Destruction in Uncle Vanya: Interpreting Yelena Anonymous College

Destruction. It’s a powerful word, encapsulating a Pandora’s box of emotions. It implies damage beyond a state of repair, or even, at times, beyond a state of existence. Destruction plays an important role in Anton Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya. What is destroyed and who is the destroyer is dependent on viewpoint. One particular moment at the end of Act 1 captures the complexity and multifariousness of this concept. Following Astrov’s denouncement of human environmental destruction and Vanya’s subsequent condemnation of Yelena’s lifestyle, Yelena states, “It’s like Astrov was saying just now: you destroy the forests without thinking, and pretty soon there won’t be a tree left on the planet. You destroy human beings the same way, and pretty soon trust, and honesty, and the possibility of self-sacrifice will vanish from the planet as well” (Chekov, 217-218). Though she is clearly reacting to Astrov and Vanya, her intentions here are vague, something that gets at the mystery of her character. Indeed, in his notes, director Leonid Heifetz writes, “[Yelena] is a mysterious woman, and much depends on the actress” (Heifetz, 99). With this in mind, I use this essay to explore potential ways an actress may interpret this line — which I shall...