Uncle Vanya

Late at night, Serebrakoff and Helena are dozing in armchairs in the dining room. Serebrakoff wakes up agitated, and Helena soothes him while rewrapping him in his shawl. Serebrakoff complains that he has intolerable pain in his legs, and he says he feels as though he’s suffocating. He fears that the pain is from rheumatism rather than the diagnosed gout, and he worries that the gout may have caused him to develop angina in his heart. Helena suggests that his difficulty with breathing is probably because this is the second night in a row he’s gone without proper sleep, and Serebrakoff lashes out at her in anger. He says she cannot understand the pains of old age and that he will soon relieve them all by dying. Helena cries and accuses him of torturing her, but he continues his tirade.

Sonia enters and chastises Serebrakoff for wasting Astroff’s time by calling for him and then refusing to see him. Serebrakoff calls Astroff a madman and then snaps at Sonia, who tells him she has too much work to do the next day and cannot indulge him by enduring his temper. Marina and Voitski arrive, and though Voitski offers to keep Serebrakoff company so that the women can go to bed—much to Serebrakoff’s horrified refusal—it is Marina who manages to coax Serebrakoff to bed with sympathy, memories of Sonia’s mother, and commiseration over their shared pains.