Vanya and his niece Sonya live on a
country estate in the provinces. Sonya’s father, a retired
Professor, is a famous writer and often away from home leaving his daughter to be raised by his brother-in-law, Vanya. The estate actually belonged to Vanya’s sister who died many years before. Recently, the professor has decided to return to the country to live and brings his beautiful, young
new wife, Yelena, back with him.
Despite the fact that the professor is a vain, selfish man, and also a hypochondriac, many members of the public have adored him and life has treated him well. Vanya is consumed by jealousy of the professor; he
feels that it is unfair for Sonya and himself to work endlessly for the professor without any compensation.
The professor’s new wife is also a selfish and vain woman. The pair of them desire to be surrounded with attention from all sides and cause havoc to the
lives of the family left in the countryside.
Sonya, unselfish and modest, is deeply in love with the country
doctor of the region. However, she considers herself plain and when Yelena, beautiful and confident, enters their lives, Sonya feels her own inadequacies more than ever before. Vanya has fallen under Yelena’s spell and his jealousy of the doctor turns to absolute hatred because of the professor’s new wife. Yelena, bored with her life and trapped to the side of an aging man, soon finds herself attracted to the doctor and they begin to have an affair.
Vanya becomes terribly unhappy when he discovers the affair between Yelena and Astrov (the doctor), but his unhappiness grows out of proportion when the Professor decides, unbeknownst to the rest, that he wants to sell the farm. Vanya’s anger grows out of control and he tries to kill the Professor.
After these events occur and Vanya is able to express the anger and resentment he feels towards his brother-in-law, the Professor and Yelena decide to leave and have things revert back to the way they were before. When they go, and the doctor leaves for his rounds, Sonya comforts Vanya by speaking of how through work they can achieve peace. Though hope for the future may not be upon them, the doctor will return, and they’re lives will no longer be upset by those of the Professor and Yelena.
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