Read this when
Uncle Vanya
When you realise the person you sacrificed everything for… was mid the whole time. Uncle Vanya gets it. And then Sonya says the thing that makes you cry.
Who it's for
Chekhov makes midlife regret both painful and faintly comic, which is part of why it helps: Vanya's rage at Professor Serebryakov, the man whose career he and Sonya funded for decades, is shown as understandable rather than shameful, but also as something that.
Feelings it meets
What it is
Anton Chekhov's play, first published in 1897 and premiered at the Moscow Art Theatre in 1899, is set on a rural Russian estate that Vanya has managed for years. When Professor Serebryakov visits with his young second wife Yelena, both Vanya and the local doctor Astrov become infatuated with her, while Serebryakov's daughter Sonya loves Astrov without return.
Where to find it
Public domain in the US (1897 original and older translations such as Marian Fell's, which appears on Project Gutenberg). Modern translations in print and through libraries (Libby/Hoopla); frequently.
Before you start
Heads up: A character's averted suicide plan.
Age: Ages 14+
To regret one's own experiences is to arrest one's own development.Oscar Wilde, De Profundis
