Uncle Vanya Act II

As the play progresses we are show in detail the relationship between Elena Andryevna and her aging husband Serebryakov. He is shown as the demanding old man and she is the distressed, tired and bored young wife. Her regret for marrying such a man especially because of his age and attitude emerges as she forces herself to stay up late into the night to comply with his demands. You begin to pity the poor Elena who is truly unhappy and criticize her husband's egocentricity. "It's unbearable! Tell me, what is it you want of me?" This quote clearly shows Elena's desperation and frustration because she is being kept up late into the night because of her husband's constant complaining. This does make you wonder why she agreed to marry such a man in the first place if he was already aging and might mean that there were other motives other than love behind the engagement which is rather cruel of her to do to an old man with gout. Then the complaining about age begins and for the rest of his lines in this act there is always a whining reference to old age, "...haven't I the right to a peaceful old age and a little attention?" This is one of the many example of him referring to his age. I also noticed that he knows that he's causing many people to be miserable and restless because of his illness and the way he is handling it but his indifference to their emotions is saddening, he just sits in bed playing the part of the victim. I wonder if this attitude will persist throughout the play?

Serebryakov is very bitter and spiteful but you feel sorry for him too because everyone rolls their eyes at his pain and suffering and even though all the people seem very kind and thoughtful they don't care or have much pity for him. I think that maybe all of these different people are living together because of him but I haven't figured out why people like Teleyegin who is not there to help him is there. His wife is clearly there because of her vow to him, along with his daughter and the nurse and daughter. I'm guessing that Voinitsky is there because of his love for Elena but I don't understand why his mother also lives on the estate. They don't seem to be very wealthy but they aren't very humble either, especially Serebryakov and his wife. Marina is the most charitable and gentle towards him but also is very firm and is able to convince him to go to bed to stop distressing everyone "Old folks like the little ones want somebody to feel sorry for them, but nobody feels sorry for the old. Come, my dear, go to bed now...Come along, dovey..." She sympathizes the most with him but is also firm, this shows a very powerful personality especially if she can get a person like him to be quiet!

The conflict between Voinitsky and Serebryakov, the husband and wife and others may be the reason why all these people are together under one roof, to discuss and try to conclude these issues. Other people are starting to find out about Voinitsky's secret and you feel bad for him because he lays out all of his emotions so plainly so that you pity the poor man. He also wallows about age and lost chances, and there isn't much happiness in the household. I wonder if when Serebryakov and his wife leave there will be more peace and harmony in the house. The play has evolved into a more detailed account focused on all these people living in one place and their relationships, this may be the author's way of trying to explain how human nature is by building it and creating relations and watching them grow or disintegrate.