Selected plays

known what happiness was, but wait, Uncle Vanya, wait! We shall rest. [She embraces him] We shall rest! [The WATCHMAN'S rattle is heard in the garden; TELEGIN plays softly; MME. VOYNITSKAYA writes something on the margin of her pamphlet; MARINA knits her stocking] We shall rest!

The curtain slowly falls.

Notes

Following notes are by James Rusk and A. S. Man, 1998: TITLE

Vanya is a familiar diminutive of the Russian name Ivan -- the title's English equivalent would be 'Uncle Johnny.' CHARACTERS

privy councilor: a high rank in the Russian civil service ACT I

Nanny, nurse: nyanka, a pet name for a female nurse or nanny

Sonya's mother: lit. Sonechka, a pet name for Sonya; her mother's name was Vera Petrovna, but modern English adaptations of the play don't need to use the name and patronymic as in Russian.

typhoid: Fell uses 'eruptive typhoid', while some other translators have 'typhus' here. They are two different diseases, but both epidemic. It makes no difference to the play which it really was.

Straining the mind...: From the poem 'Other People's Views' (1794) by I. I. Dmitriyev (1760-1837)

I've come to see your husband. It was very impolite of the family to ignore the doctor's presence for so long, a point not lost on a Russian audience.

quantum satis: As much as needed (prescription terminology); still used today but more likely abbreviated as 'q.s.' or replaced by the similar Latin 'p.r.n.'

Pardon me, Jean...: 'Jean' is the French version of 'Ivan.' The Russian upper class spoke French among themselves extensively in the early 19th century, but by the time of this play (1896) using French was considered pretentious.

perpetuum mobile: non-stop

Ostrovsky's plays: A. N. Ostrovsky (1823-1886) is considered by many to be the greatest Russian dramatist between Gogol and Chekhov

nursery and seed bed: At the time this play was adapted from the one-act play 'The Wood-Demon,' Chekhov, a physician, was living in the Crimea and loved nothing so much as spending his time working in his garden, where he planted many fruit trees. However, the note of pomposity and dandyism that Astrov displays here should not be overlooked. ACT II

Watchman's rattle: Russian estates often had night watchmen. They tapped both to warn possible trespassers and to let their employer know they were awake. Typically, the tapping consisted of two strokes in two seconds, a five second pause, and then the sequence was repeated.