Work, Work, Work, Will You Ever End, Please Don't --Vanya Act I

“Come now, I believe you envy him” (Act I. 198)… “I do envy him!” (Act I,168). Envy is such a powerful feeling against someone. Feeling envious about another person may result in the killing of that person, or in even worse, the torture of another. In the book The Count of Montecrist for example, Dante seems to have everything in his life, but the envy that Danglars and Ferdinand feel against him lure them into torturing him by messing completely his life. Now, since Vanya feels this way against the old professor Serebyakov it makes me think that he will probably due something. The professor is now sick, so he may take advantage of this situation, and kill him and then blame the sickness which apparently is gout.

From this first act Chekov clearly pictured an image of the life that this people were living. They lived in a countryside in Russia, where everything seemed good, even the harvest; however, the envy and love that characters such as Vanya feel, and the pain and stubbornness that the professor experiences lead to the eventually unbalance of the life of these people. From what I have read, although the characters of this play do insignificant and rather boring chores like taking care of an old man, they feel exhausted. This feeling of tiredness, I believe, is caused by the simple inactivity that Vanya, Elena, Aleksandr, Sonya, and Waffles live. Chekov might want to demonstrate to the working class of Russia what a simple chore-less life may lead to, total desperation. Chekov might want to express how work and having an active life keep you from becoming crazy and sick (working under safe conditions). This play, if interpreted in this form, will actually incentivize hard, tired workers to keep on going.

“A fine day to hang oneself…” (Act I, 172). What is interesting about this is not only the mere fact that the line is left with three points at the end of it (…) incentivizing the possibility that suicide might actually happen, but the fact that the boredom, passion, and envy may actually lead to eventual suicide, strengthening Chekov’s cause, if it is the one mentioned above. This small quote form the play captures so much, due to the fact that it actually presents the possibility of suicide in this calm environment as the one that the characters of this play are living.

Through this first act, Chekov also expressed some communist views against the big, powerful capitalist industries. “…you all recklessly destroy the forests, and soon there will be nothing left on earth. In the same way you recklessly destroy man…” (Act I, 175-176). Through the doctor Astrov, the author represents the proper conservation of Earth (Using only what it is needed); however, Vanya is the Capitalistic pig that doesn’t care about anything but his own satisfaction. Vanya is presented as the bad aggressive character of this play, just like the communists presented the capitalistic profiteers.