Uncle Vanya read online summary. Uncle Ivan. Scenes from Country Life (1986). Main characters of the play

Anton Pavlovich Chekhov

"Uncle Ivan"

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

Telegin appears, an impoverished landowner nicknamed Waffle, living on the estate in the position of a parasite: “The weather is charming, the birds are singing, we all live in peace and harmony - what else do we need?” But there is precisely no agreement or peace in the estate. “It’s not good in this house,” Elena Andreevna, the wife of Professor Serebryakov, who came to the estate, will say twice.

These fragmentary remarks, apparently not addressed to each other, enter, overlapping, into a dialogical argument and highlight the meaning of the intense drama experienced by the characters in the play.

Astrov earned money during the ten years he lived in the district. “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, while managing the estate, he did not know a free minute. And now? "I<…>I’ve gotten worse because I’ve become lazy, I’m not doing anything and I’m just grumbling like an old horseradish...”

Voinitsky does not hide his envy of the retired professor, especially his success with women. Voinitsky's mother, Maria Vasilyevna, simply adores her son-in-law, the husband of her late daughter. Voinitsky despises Serebryakov’s academic pursuits: “A man<…>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’s nothing to hate Alexander for, he’s just like everyone else.”

Then Voinitsky exposes deeper and, as it seems to him, compelling reasons for his intolerant, irreconcilable 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 his science, I lived and breathed it! God, what about now? ...he's nothing! Soap bubble!"

An atmosphere of intolerance, hatred, and enmity thickens around Serebryakov. He annoys Astrov, and even his wife can hardly stand him. Everyone somehow listened to the 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 “the same as everyone else” and, like everyone else, can count on leniency, on a merciful attitude towards himself, especially since he suffers from gout, suffers from insomnia, is afraid of death. “Do I really,” he asks his wife, “don’t I have the right to a peaceful old age, to people’s attention to me?” Yes, you have to be merciful, says Sonya, Serebryakov’s daughter from his first marriage. But only the old nanny will hear this call and show genuine, sincere sympathy for Serebryakov: “What, father? Hurt?<…>Whether they are old or small, you want someone to feel sorry for them, but no one feels sorry for the old. (Kisses Serebryakov on the shoulder.) Let’s go, father, to bed... Let’s go, little light... I’ll give you some linden tea, I’ll warm your feet... I’ll pray to God for you...”

But one old nanny could not and did not, of course, defuse the oppressive atmosphere fraught with disaster. The conflict knot is so tightly tied that a climactic explosion occurs. Serebryakov gathers everyone in the living room to propose for discussion a “measure” he has come up with: sell the low-income estate, convert the proceeds into interest-bearing securities, 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, so selflessly devoted to the professor!

Indignant, enraged, Voinitsky shoots at Serebryakov, shoots twice and misses both times.

Frightened by the mortal danger that only by chance passed him by, Serebryakov decides to return to Kharkov. Astrov leaves for his small estate to, as before, treat the men, take care of the garden and forest nursery. Love affairs fade away. Elena Andreevna does not have 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 caution. And Sonya is finally convinced that Astrov cannot love her, so ugly.

Life on the estate returns to normal. “We’ll live again as it was, in the old way,” the nanny dreams. The conflict between Voinitsky and Serebryakov remains without consequences. “You will carefully receive what you received,” Professor Voinitsky reassures. “Everything will be as before.” And before Astrov and Serebryakov had time to leave, Sonya hurries Voinitsky: “Well, Uncle Vanya, let’s do something.” The lamp is lit, the inkwell is filled, Sonya is leafing through the office book, Uncle Vanya is writing one invoice, then another: “On the second of February, twenty pounds of lean butter...” The nanny sits in a chair and knits, Maria Vasilievna is immersed in reading another brochure...

It would seem that the old nanny’s expectations came true: everything became as before. But the play is structured in such a way that it constantly—in both big and small ways—deceives the expectations of both its characters and readers. You expect, for example, music from Elena Andreevna, a graduate of the conservatory (“I want to play... I haven’t played for a long time. I’ll play and cry...”), and Wafer plays the guitar... The characters are arranged like this, the course of plot events takes such a direction, dialogues and remarks are welded together with such semantic, often subtextual echoes 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 Voinitsky that Serebryakov ruined his life. He hopes to start a “new life.” But Astrov dispels this “exalting deception”: “Our situation, yours and mine, is hopeless.<…>In the entire district there were only two decent, intelligent people: you and me. For some ten years the philistine life, the despicable life, dragged us in; she poisoned our blood with her rotten fumes, and we became as vulgar as everyone else.”

At the end of the play, however, Voinitsky and Sonya dream about the future, but Sonya’s final monologue emanates hopeless sadness and a feeling of a life lived aimlessly: “We, Uncle Vanya, will live,<…>Let us patiently endure the trials that fate sends us;<…>we will die obediently and there, beyond 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 relax! (The watchman knocks. Telegin plays quietly; Maria Vasilievna writes in the margins of the brochure; Marina knits a stocking.) We will rest! (The curtain slowly falls.)"

On a cloudy autumn day in the garden at the table, nanny Marina gives tea to Doctor Astrov. The impoverished landowner Telegin, who lives on the estate, arrives. It celebrates the beauty of nature and harmony in life. However, Elena Andreevna, the wife of Professor Serebryakov, tells him that there is trouble in the house.

Astrov was tired after ten years of working in the district. The estate manager, Voinitsky, has also changed. He became lazy and grouchy. Voinitsky despises Serebryakov because he is in love with his wife, who can hardly stand her husband. Astrov was also annoyed by Serebryakov.

Serebryakov suffers from insomnia and is afraid of death. He dreams of a calm old age and the attention of others. Only his old nanny shows concern for him. Serebryakov cannot stand it and decides to sell the low-income estate and invest the proceeds in interest-bearing securities, which will allow him to purchase a dacha in Finland. He gathers everyone for a discussion.

Voinitsky is indignant that Serebryakov is disposing of the estate, which actually and legally belongs to his niece Sonya, without thinking about the fate of Voinitsky and Maria Vasilievna, selflessly devoted to him. Enraged, he shoots at Serebryakov, but misses both times. Frightened, Serebryakov decides to return to Kharkov. After Astrov and Serebryakov leave, Sonya hurries Uncle Vanya Voinitsky and he writes out bills one after another. The nanny is knitting in a chair, and Maria Vasilievna is immersed in reading.

Chekhov's dramaturgy is a revolutionary breakthrough in the history of Russian theater. The writer moved away from the classical tradition and began to create in line with modernism, experimenting with the form and content of his works. One such example is a play dedicated to the bleak life and existential rebellion of Ivan Voinitsky.

In 1889, the playwright wrote the comedy “Leshy,” but soon decided to radically remake the play. Although it had already been staged in this form, and the premiere was successful, the author was not satisfied with the result. “Leshem” was clearly missing something. This is how the version known to us “Uncle Vanya” appears. Chekhov finally completed the work in 1896.

The new text made extensive use of excerpts from Chekhov's diary. He entered observations from life there, and then transferred them to artistic reality. In addition, he completely changed the structure of the play. So, with “Leshy” the story of the creation of “Uncle Vanya” began. “The First Pancake” seemed to him an unsuccessful work, so immediately after the premiere he removed it from the repertoire and made it into something new, original, what critics would later call “Chekhov’s best work.” But this will not happen immediately. The author’s fresh view of the theater was criticized and not accepted in society: the production of “The Seagull,” for example, failed in the same 1896. After this, the writer decided to remake “Uncle Vanya” into a story, but hesitated, and it was published in the form of a play. However, despite the resonant and controversial career of the playwright, offers began to flock to him to stage a new comedy.

In Sumy they can point you to Chekhov’s heroes... They’ll name Sonya, Professor Serebryakov, Wafer...

M.P. Chekhov saw Serebryakov’s daughter as their sister Maria Pavlovna. He reports his guesses in the epistolary genre:

Oh, what an excellent play this is! As much as I don’t like “Ivanov,” I like “Vanya.” What a great ending! And how in this play I saw our dear, poor, selfless Masheta!

V. Ya. Lakshin claims that Serebryakov is the spitting image of the populist S. N. Yuzhakov.

The meaning of the title of the work indicates the simplicity, ordinariness, ordinariness of the tragedy depicted. Ivan Petrovich remained “Uncle Vanya”, realizing himself only as a family member and guardian of his niece. Only for Sonya did he exist as a person. Everyone else saw him solely as a clerk. The hero simply did not deserve to be called anything else in their eyes. Hidden in this non-recognition is the psychological drama of the protagonist, which was resolved with a shot, a miss and resignation bordering on despair.

Main issues

In the play "Uncle Vanya" the problem of ecology is especially acute. The author's views on it are conveyed to the reader by Astrov, a subtle connoisseur of nature and a romantic at heart. He is outraged that forests are being cut down for profit, and not for the benefit of people. Progress does not make them feel any better: typhus is still widespread, children live in poverty, their mothers get sick, and their fathers work too hard and die from unbearably hard work. Social problems of the population are not solved, but the financial interests of the masters are satisfied uncompromisingly.

The hero sincerely worries about the death of the charm of all living things and the inner beauty of the soul. He sees an indissoluble connection between them. Progress promises only the comfort of existence, but not the energy of life that people draw from nature.

The problem of disappointment in the ideal and the vain service of a false goal is also obvious. The realization of the futility of worship before an insignificant idol took the hero by surprise, and at an age when nothing could be corrected. He could not shake off this service even in the extreme degree of disappointment. The imaginary chosenness enslaved his will, and he realized that life could not be turned back, which means nothing should be changed. The hero has lost faith in himself - and this is a psychological problem, a midlife crisis. Critically assessing himself, he realized his insignificance and... submitted to it.

The problem of spiritual poverty and practical inactivity inherent in the nobility also did not go unnoticed in the comedy “Uncle Vanya.” In the images of Elena and her husband, the author exposes sybaritism and inner emptiness, which are covered only by arrogance. In such colors the “support of the state” and “the pride of the country”, the noble class, are depicted. Chekhov fears that such “supports” only undermine the foundations of statehood and cannot be useful to their country.

Subjects

The semantic richness of Anton Pavlovich's drama is a unique feature of his work. Therefore, the range of topics he touched on in his work is extremely wide.

The tragic self-sacrifice of a little man in the name of falsehood is the main theme of Chekhov's Uncle Vanya. This expresses continuity in Russian literature, where authors continue to describe global and universal issues from generation to generation. Akaki Akakievich from “The Overcoat”, and Samson Vyrin from “The Station Agent”, and Makar Devushkin from Dostoevsky’s “Poor People” gave their all. Unhappy and underestimated destinies were defeated, but only Chekhov’s Voinitsky dared to rebel. He became more relaxed than his predecessors, but still failed to bring the rebellion to its logical conclusion, since he could not overcome the natural timidity of his soul. This would be his moral failure.
Perishing beauty and its special aesthetics pervade the entire book. The topic of ecology is also connected with it. Forests are mercilessly cut down, all living things that found refuge there die irrevocably. People like Astrov understand the enormity of this barbaric destruction of nature, they suffer along with it, but they cannot do anything.
The attitude towards nature is for the author an indicator of spiritual wealth. The professor and others like him see nothing but themselves. Chekhov contrasts the indifference and selfishness of these blind people with the sensitivity, naturalness and gentleness of real people - Sonya, Ivan and Astrov. They conceal genuine spiritual nobility, without which a person plunges into the abyss of selfishness and ceases to notice the world around him. Losing the ability to love something other than himself, he sows only a destructive emptiness around him, comparable only to a cut down forest. After all, people also destroy nature due to internal poverty.

Characters

Chekhov's list of characters is never accidental: in a dry list of names and positions, a conflict is already hidden, a drama is already emerging. So in “Uncle Vanya” the professor contrasts with the “honest clerk” Ivan Petrovich.

Serebryakov Alexander Vladimirovich is a retired professor, Sonya's father, who was once married to Ivan's sister.
Sofya Alexandrovna (Sonya) is Ivan Petrovich’s niece, the daughter of a professor, who also works selflessly for his success.
Elena Andreevna - Serebryakov’s wife, 27 years old. Sonya's stepmother.
Voinitskaya Maria Vasilievna is the mother of Ivan Petrovich and the grandmother of Sonya.
Voinitsky Ivan Petrovich - Uncle Vanya, brother-in-law of the professor and Sonya's guardian.
Mikhail Lvovich Astrov is a doctor, Voinitsky’s neighbor.
Telegin Ilya Ilyich - bankrupt landowner
Marina - elderly nanny
Worker

Characteristics of heroes

Uncle Ivan. 48-year-old Ivan Voinitsky is a meek, kind and hardworking man, but thanks to the extravagance and selfishness of his brother-in-law, he was left penniless. He directed all his efforts to help the professor in the service of science. He believed that together with him he was changing the world, making it better for people. Therefore, he can safely be called an idealist, divorced from reality. In some ways, his detachment from family squabbles, pettiness and selfishness is reminiscent of the holiness of Prince Myshkin from Dostoevsky’s “The Idiot”: both men prefer to devote themselves to selfless service to all living things, regardless of their character. However, Ivan's illusions have dissipated, and even then he is ready to turn the weapon on himself. His moral crisis passes through the acute stage painlessly thanks to the healing influence of Sonechka, whose name means “wisdom” and reminds us of the same selfless heroine from Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment.

What then did Chekhov want to convey to us? Why didn’t he help, didn’t he raise his positive characters above the cruel reality? Ivan's rebellion did not even give readers the feeling of just revenge. But the essence of the finale of the play is different: the mention of “a bright, beautiful, graceful life” should inspire us to look around and finally notice those who deserve it, and together with them make the world around us better in order to come to this new life renewed people. Many unnoticed workers who give all their energy for the happiness of others deserve a better life. This is a call to realize justice in life before it’s too late, and not in books, where the writer’s punishment is still late: it’s too late for Voinitsky to start living differently.

Most of all, the author values in a person the ability to create and the beauty of the soul, which are impossible without purity of thoughts. Only such a citizen can change the country for the better with his work, only such a family man is able to raise new people in joy and love, only such a person is able to develop harmoniously and inspire others to progress. Each of us should strive for this.

Innovation of Chekhov playwright

During his lifetime, the author was often reproached for violating the established canons of the theater. Then they blamed it, but now they extol it. For example, the innovative composition in Uncle Vanya - a narration without dividing the play into phenomena - refers to Chekhov's discoveries. Previously, playwrights did not violate the compositional rules of design and conscientiously formed a list of characters participating in each phenomenon. Anton Pavlovich did the same, but over time he was not afraid to experiment with a conservative art form, introducing into the Russian theater a wind of change, the spirit of the era of modernism, corresponding to the times. The innovation of Chekhov the playwright was not appreciated during the writer's lifetime, but was fully rewarded by his descendants. Thanks to him, Russian literature did not lag behind the global cultural trend, and was even ahead of it in many ways.

As for the content, here Chekhov also reflects a new trend - the crisis of realism. In his dramas, the action dissolves in everyday life, the characters - in endless digressions from the topic, the meaning - in the deliberate absurdity of the depicted existence. For example, “Uncle Vanya” - what is it about? The author depicts some kind of chaotic story without morality and ending, where a timid and meek hero, seemingly for no reason at all, tries to kill a relative and take possession of his wife. From a logical point of view, this is complete nonsense. But life is much broader than what we try to force it into, and a person is sometimes driven by more subtle and less obvious mental processes, which we are sometimes unable to understand.

Dialogues directed to nowhere also do not contribute to understanding. Chekhov's heroes speak without hearing, responding only to their own thoughts. Their words should not be taken literally: what is important in them is what is not said. The real conflict is also hidden, because the characters are not black and white. Thus, the playwright reveals personality problems in the play “Uncle Vanya” in a new, non-trivial way, forcing us to more acutely perceive what is happening on stage and think more deeply about it.

First episode:
A friend of the house, a local doctor, Doctor Astrov, comes to the Voinitsky estate. The nanny treats him to tea in the garden. Astrov is in a bad mood. He has been coming here for 11 years. He was young and handsome, but now he is old. He complains of boredom, of living with eccentrics, among whom he himself feels like an eccentric. During the typhus epidemic, he treated in the midst of dirt, darkness, and poverty. Astrov is joined in the garden by Uncle Vanya, the brother of the wife of the owner of the estate, Professor Serebryakov, and his manager. He complains that the professor and his wife who arrived violated the routine order of life, complains about his mother talking about women's emancipation, about the professor. “The son of a sexton, a student, achieved academic degrees and the rank of senator. He writes about art without understanding anything about it, takes someone else’s place.” At this time, the whole company led by the professor - his wife, daughter Sonya and the impoverished landowner Telegin, nicknamed Waffle, lived with the Voinitskys - come into the house, returning from a walk. Everyone except the professor goes out for tea. As usual, an argument breaks out at the table, but Sonya quickly calms everyone down. The doctor is sent for from the factory, and he leaves. Evening. In the office, Serebryakov is dozing in a chair. When his wife and daughter enter the room, he immediately begins to complain - about illnesses, about old age, about Uncle Vanya. Exhausted Elena Andreevna and Sonya try to calm him down. The nanny comes and takes Serebryakov away. Elena Andreevna stays with Uncle Vanya. She is sure that there is trouble in the house. Uncle Vanya reassures her - after the rain everything will be refreshed and everything will pass. He confesses his love for her, but Elena Andreevna has nothing to answer him. He complains that his life is irretrievably lost. Elena Andreevna leaves. Astrov returns. Waffle is with him. Astrov is drunk. He makes him play. and he dances and sings. Sonya interrupts this concert. She blames Uncle Vanya for being idle, but seeing his tears she stops. She asks Astrov not to let his uncle drink. Astrov is grumbling - he is annoyed by Serebryakov with his gout, he hates his philistine life. After drinking and eating, talking with Sonya, Astrov leaves. Sonya begins a confidential conversation with Elena Andreevna. Sonya confesses to her that she has loved Astrov for a long time. She wishes her happiness. Sonya asks Elena Andreevna to play the piano for her, but Serebryakov does not allow it. Elena Andreevna is left alone, with music playing in her.
Second episode:
Wide field of wheat. A church is visible in the distance. The Voinitsky estate again. The professor asks everyone to gather in the living room at one o'clock in the afternoon. Elena Andreevna promises Sonya to talk about her with Astrov. Sonya follows him. Astrov shows Elena Andreevna his work - he is busy breeding and protecting forests. But she thinks about the boredom of provincial life, about the fact that for Sonya Astrov she is the same “ray of light” in this kingdom of boredom as she herself is for him. She already knows that Astrov does not like Sonya, and that he suspects her of organizing this interrogation in order to find out about his attitude towards her. Uncle Vanya comes in and finds them kissing. He is shocked. Serebryakov appears. Everyone gathered to listen to what he had to say to them. He offers to sell the estate. A scandal breaks out. Uncle Vanya shoots at Serebryakov, but misses. In the meantime, Sonya finds out that Astrov does not love her. The table in the yard is covered with leaves. Autumn. The Serebryakovs are preparing to leave. The nanny dreams that everything will return to normal. Astrov and Sonya take a jar of morphine from Uncle Vanya. He feels sick and dreams of starting all over again. Finally everyone leaves. Uncle Vanya and Sonya return to work, which they interrupted due to the arrival of guests. Sonya reassures her uncle. “We will rest there, behind the coffin,” she says. “I believe.”

Anton Pavlovich Chekhov.

These fragmentary remarks, apparently not addressed to each other, enter, echoing, into a dialogical argument and highlight the meaning of the intense drama experienced by the characters in the play.

Astrov earned money during the ten years he lived in the district. “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, while managing the estate, he did not know a free minute. And now? “I […] have become worse because I’ve become lazy, I don’t do anything and I 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 Vasilyevna, simply adores her son-in-law, the husband of her late daughter. Voinitsky despises Serebryakov’s academic pursuits: “A man […] 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’s nothing to hate Alexander for, he’s just like everyone else.”

An atmosphere of intolerance, hatred, and enmity thickens around Serebryakov. He annoys Astrov, and even his wife can hardly stand him. Everyone somehow listened to the 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 “the same as everyone else” and, like everyone else, can count on leniency, on a merciful attitude towards himself, especially since he suffers from gout, suffers from insomnia, is afraid of death. “Do I really,” he asks his wife, “don’t I have the right to a peaceful old age, to people’s attention to me?” Yes, you have to be merciful, says Sonya, Serebryakov’s daughter from his first marriage. But only the old nanny will hear this call and show genuine, sincere sympathy for Serebryakov: “What, father? Hurt? […] I want someone to feel sorry for the old and the small, but no one feels sorry for the old. (Kisses Serebryakov on the shoulder.) Let’s go, father, to bed... Let’s go, dear... I’ll give you some linden tea, I’ll warm your feet... I’ll pray to God for you...”

Indignant, enraged, Voinitsky shoots at Serebryakov, shoots twice and misses both times.

Life on the estate returns to normal. “We’ll live again as it was, in the old way,” the nanny dreams. The conflict between Voinitsky and Serebryakov remains without consequences. “You will carefully receive what you received,” Professor Voinitsky reassures. “Everything will be as before.” And before Astrov and Serebryakov had time to leave, Sonya hurries Voinitsky: “Well, Uncle Vanya, let’s do something.” The lamp is lit, the inkwell is filled, Sonya flips through the office book, Uncle Vanya writes one invoice, then another: “On the second of February, twenty pounds of lean butter...” The nanny sits in a chair and knits, Maria Vasilievna plunges into reading another brochure...

It would seem that the old nanny’s expectations came true: everything became as before. But the play is structured in such a way that it constantly—in both big and small ways—deceives the expectations of both its characters and readers. You expect, for example, music from Elena Andreevna, a graduate of the conservatory (“I want to play... I haven’t played for a long time. I’ll play and cry...”), and Wafer plays the guitar... The characters are arranged like this, the course of plot events takes such a direction, dialogues and remarks are welded together with such semantic, often subtextual echoes 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 Voinitsky that Serebryakov ruined his life. He hopes to start a “new life.” But Astrov dispels this “exalting deception”: “Our situation, yours and mine, is hopeless. […] In the entire district there were only two decent, intelligent people: me and you. For some ten years the philistine life, the despicable life, dragged us in; she poisoned our blood with her rotten fumes, and we became as vulgar as everyone else.”

At the end of the play, however, Voinitsky and Sonya dream about the future, but Sonya’s final monologue emanates hopeless sadness and a feeling 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, beyond 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 relax! (The watchman knocks. Telegin plays quietly; Maria Vasilievna writes in the margins of the brochure; Marina knits a stocking.) We will rest! (The curtain slowly falls.)"

Material provided by the internet portal briefly.ru, compiled by V. A. Bogdanov

A.P. Chekhov was known for his stories and plays, which amazed readers with how subtly the writer noticed the peculiarities of human nature. For Anton Pavlovich it was important to show the experiences of the heroes and how they influence their actions, because first of all he was interested in personality, and then all social and political issues. Chekhov's play "Uncle Vanya", a summary of which is presented below, talks about how a person can experience when his idea of the personality of another person completely changes.

Characters

The characters from Chekhov's "Uncle Vanya" are simple people, not outstanding in anything, but who, like everyone else, rejoice and worry. There are two characters in the play that deserve attention: Professor Serebryakov and his brother-in-law, Uncle Vanya. It is their conflict that occupies a central place in the play. Let's name the main characters of the work:

Serebryakov Alexander Vladimirovich - retired professor.
Elena Andreevna is the second wife of the professor, a young lady of 27 years old.
Sonya is Serebryakov’s daughter from his first marriage.
Voinitskaya Maria Vasilievna is the mother of the first wife of the professor and uncle Vanya.
Voinitsky Ivan Petrovich - known in the play as Uncle Vanya, manager of Serebryakov's estate.
Astrov Mikhail Lvovich - doctor.
Telegin Ilya Ilyich - a poor landowner, lived with the Voinitskys.
Marina is an old nanny.

Chatting while drinking tea

The play is described as "scenes from country life in four acts." The entire story takes place in one estate. The writer tells us about how life works away from the hustle and bustle of a big city. All actions take place on the estate of Professor Serebryakov.

Alexander Vladimirovich arrives there with his young wife, Elena Andreevna. The estate was managed by his brother-in-law, the brother of the professor’s first wife, Voinitsky. For his family, he is just Uncle Vanya. Serebryakov’s daughter, Sonya, helps him in this.

A summary of Chekhov's "Uncle Vanya" begins with a tea party at the Voinitsky estate. Nanny Marina talks with Astrov, a doctor and friend of Voinitsky. He came at the request of Elena Andreevna, because her husband began to complain about his health. While waiting for them to return from their walk, Mikhail Lvovich complains to Marina about the doctor’s fate. He talks about the unsanitary conditions in peasant huts, about how he has to go to the sick at any time of the day.

Voinitsky comes out to them. He also complains, but this time about the fact that with the arrival of the Serebryakov couple, his entire daily routine has changed. Uncle Vanya says that he is doing nothing now. He just grumbles, eats and sleeps. Voinitsky is disappointed in the professor: he used to admire him and his ideas, but now he realized that Serebryakov did nothing significant.

Uncle Vanya does not understand how his old brother-in-law can enjoy success with the opposite sex. Voinitsky is delighted with his wife. Uncle Vanya argues with his mother at a tea party because she adores the professor. Elena Andreevna reproaches Voinitsky for his incontinence. He confesses his love for her, but she rejects his advances. Ivan Petrovich urges her not to destroy her real feeling.

Important Confessions

Further actions of the play “Uncle Vanya” by Chekhov, a brief summary of which will help you understand the meaning and plot of the work, continue in the Serebryakovs’ dining room. The professor and his wife live on income from the estate of his first wife. After Alexander Vladimirovich retired and came to the Voinitskys, he only grumbles and complains about old age and health. His grumbling is already annoying everyone, even his wife.

Only nanny Marina feels sorry for the aging professor. Ivan Petrovich again confesses his feelings for Elena Andreevna, but she rejects him. Uncle Vanya, Telegin and Astrov get drunk and talk about life. Sonya tries to confess her love for Astrov, but he does not reciprocate her feelings.

Elena Andreevna and Sonya talk frankly. The professor's wife admits that her love for Serebryakov turned out to be just an illusion. The girl confesses to her that she is in love with the doctor, but knows that she is ugly, so he does not love her. Elena Andreevna decides to help her.

Growing conflict

It seems that nothing special happens to the heroes of the play “Uncle Vanya” by Chekhov. The summary of the third act, however, shows that a conflict is brewing between those present at the tea party. The professor's young wife understands that Voinitsky is right. The woman does not feel happy. Having married a professor, seduced by his scholarship and position, she did not find the family comfort she was expecting. Elena wants a real feeling, she is in love with Astrov.

She excitedly agrees to talk to him about Sonya. But the woman realizes that the doctor is in love with her. Astrov confirms her guesses. He tries to kiss the woman: at that moment Uncle Vanya sees them. Elena Andreevna, fearing moral condemnation, says that she will leave the estate with her husband.

The professor's personality is revealed: he turns out to be a selfish and selfish person. It seems to him that the income from this estate is insufficient, so he decides to sell it. Place part of the money in the bank and live off the interest. Uncle Vanya is terrified: where should he, the old mother and Sonya go? After all, they worked for him for so many years, trying to send him more money.

The professor says he will think about it later. Sonya cannot believe that her father is putting his close relatives out on the street. Shocked by such injustice, Uncle Vanya shoots at the professor twice, but misses both times.

Departure of the Serebryakovs

The last act of Chekhov's play shows how all the heroes' hopes for a better life are destroyed. Uncle Vanya is in a dejected state and decides to commit suicide. Therefore, he secretly takes morphine from Astrov’s medicine cabinet. The doctor discovers the loss and asks Voinitsky to return it. Uncle Vanya agreed only thanks to Sonya's persuasion.

Mikhail Lvovich is trying to persuade Elena Andreevna to stay with him. But she does not dare to take this action because of bookish ideals. Elena says goodbye to Uncle Vanya and the doctor with warm feelings. Voinitsky outwardly reconciles with the professor. He promises to send him the same amount of money as before.

Everyone except Telegin leaves the estate. Upset Sonya calls on her uncle to take care of business. Ivan Petrovich complains to his niece that it’s hard for him. Then the girl pronounces her monologue about how their purpose is to work. And then they will be rewarded for their efforts.

Uncle Vanya's personality

In Chekhov's play, one of the central characters is Ivan Petrovich. At the very beginning, the reader is shown that previously this man had impressionability, sublimity, and faith in ideals. But gradually, becoming more and more involved in everyday affairs, he becomes callous and realizes that all ideals are empty.

The play shows the growth of the hero's internal conflict, which ends with his suicide attempt. Voinitsky is a man who is disillusioned with life, but has not yet completely lost faith in the best. There is still justice and love for others in his heart, unlike his brother-in-law.

Tragedies of other heroes

In the play "Uncle Vanya" by A.P. Chekhov shows that not only the main character sought to improve his life. Elena Andreevna, mistaking infatuation for love, married a selfish and empty man. But she was afraid that all her “bookish” foundations would be destroyed, so she did not dare to leave the professor.

Astrov is a talented person, but due to difficult conditions it is becoming increasingly difficult for him to maintain his talent and ability to feel. Sonya hoped that Elena would help her in her relationship with Astrov, but she herself fell in love with him. All these heroes hoped that their lives would improve, but these hopes did not come true. Therefore, everyone can live as before.

This was a brief analysis of the work "Uncle Vanya" by Chekhov, which shows how a person's fear of change can prevent him from building happiness. They had the opportunity to set new goals for themselves and change their lives. But their far-fetched ideals prevented this from happening. It also talks about how important it is to have a goal and work to achieve it - then your thoughts will be purer and your life will be more correct.