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Uncle Vanya
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How Petty Can It Get: The Mask of Boredom in

Uncle Vanya

Anton Chekhov is by far the greatest

playwright in the history of Russian theatre. Indeed,
Chekhov demonstrated that a production could be
riveting without conforming to the traditional
notions of drama. Avoiding the aesthetic
glorification of the world, his literal portrayal of life,
unclouded by false ideals, depicts the events in the
human life in a straightforward manner. Moreover,
through ordinary conversations, pauses and
incomplete thoughts, Chekhov is able to reveal the
truth behind the trivial words and daily lives of his
characters. Thus, he revolutionized modern theatre
art by writing plays which reflected life "as it
actually is." Although Chekhov was a very prolific
writer, Uncle Vanya is widely considered to be his
greatest achievement and a masterpiece of modern
drama. One obvious characteristic of the play is that
almost all the characters are consumed with
lethargy, boredom and regret over their
unsatisfactory lives. In Uncle Vanya, Anton Chekhov
uses this collective boredom to mask the characters'
hopeless existence, their impossible loves and the
deep resentment harbored towards each other.

In this play, the mutual boredom tries to hide

characters' hopeless existence. Indeed, Uncle
Vanya's characters mourn the years that they have
wasted in drudgery and they contemplate bitterly
over what might have been if their destiny had been
different. For example, Uncle Vanya is deeply upset
over having spent his life toiling for the benefit of
Serebryakov, a once-worshipped scholar that Vanya
has discovered to be nothing but a fraud: "[Vanya]
worshiped that man. That pitiful pox-ridden
"academic" and worked like a slave for him...Now
the [Professor] retires and it's screamingly clear...
[he] is a fraud. [He] is a vicious failure, who cheated
a man who loved him" (Chekhov 29). This
disillusion causes him to explicitly point out the
miserable nature of other characters' lives.
Moreover, Vanya is obsessed with his wasted years
and the thought of what might have been. In effect,
he hopelessly dreams of a new life: "If I could start
anew. If I could live the rest of my life out in some
different way, if that were possible" (71). However,
unable to start over, Vanya falls into a terrible
depression and throws himself into his drudgery to
keep his misery away. Furthermore, just like other
characters, Dr. Astrov also suffers from a sense of
loss which he tries to mask with boredom.
Overworked and ruined by the provincial life, he
finds himself indifferent to the world and dejected
at the thought of being forgotten. His lethargy and
boredom are emphasized, and probably caused, by
his empty and disappointing life: "I've become some
jolly "type." Not dead yet, some enthusiasm, some
"thoughts," but quite subdued. Dull, somehow.
Nothing that I want, nothing that I need, no one
that I love..." (4). Indeed, Astrov's desperate state is
revealed when he is under the influence of alcohol.
Only then, using vodka as the escape route, he feels
monumental rather that eccentric: "... Normally I
drink this much just once a month. And during this
time I no longer seem to myself an awkward and
useless member of the world" (31). This inebriation
causes him to forget his primary fear- the thought of
being forgotten in the course of time. Therefore, this
omnipresent boredom in Uncle Vanya symbolizes
characters' wishes and hopes which have been
irretrievably lost in their wasting of their lives.

Characters' collective boredom tries to conceal

their passionate feelings of attraction which cannot
possibly be endured. In fact, the characters are
indifferent or repulsed by each other, their
seductions are awkward and their love games
ultimately leave everyone in a miserable situation.
For instance, the homely, gentle Sonya dotes on Dr.
Astrov who is, nevertheless, entirely indifferent to
her love-worship. In fact, she is overwhelmed with
Astrov's "Scope of Mind" (40). Although other
characters, including Yelena, view Astrov as an
"eccentric" character and his passion for
environmentalism as "monotonous," Sonya glorifies
Astrov's talents and quickly adopts his teachings:

Yelena Andreyevna: ...How interesting can that be,

really, alone in the woods all the time? I should
think it quite monotonous.

Sofya: Oh, not at all, no, it's quite interesting...And

if you listen to him you'll see what he means. (15).

However, once Sonya discovers that Mikhail

Lvovich cares nothing for her, she miserably
rededicates herself to her toils, telling her uncle that
they can only look toward death for peace. Death
therefore becomes the only time when she is able to
recall the past without bitterness and regret (81).
Undoubtedly, passion for these characters seems
more like an avenue for suffering, not salvation.
Hence, Sofya's yearning for the impossible love

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