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

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