Uncle Vanya

'Don't they see through¹ everything – the Russians? all the little disguises we, put up? Flowers against decay; gold and velvet against poverty; the trees, the apple trees – they see through them too,' she was thinking play. Then a shot rang out.

'There! now he's shot him. That's a mercy². Oh but the shot's missed! The old villain³ with the dyed whiskers in the check ulster⁴ isn't hurt a bit... Still he tried to shoot him; he suddenly rose erect, reeled⁵ up the stairs and got his pistol He pressed the trigger. The ball lodged⁶ in the wall; perhaps in the table leg. It came to nothing anyhow. "Let it all be forgotten, dear Vanya. Let us be friends as of old," he's saying ... Now they've gone. Now we hear the bells of the horses tinkling⁷ away in the distance. And is that also true of us?' she said leaning her chin on her hand and looking at the girl on the stage. 'Do we hear the bells tinkling away down the road?' she asked, and thought of the taxis and omnibuses¹ in Sloane Street², for they lived in one of the big houses in Cadogan Square³.

'We shall rest,' the girl was saying now, as she clasped⁴ Uncle Vanya in her arms. 'We shall rest,' she said. Her words were like drops falling – one drop then another drop. 'We shall rest,' she said again. 'We shall rest, Uncle Vanya And the curtain fell.'As for us,' she said, as her husband helped her on with her cloak, 'We've not even loaded the pistol. We're not even tired.' And they stood still for a moment in the gangway, while they played 'God Save the King'⁵.

'Aren't the Russians morbid⁶?' she said, taking his arm.

Understanding the story

a) Comprehension and summary

1. Where does this short story take place?

2. Is the woman in the audience concentrating on the action of the play? What is she really thinking about?

3. Give a brief summary of what you think is happening on the stage at this point in the play.

4. Why do you think the woman asks herself "And is that also true of us?"

5. What do you think could be the differences between the situations of the woman in the audience and the girl on the stage? Are there any similarities in their situations?

6. What is the significance of the words "We shall rest"?

7. Contrast what the woman thinks about the Russian character at the beginning and what she says about it at the end of the story. What does this tell you about her own character?

b) Style and language

Most of the story consists of the woman theatregoer's thoughts. What do we call this kind of literary style? Say why you think it is or is not suited to the subject matter. Do you recognize features of any other literary style?

Discussion and comment

1. What is the story about?

2. Why do people go to the theatre? Why do you think the woman in this short short story went to the theatre with her husband?

3. When was the last time you went to the theatre? Which play did you see? What was it about? Did you enjoy it? Give your reasons.

4. What sort of man do you think the husband is? What is his social class What do you think his attitude towards his wife is?

5. What does the story tell you about the probable relationship between! woman and her husband? What do you think the woman should do at this situation? Would she have been able to do much about it in the "man`s world" of the 1920s and 30s?

6. This story was written over sixty years ago, when many middle-class a upper-class women were forced to lead "a life of boredom aimlessness", like the characters is Checkhov's play. In what ways do think life is different for women today?

7. "We've not even loaded the pistol. We're not even tired."Discuss what think the woman means by these words. Are they true? What effect do think they will have on her husband?

8. Give a full stylistic analysis of the text.