Back to Normality - Uncle Vanya, by Anton Chekhov: Act 4

The final act of Uncle Vanya is a very normal falling action and resolution. The first two acts of the play were monotonous and negative exposition and rising action. The third act was the climax which differs completely from the rest of the play because it is very agitated and many interesting things occur. The fourth act, as I said before returns to the normality of the first two acts. The end is basically a conclusion in which the professor and his wife leave because of all the problems they have caused, and the house goes back to the usual work and routine. Some characters are disappointed with this decision, while others are very happy. I can see a clear connection between the end of Chekhov's play and Voltaire's play Candide. In both works the characters were dissatisfied with the way their lives turned out, but they had to contempt on being busy. Candide married an ugly Cunegonde but accepted his life in simply settling down and working. Vanya had wasted his whole life, but in a way, was glad to go back to normality. When Serebryakov and Elena were home, he was useless all day, complaining without work. When they left, even though he wasn't successful with Elena, he could be busy once again. In this, the two works are very similar. Vanya and Candide simply wanted to go to work.

" 'That's true enough,' said Candide; 'but we

must go work in the garden.' "

"Voinitsky: Let them go, I... I cannot. I feel

miserable. I must get busy with something 

as soon as possible... Work, work!" 

(Act IV, Pg. 222)

Both quotes show very little interest from the characters to the people they were talking to before. Vanya and Candide are simply concentrated on working. They were both pessimistic about life in the past, but at the end, accept their lives as they are. Vanya does this in a negative way saying he is doomed to die without doing anything in his life, but other characteres, such as Sonya try to see the good part of life. "You have had no joy in your life, but wait, Uncle Vanya, wait... We shall rest... We shall rest!" (Pg. 227) We see quite a big character development in Sonya. In the beginning she was obsessed with Astrov, but after she knew he didn't feel the same way towards her, she simply accepted life, and in the last act was one of the few positive persons.