Uncle Vanya Act I

I found that the play had a slow start and I found the names very confusing and hard to follow. I had to look back every few lines to make sure I knew who was talking and this was definitely frustrating. Also, Chekhov just jumps into the story without really introducing the characters or the plot which caused me to feel lost at the beginning. Luckily from each of the character's speeches I got to analyze them and learn a bit more about them. Each character has a distinct personality that makes them individual so that even though I was uncertain of the names I could distinguish each one by their attitude and speaking style. Moreover the language that Cheknov uses is very modern and easy to understand which makes it a much easier play to read than a Shakespearean play. Each character has his or her quirks for example Voinitsky is a very negative sour character, "Elena: It's a fine day... not too hot... Voinitsky: A fine day to hang oneself..." This very negative attitude makes the reader wonder what has happened to this man to make him so unappreciative of nature and the world in general. I think that this is the way the author introduces the characters, by slowly evolving their personalities so that each one is distinct and individual.

My impression of the first act was that the author created each character to complement another. Voinisky's negative attitude is matched by Astrov's love of nature and belief in the good that is necessary to keep the world going. Voinitsky mocks the was Astrov has a passion for nature and how he gets distressed over dissolving ecosystems but Astrov believes in his cause and doesn't let Voinitsky shrink his confidence. Elena Andreyevna's shy inquisitiveness is matched by her husband's open loud and demanding personality. There are many interesting relationships in the play but at the end of the first act emerges some action. The secret unrequited love that Voinitsky has for Elena. "How else can I look at you, since I love you. You are my joy, my life, my youth..." This allows us to foreshadow conflict between them and maybe even her husband and adds passion and emotion to the play. This also led me to assume that the reason for his negativity is because of this unsatisfied passion he has for a married woman, this makes his life unbearable because she is out of his reach.

One question came to my mind as I was reading the first scene, why are all these different people living together under the same roof? Hopefully I will learn the reason. I think that the first act is a slow start to the play and we get introduced to action later on, this makes the beginning a bit dull but we by the end we are hooked.