“In Chekhov’s world, to live is to suffer, and those who suffer the least are less vital.”

“In Chekhov’s world, to live is to suffer, and those who suffer the least are less vital.” 'Maurice Valency' is a fictional character created by Maurice Valency.
Chekhov was a prolific Russian playwright, best known for his play Uncle Vanya. Chekhov's plays dealt with the philosophy of life and were influenced by his own experiences and surroundings. Chekhov did not need to watch or read Greek dramas to write his play, according to Vinyan (4): "All he had to do was spend an afternoon with his family, or a weekend in the countryside, and he was inspired to write about life as he saw it." Uncle Vanya is a play about the complexities of life, which mirrors professional and personal life. Chekhov play is inspired by the world around him, “is it in the beauty of his wife’s eyes, or in a hospital room.” Therefore, Chekhov plays allowed the audience to see the reflections of their lives in the characters. The play relies on its melancholic and claustrophobic environment to advance the themes of self-fulfillment, the demur of the landed gentry, and the dichotomies between rural and urban lives. These themes are persistent in Chokhov’s plays and writings. In his major speech, Dr. Chekhov highlights the themes off weariness of living, the complexity of human relationships, and the waste of beauty. The essay explores how these themes are reflected in the play Uncle Vanya.

Having been brought up in a poor background, Chekhov did not believe material wealth gives personal fulfilment. Despite being a doctor and a relatively wealthy person, Chekhov understood that one does not find contentment in such earthly things. As a result, his play Uncle Vanya depicts the fate of people as they deal with life complexities such as loss, separation, and daily frustrations. Chekhov suffered from tuberculosis, which forced him to separate with his beautiful wife as he sought treatment. His separation, elusive search for self-fulfilment, and struggle with life are mirrored in the play, Uncle Vanya. Uncle Vanya, the main character in the play, resides in a country estate with his mother and younger sister. Vanya’s older sister was married to Alexander Serebryakov, who was a professor of art and history. The professor’s wife had passed on leaving the enormous estate to him. Professor Alexander later married Yelena, and moved with her to the estate to help him recuperate. Due to his chronic illness, Professor Alexander spent most his life writing and studying. Uncle Vanya, who was his long-term helper, fell in love with the professor’s wife, Yelena. However, a love triangle ensues when a young doctor, Astrov, come visit the ailing Professor. Astrov fall in love with Yelena while Uncle Vanya’s sister, Sonya also fell in love with Astrov. However, none of these characters achieve a satisfying relationship.

Sonya tries to love Astrov while Vanya loves Yelena, but they are all rejected. Astrov declares that he cannot love while the professor is largely self-absorbed to love, even his wife. Although Yelena could have loved, she decides to remain with his boorish and dominating husband. As the failure of love becomes apparent, the suffering among the characters is internalized. For Sonya, the denial of love is desolating and grievous after learning of Astrov’s rejection. She does not speak about the issue again. The professor represents a waste of life to Vanya, sacrificed for the sake of nonentity, an intellectual pygmy and a married tyrant. Astrov implies that the Professor and Yelena are agents of waste and destruction. In Act II, Vanya complains to Yelena regarding his wasted life and plead with her not to waste her life also. Waste is seen in, not only Vanya’s life, but also in Sonya. The two have sacrificed everything to ensure the state is running smoothly for the ungrateful professor. Consequently, their lives are unfulfilling.

The lack of fulfillment in life leads to anger and conflict among people living in the estate. After recognizing how wasted his life was, Vanya is angry and shoot at the professor. Despite his displeasure is evident throughout the play, it erupts into violence after the Professor discloses his plan to sell the estate. The fact that he missed indicate the futility of his rebellion. Closely related to the theme of wasted lives is the theme of impossible or unfulfilled love. According to Alavi (7), Uncle Vanya is a revision of the play “The Wood Demon,” which has a melodramatic plot. The structure of the play is characterized with erotic intrigues involving a love triangle of three key actors.

In Uncle Vanya, pressures and tensions of daily life created by economic and social conditions of Russia at the time. Life in the countryside is boring, stupefying, and vulgar, which drag most of the talented and intelligent characters such as Vanya, Astrov and Sonya. It is only when the truth emerges that the character of the person emerges. Their characters are evident in Uncle Vanya’s frustration, Astrov’s cynicism, and Sonya and Professor’s retreat.

Chekhov believed that an individual could overcome the boredom and wastefulness by pursuing useful and purpose works in life. In Act III of the play, Sonya and Astrov offer this suggestion to Yelena. However, Astrov sees his contentment in marrying Yelena. According to him “work is always ready to cede to love as the agency of salvation or renewal.” Work is not a source of happiness for Vanya and Sonya, who work tireless to keep the estate running. Chekhov detested the notion that working hard for the sake of others. Despite him being a prolific doctor who helped the poor, Chekhov died of tuberculosis. He was alienated for a prolonged period. Vanya and Astrov question the professor’s claim of intelligence. Vanya remarks “You were to us a creature of the greatest order and you articles we knew by heart. But now my eyes are open, I see everything you write about art, but you understand nothing of art.... you fooled us.” Vanya is disappointed by the professor’s lack of appreciation.

In conclusion, Chekhov presents a societal set up filled with people who are consumed with weariness, boredom, and regret over their unfulfilling lives. They lament about their old age, years wasted in hard work, impossible love and muse fiercely over what might have been if they had selected a different path in life. They experience a sense of loss knowing what they had lost. Throughout the play, the characters reveal in private reflections through every day, giving way to gush of bitter introspection.















Works Cited

Weston John. Uncle Vanya: Chekhhv’s vision of human dignity. The English Journal, Vol. 56, No. 9 (Dec., 1967), pp. 1276-1279.

The article explores how the play Uncle Vanya depicts human dignity. It explores how Chekhov’s play depicts the realities of life and how idleness leads to pettiness and conflict. Additionally, the author shows how the personalities of the various character mirrors the social context of the play. The article was very useful in exploring how Chekhov explores social reliaties through the characters.

Alavi Neflar. “Compulsive Drives Of Uncle Vanya On Keeping The Trust In Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya Drama (1896): A Social Psychological Approach, 2012.” University of Surakarta.

Alavi uses a social psychological approach to explore compulsive drives of its characters. The author focuses on how the characters represent the sense of helplessness, hostility, anxiety and isolation. The article allows the reader to understand how the characters became agitated throughout their lives. It was very useful for the current study because it gives a social and psychological understanding of why the various characters lamented.

Vanyan Ksenia. “Translation and adaptation of Uncle Vanya.” San Diego State University, 2010.

Although the article focuses at interpreting the play into English, it provides a vivid explanation of the characters. It provides very insightful information on the theme of wasted lives. Additionally, the author provides useful information about Chekhov’s other plays and how they relate with Uncle Vanya.



Yholanda Anggraini. “Social relation and stratification reflected in Anton Checkov’s Uncle Vanya drama: A Marxist perspective.” University of Surakarta, 2013.

Yholanda provides an objective analysis how the characters relate and the social classes. It shows how class different social classes interact. Additionally, it describes the materialism shown by the various actors. According to Yholanda, the play shows the relationship between materialism, labour and polarization of the society. The article was very useful in understanding why, despite their successes in various professionals, the main characters were unhappy with their lives.