Uncle Vanya By Anton Chekhov Movie Review Examples

Introduction: Uncle Vanya is among the masterpieces of Anton Chekhov that portrays wasted lives and frustrated longing of the characters. In his earlier incarnation, it was known as ‘The Wood Demon’ and was a much more conventional play. It was rejected by two theatres and ultimately premiered to a very poor reception in 1989 in Moscow. However, later on the play was revised by Chekhov, who altered it radically. Although in terms of negative events, the new work was much more static as far less happens in Uncle Vanya but it is considered as one of the most poignant evocations of thwarted desire.
Uncle Vanya premiered on October 26, 1899 and was well received by the audience. Chekhov has taken a look at one of the least happy and most hapless households in literature. The main character of the play, Vanya is haunted by the man he could have been. Vanya and his deceased sister's daughter Sonya keep the rundown estate going. By renaming the play as Uncle Vanya, Chekhov has tried to draw attention towards the relationship that is present between Vanya and Sonya. Thematically the play is preoccupied with frustrated hopes and wasted lives. Each of the characters is unhappy and they are unhappy in their own way. In this sense, Uncle Vanya has many parallels with other plays of Chekhov.
Although Chekhov considered this work as an amusing work, yet the play comes to an end when the characters are in a pitiable condition of inconclusiveness, without any hope of personal fulfillment and are simply waiting for their lives to end. However, in Uncle Vanya, the desires of the characters of the play are not fulfilled, at least they have decided to go on living and even if they cannot find a sense of purpose, at least they have been successful in finding a sense of duty and habit.