there is a "demons of destruction" and soon "there will be no loyalty, no purity, no ability to sacrifice oneself on earth."

Astrov himself is also an image of perishing beauty. A smart, gifted, intellectually developed person, capable of deeds, deep feelings, is destroyed both externally and internally.

The finale of the play is not comforting: Serebryakov leaves the estate with his wife, Sonya Astrov leaves the life forever, uncle Vanya calms down and returns to his daily activities.

The heroes of this play, like Chekhov's others, talk, think, and argue a lot. But this is the dispute in which truth is not born. The situation has been restored, but this leaves an imprint of tragedy, because along with this, the hope for a better meaningful life forever disappears from the lives of these people.

Chekhov is a master of details, he managed to convey the whole depth of grief, which, in his own words, "will not soon be learned to understand and describe, and which, it seems, only music can convey."

The mention of this pure, bright and elegant life, which the heroes yearn for, is a kind of ideal that the author himself does not know. He only makes it clear that those who work honestly and live the life of a simple person deserve a different share.

And here Chekhov's dream of a life when everything will be fine both in a person and in his life sounds with particular poignancy. A well-known researcher of the writer's work, G. A. Byaly, rightly noted: “... all his work paved the way and created the prerequisites for the inner liberation of the individual. Chekhov considered this the most important task of art.

"Uncle Vanya" is a play by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov, which combines lyrical, psychological and artistic parts. The author pays much attention to the description of the character and experiences of the protagonist, and attaches secondary importance to the plot.

This play shows the struggle of man with himself. The dialogue is simple and the overall style of the story is easy to read. We can feel the atmosphere of silence and tranquility, despite the complex relationships of the characters.

The play consists of four acts, the narration goes smoothly, it is difficult to single out special climaxes in it. It begins quietly and ends calmly, too, although the plot contains many events. Throughout the play, the author shows us the confrontation between the characters. The arrival in the village of Serebryakov and his young wife Elena can be called the plot of the action.

All the characters in the play are static, weak and melancholy. All their lives they are waiting for changes, but they themselves do nothing to change at least something. So they spend their days, the same way, without fun and new experiences.

Although Voynitsky manages to change a little for a while, it did not last long. Soon he returns to his usual monotonous way of life with his niece Sonya. All the characters are described as if they are waiting for their death, but none of them decides to commit suicide.

Chekhov shows the characters of the characters through dialogues, while he does not blame them for anything, but simply depicts them as they are. There is no specific moral to this story, but the author has done an excellent job of showing the behavior of people in certain situations.

Genre: play

Time: 24 hours of one autumn night

Scene: Russian village - Serebryakov's house

Uncle Vanya retelling

The work begins with a description of Serebryakov's life. He is a retired professor, has his own estate, inherited from his first wife. We learn from his past that he gets a lot of money from this house, so he lives an idle life and has everything he wants. The people who provided for him were proud of him, admired his intelligence and talent, although they had no idea what he really was.

As a professor, he did not have many students, and now, having retired, he tried to write articles. But these were thoughts about the lives of completely different people, and not his own.

He was always lucky in love, women loved him. From the first marriage, in which his wife died early, Serebryakov had a daughter, Sofia, whom everyone called simply Sonya. After some time, he marries again, this time to a young woman named Elena. He believes that she is offended by the fact that he is much older, so he needs to prove to her that he also has the right to happiness, despite his age.

His daughter Sonya is young but not very attractive. She looks after the house with her uncle Vanya, the brother of Serebryakov's first wife. When Serebryakov and his wife arrived at the estate, Sonya's life seemed to stop, she did not want to do anything. At first, she did not want to talk with her stepmother, but then they manage to find a common language. Sonya notices that she is in love with Mikhail Lvovich Astrov. Astrov is a doctor, he likes to drink, but Sonya is very unhappy because of this. She realizes that she can't change anything.

Uncle Vanya is a forty-seven-year-old man who suddenly realizes that he is wasting his life. All his life he worked for Serebryakov, but now he sees that he only pretends to be an intellectual, but in reality he is not known for his work. Uncle Vanya feels deceived for believing him, angry that he could have lived his life in a completely different way. He doesn't intend to put up with it anymore.

The widow Maria Vasilievna Voynitskaya, the mother of Serebryakov's first wife and uncle Vanya, Marina, an old nanny whom everyone considers a member of the family, and Telegin, a simple worker who helps around the house, also live on the estate. He also knows how to play the guitar, which he brings at least some fun to the house.

The professor tells everyone that he wants to sell the estate, and because of this, Sonya and Uncle Vanya would be on the street. Uncle Vanya does not want to put up with this injustice, so he decides to shoot the professor and takes a gun. Having fired, he realizes that he missed. He becomes ashamed because he is in love with Elena, who does not pay any attention to him.

Uncle Vanya has similar feelings to Sonya. He loses faith, does not know what to live for. He is frightened by the fact that he is not too old yet, and he has no idea what to do with the remaining years of his life. Despite wanting to start a new life, he is overwhelmed by Astrov's constant repetition that they have nowhere else to go.

Astrov is a rural doctor who started drinking because of exhausting work. He admits that he has a drinking problem, but claims that he works better when drunk. He is lonely, lost, does not value himself at all and has no family. His biggest tragedy is that he feels nothing and loves no one.

Sonya would be an ideal wife for him, but he did not have any feelings for her. On the other hand, he was very attached to Elena, who has something that Astrov did not have - youth. He believed that if they started a new life together, he would feel young again. Astrov asked her many times to meet, but she refused him every time.

Astrov realizes that his life no longer makes sense and decides to leave the village. He reveals that he will return in the spring, but he knows that this will not happen. The doctor believes that the best way to kill time and forget about the meaninglessness of life is alcohol.

Elena is an unhappy twenty-seven-year-old girl. She is the character around whom the action of the play develops. The main reason for her unhappiness is her old, flabby and nervous husband, who cannot provide her with a good life. But, despite her hatred of him, she never deceived or betrayed him.

Elena never felt comfortable in this estate because of Astrov's and Uncle Vanya's feelings for her. Uncle Vanya is the brother of her husband's deceased wife, and Sonya was in love with Astrov.

The play ends with Elena and her husband leaving the estate to meet another life.

Heroes: Serebryakov, Elena, Sonya, Uncle Vanya, Astrov, Marina, Telegin.

Character Analysis

Uncle Ivan- a man of forty-seven who realized that his life was wasted. He drags out a miserable existence with his niece Sonya. He feels deceived and betrayed, and when he found out that the professor wanted to sell the estate, he tried to shoot him, but missed. The only joy in his life is Elena, but she does not reciprocate.

Sonya- unhappy because of her love for Astrov. She works hard on the estate and, in fact, has never lived a full life. She does not have the courage to change something, so she finds comfort in faith.

Astrov- a doctor, an intellectual stuck in a Russian village. He spent his whole life alone, working. He is indifferent to everything except Elena, who does not have any feelings for him. Resigned to my meaningless life.

Elena- A twenty-seven-year-old girl, has an unhappy marriage with a man much older than her. She resigned herself to her fate and does not seek to change anything. Many men confessed their love to her, but she remains faithful to her husband no matter what.

Serebryakov- an elderly professor who caused a lot of grief to the people around him. Uncle Vanya and Elena considered him the reason for their miserable life, but Sonya still loved him. He is already aged, sick, so he envies someone else's youth. He is selfish and demands attention. Avoids talking about his work, does not have great achievements in life.

Anton Pavlovich Chekhov biography

Anton Pavlovich Chekhov is a classic of literature, based on whose works performances are staged all over the world.

Born on January 29, 1860 in the city of Taganrog, Yekaterinoslav province, in the family of a merchant. After graduating from the gymnasium in 1879, he entered the Medical Faculty of Moscow University. During this period, Chekhov published his humorous stories under pseudonyms, the most famous of which was Antosha Chekhonte, in various publications. The first collection of short stories, Tales of Melpomene, was published in 1884.

After graduation, the writer works as a doctor in Zvenigorod. In subsequent years, he traveled a lot, visited the Crimea, Sakhalin, where he studied the life of convicts, the Caucasus, continuing to write. In 1892 he lived in Moscow, then in the Melikhovo estate in the Moscow region. During this period, he wrote his most famous works, including “The Man in the Case”, “The Lady with the Dog”, “The Seagull”, “The Cherry Orchard” and others.

In 1899, Chekhov moved to Yalta to improve his health, which had been undermined by tuberculosis. There he is visited by L. Tolstoy, M. Gorky, I. Bunin and others. In 1901, he marries the Moscow Art Theater actress Olga Knipper.

Which fully conveys its storyline, was written by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov. He was not only a playwright and writer, but also practiced medicine throughout his life. Anton Chekhov created a new direction in literature, which was later adopted by many authors.

He believed that the main task of the writer is not to answer the questions of the reader in his works. And, on the contrary, to ask them yourself and along the way create a topic for reflection.

The beginning of the work. First action

The play "Uncle of which begins with a description of tea drinking in the estate, consists of scenes of village life. Under an old poplar tree there is a table that was laid especially for tea drinking. Cloudy autumn weather.

At the table sat an elderly nanny Marina, a wizened old woman Elena Andreevna, the wife of Professor Serebryakov, who owns the estate. Voinitsky, or Uncle Vanya. Astrov walks nervously around the table. Soon Telegin appears, who was given the nickname Waffle. This is a bankrupt landowner, he lives on the estate as a dependent.

Conversations of those present at the tea party

What are these people talking about, gathered at the tea party? The play "Uncle Vanya", the brief content of which only in general terms conveys the mood of all those present, does not seek to analyze their actions. The author only voices the thoughts of each of his characters, leaving the reader to judge for himself the correctness of their reasoning and actions.

Astrov is a doctor by profession, and while the old woman pours tea for him, he tirelessly tells her about the difficulties of his work. He complains about unsanitary conditions in peasant huts, various epidemics and because of this, frequent deaths. He worries about the Russian forests, which are cut down even without work. However, this person not only sympathizes with nature, but also finds time to plant new young trees.

Brother of the professor's first wife

Uncle Vanya, who is the brother of Serebryakov's first wife, grumbles that since the professor came to the estate with his second wife, the whole habitual way of life seemed to be turned upside down. Voinitsky does not even try to hide his envy of Serebryakov. Criticizes him for constant complaints. He scoffs at the fact that the professor has been writing about art for a quarter of a century, but in fact he does not understand anything about it.

Elena Andreevna, the second wife of the professor, who is much younger than her husband, is boundlessly bored in this estate. She complains about the lack of any entertainment. Fragmentary phrases and remarks of all those present are not connected with each other. There is no general dialogue at the table. But it is precisely from them that one can judge that the play "Uncle Vanya" (a brief description of it will continue to contain various dialogues) primarily emphasizes all the tension of the drama experienced by the characters of the play. There is neither prosperity nor tranquility in this estate.

Attitude towards the professor of others

Uncle Vanya's mother, Maria Vasilievna, is very warm towards her son-in-law and reprimands her son for expressing contempt for the professor. And Voinitsky envies Serebryakov not only because of his career success, but also because of his popularity among women. Moreover, he liked the young wife of the professor.

But Elena Andreevna does not reciprocate the confessions of Voinitsky, but only dismisses them. At first she does not understand what caused such an attitude towards her husband. It seems to her that he is the same as everyone else. So the play "Uncle of the first chapter of which has come to an end, describes its characters. Almost all negative emotions are concentrated around the professor.

Passions run high, or the Grumpy Professor

What does Chekhov tell about in his play "Uncle Vanya"? The summary is now completely devoted to Serebryakov. With every passing minute, one can feel how an atmosphere of hatred and enmity thickens around this person. It annoys literally everyone. And now even his own wife, who somehow forgot that he is the same as everyone else.

The professor constantly complains of various illnesses. Requires careful care. Voinitsky finally understands how petty his relative is. He recalls all the time that they, together with their niece Sonechka, who also lives on the estate, worked for him. Often denying themselves anything, they tried to send Serebryakov as much money as possible, earned on the estate.

Can't hide emotions

Boiling of feelings around the wife of Serebryakov

Sonya notices how Uncle Vanya, like a shadow, wanders after her stepmother, and Dr. Astrov abandoned his medical practice, even the forests that worried him so much. Elena Andreevna invites the girl to talk to Astrov about her feelings and even seeks to find out about his attitude towards her stepdaughter herself.

But the doctor does not notice this. He, on the contrary, begins to tell Elena about his love for her. Tries to kiss her. Voinitsky becomes a witness to this scene. Uncle Vanya is not only embarrassed, but to some extent even frightened. The woman wants to leave the estate. Thus, the summary of "Uncle Vanya" reveals all the secret feelings of the characters.

The estate will be sold, or to its inhabitants

The professor gathered all the inhabitants of the estate and announced that he was going to sell it. He will invest in securities, which will provide him and his wife with a further comfortable existence. What did Chekhov want to show by this in his play "Uncle Vanya"?

Although there is an important fact that the author mentioned. This is that the estate itself belongs to Sonya. She inherited from her mother. The summary of the book "Uncle Vanya" cannot fail to mention the reaction of the main characters to this statement by the professor.

The shot, or the final events of the work

Voinitsky just boiled over with Serebryakov's decision. He finally expresses to the professor everything that has accumulated over a long time. A huge scandal ensued. During which Uncle Vanya could not restrain himself and shot at Professor Serebryakov, who had bothered him. But, fortunately, he missed.

How does the work "Uncle Vanya" by Chekhov end? The summary comes to an end, and it remains to describe only the last scene, during which Astrov and Voinitsky talk about their lives. The professor and his wife are going to Kharkov. Everything remains the same on the property. Uncle Vanya and Sonya are engaged in neglected farming. The girl also dreams of a better life.

Cloudy autumn day. In the garden, on an alley under an old poplar, a table is set for tea. At the samovar - the old nanny Marina. “Eat, father,” she offers tea to Dr. Astrov. “I don’t want something,” he replies.

Telegin appears, an impoverished landowner nicknamed Waffle, who lives on the estate in the position of taking root: “The weather is charming, the birds are singing, we all live in peace and harmony - what else do we need?” But there is no agreement and peace in the estate. “It’s unfavorable in this house,” Elena Andreevna, the wife of Professor Serebryakov, who arrived at the estate, will say twice.

These fragmentary replicas, outwardly not addressed to each other, enter, echoing each other, into a dialogic dispute and highlight the meaning of the tense drama experienced by the characters in the play.

Earned for ten years lived in the county, Astrov. “I don’t want anything, I don’t need anything, I don’t love anyone,” he complains to the nanny. Voinitsky has changed, broken. Previously, he, managing the estate, did not know a free minute. And now? “I got worse because I got lazy, I don’t do anything and just grumble like an old horseradish ...”

Voinitsky does not hide his envy of the retired professor, especially his success with women. Voinitsky's mother, Maria Vasilievna, simply adores her son-in-law, the husband of her late daughter. Voinitsky despises Serebryakov's academic pursuits: "A person reads and writes about art, understanding absolutely nothing about art." Finally, he hates Serebryakov, although his hatred may seem very biased: after all, he fell in love with his beautiful wife. And Elena Andreevna reasonably reprimands Voinitsky: “There is nothing to hate Alexander for, he is the same as everyone else.”

Then Voinitsky exposes deeper and, as it seems to him, irresistible reasons for his intolerant, implacable attitude towards the ex-professor - he considers himself cruelly deceived: “I adored this professor ... I worked for him like an ox ... I was proud of him and its science, I lived and breathed it! God, what about now? ...he is nothing! Soap bubble!"

Around Serebryakov, an atmosphere of intolerance, hatred, enmity is thickening. He irritates Astrov, and even his wife can hardly stand him. Everyone somehow listened to the stated diagnosis of the disease that struck both the heroes of the play, and all their contemporaries: "... the world is dying not from robbers, not from fires, but from hatred, enmity, from all these petty squabbles." They, including Elena Andreevna herself, somehow forgot that Serebryakov is “just like everyone else” and, like everyone else, can count on indulgence, on a merciful attitude towards himself, especially since he suffers from gout, suffers from insomnia, is afraid of death. “Really,” he asks his wife, “I don’t have the right to a late old age, to people’s attention to myself?” Yes, one must be merciful, says Sonya, Serebryakov's daughter from her first marriage. But only the old nanny will hear this call and show genuine, sincere concern for Serebryakov: “What, father? Painfully? Old, that small, I want someone to feel sorry, but no one feels sorry for the old. (He kisses Serebryakova on the shoulder.) Let's go to bed, father... Let's go, little one... I'll give you linden tea to drink, I'll warm your feet... I'll pray to God for you..."

But one old nanny could not and could not, of course, defuse the oppressive atmosphere fraught with misfortune. The conflict knot is tied so tightly that there is a climactic explosion. Serebryakov gathers everyone in the living room to propose for discussion the “measure” he invented: sell the low-income estate, turn the proceeds into interest-bearing papers, which would make it possible to purchase a dacha in Finland.

Voinitsky is indignant: Serebryakov allows himself to dispose of the estate, which actually and legally belongs to Sonya; he did not think about the fate of Voinitsky, who managed the estate for twenty years, receiving beggarly money for it; I didn’t even think about the fate of Maria Vasilievna, who was so selflessly devoted to the professor!

Outraged, enraged, Voinitsky shoots Serebryakov, shoots twice and misses both times.

Frightened by the mortal danger that only accidentally passed him, Serebryakov decides to return to Kharkov. He leaves for his small estate, Astrov, in order, as before, to treat peasants, to take care of the garden and forest nursery. Love intrigues fade. Elena Andreevna lacks the courage to respond to Astrov's passion for her. When parting, she, however, admits that she was carried away by the doctor, but "a little". She hugs him "impulsively", but with an eye. And Sonya is finally convinced that Astrov will not be able to love her, so ugly.

Life in the estate returns to normal. “We will live again, as it was, in the old way,” the nanny dreams. The conflict between Voinitsky and Serebryakov also remains without consequences. “You will accurately receive the same that you received,” Professor Voinitsky reassures. “Everything will be the same.” And the Astrovs and Serebryakovs did not have time to leave, as Sonya hurries Voinitsky: "Well, Uncle Vanya, let's do something." The lamp lights up, the inkwell fills up, Sonya leafs through the account book, Uncle Vanya writes one account, another: “On the second of February, twenty pounds of lean butter ...” The nanny sits in an armchair and knits, Maria Vasilyevna plunges into reading another brochure ...

It would seem that the expectations of the old nanny have come true: everything has become the old way. But the play is built in such a way that it constantly - both in big and small - deceives the expectations of both its heroes and readers. You are waiting, for example, for music from Elena Andreevna, a graduate of the conservatory (“I want to play ... I haven’t played for a long time. I will play and cry ...”), but Waffle plays the guitar ... The characters are arranged like this, the move plot events takes such a direction, dialogues and remarks are soldered by such semantic, often subtextual calls that the traditional question “Who is to blame?” Is pushed to the periphery from the proscenium, giving way to the question “What is to blame?”. It seems to Voynitsky that Serebryakov ruined his life. He hopes to start a "new life". But Astrov dispels this “elevating deceit”: “Our position, yours and mine, is hopeless. There were only two decent, intelligent people in the whole county: me and you. For some ten years, the philistine life, the despicable life, has dragged us out; she poisoned our blood with her rotten fumes, and we became the same vulgar as everyone else.

In the finale of the play, however, Voinitsky and Sonya dream of the future, but Sonya’s final monologue exudes hopeless sadness and a sense of a life lived aimlessly: “We, Uncle Vanya, will live, we will patiently endure the trials that fate will send us; we will die humbly, and there, behind the grave, we will say that we suffered, that we cried, that we were bitter, and God will take pity on us. We will hear the angels, we will see the whole sky in diamonds... We will rest! (The watchman knocks. Telegin plays softly; Maria Vasilievna writes in the margins of a pamphlet; Marina knits a stocking.) We'll rest! (The curtain is slowly lowering.)"

retold

In 1889, Chekhov completed a comedy in 4 acts called Leshy. It was published in 1890. Subsequently, after the creation of The Seagull, the writer remade it into the play Uncle Vanya.

In the original version, the drama "Leshy" was staged on 12/27/1889 in Moscow, in the theater of M. M. Abramova. The final completion of the play took place in 1896. It was already called "Uncle Vanya" and had the subtitle "Scenes from village life in four acts." In 1899, when Chekhov was in Yalta, news of the triumph of his play "Uncle Vanya" came there.

In this play, the writer broadly embraces Russian reality and describes the spiritual life of the Russian intelligentsia. He succeeds in this thanks to a very accurate selection of the main characters. Ivan Petrovich, Dr. Astrov, Sonya are people whose concerns and interests go far beyond the narrowly selfish framework of personal life. Life in the provinces is gloomy, full of hopelessness, disappointments, which are further exacerbated by the description of the poverty of the life of ordinary people.

In the play, the leitmotifs of terrible fatigue and loneliness constantly sound. At the same time, they are opposed by the motives of faith in the high ideals of romanticism, attempts to fight alone against the general disorder. Ivan Petrovich and Sonya sincerely believe that by providing materially for Professor Serebryakov, they are thereby serving science. Dr. Astrov draws up a map reflecting the history of the relationship between man and nature, the past, present and future of Russian nature, and this work is the meaning of his life. Provincial heroes already now want to see the results of what they have done and realize the purpose and meaning of their lives. And each character has their own point of view on this matter.

Play analysis

Plot

The storyline is voiced in the very subtitle of the play "Scenes from Village Life". The landowner Ivan Petrovich Voynitsky and his niece Sonya provide material support for their son-in-law and, accordingly, their father almost all their lives, sincerely believing that in this way they support science in the person of the scientific luminary Professor Serebryakov. However, with his arrival with his young wife Elena Andreevna, an epiphany occurs in the estate. All these years, Ivan Petrovich worked for the material prosperity of scientific nonentity, who was not capable of creating anything in science at all. Falling in love with Elena Andreevna aggravates the situation. He realizes that his life was wasted, he did not achieve anything, his life wasted in vain, that he was deceived, because he sacrificed his personal life, his family. Helping another, he forgot about himself.

As the story progresses, things get confusing. Ivan Petrovich is unsuccessfully in love with Elena Andreevna, Elena Andreevna is in love with Astrov and not without reciprocity, Sonya is unrequitedly in love with Astrov. And Professor Serebryakov, who settled in the Voinitskys' house, was already tired of everyone with his grumbling and gout. Deciding to improve his material affairs, he proposes to sell the estate and buy a summer house in Finland at the family council. This fills Ivan Petrovich's patience and he shoots the professor twice, fortunately, by. Having reconciled with his relative, the professor and his wife leave, and Sonya and Ivan Petrovich return to their former occupation, managing the estate.

Characteristics of images

The central image of the play is Ivan Petrovich Voynitsky, Uncle Vanya. A man who idolized his son-in-law all his life, revered him as a scientific luminary and, as a result, severely disappointed in him. This is a smart, educated, deeply decent person, capable of sacrifice for the sake of another. His tragedy is that he devoted his whole life to a dummy. He did not achieve anything on his own, did not start a family. The realization of this gnaws at him. His condition is aggravated by unrequited love for Elena Andreevna. He cannot be called a strong personality, because even after realizing everything, he does not try to change something, but dutifully returns to his accounts. In some ways, he resembles a landscape painter from the “House with a Mezzanine”. One could even assume that this is him, only aged. The same inactivity and infantilism with full understanding and awareness of what is happening. He does not even try to escape from that worldly swamp into which he was dragged.

Dr. Mikhail Lvovich Astrov is one of the heroes who attracts attention with the scale of his personality. Elena Andreevna characterizes him most accurately: "... this is a real talent! Courageous, with a free head, on a large scale ... He will plant a tree and already imagine what will happen in thousands of years from this, he already sees the happiness of mankind. Very rare people like that, they need to be respected and loved ... ". Astrov is talented as a doctor, practitioner and thinker. These qualities are manifested in his ability to manage the economy, forestry, in which he put things in proper order. He loves nature and takes care of it. He belongs to the type of people with whom Russia should be populated. But even he is not satisfied with the surrounding reality and becomes helpless when confronted with the surrounding reality of Russia. The environment is stronger.

Sonya, like her uncle, served the well-being of her father. There are practically no flaws in her, he is smart, romantic, sacrificial. The reader can only think that her unrequited love for Astrov will eventually be forgotten and she will find her happiness. Because the biggest advantage on her side is her youth.

Elena Andreevna, Serebryakov's wife. The woman is very beautiful in appearance, smart. But, as Astrov says, wherever it passes, destruction occurs. It is in connection with her characterization that he says that “everything should be beautiful in a person, both the soul, and the face, and thoughts.” Unfortunately, Elena Andreevna does not correspond to all these parameters.

And, finally, retired professor Alexander Vladimirovich Serebryakov. Personality extremely unpleasant in all respects. Starting from his eternal grumbling and gout, which he simply got everyone in the house, to his most perfect selfishness. Not at all concerned about where his own daughter and Ivan Petrovich will live, who has provided him with a comfortable existence all his life, he simply offers to sell the estate in order to buy himself a summer house in Finland. It is no longer worth saying that as a scientist he is nothing, which, in general, was the cause of Ivan Petrovich's disappointment.

In most of his works, Chekhov avoids voicing his attitude to characters and situations, allowing the reader to draw his own conclusions. But in "Uncle Vanya" the writer's position towards personality and beauty is clearly expressed, which he voiced with the words of Astrov: "In the human form, everything should be beautiful: the soul, and the face, and thoughts." And the value of this principle is enduring.