Uncle Vanya the professor's daughter by his first wife, who has worked with Vanya to keep the estate going, suffers from her unrequited feelings for Dr. Astrov. Matters are brought to a crisis when the professor announces his intention to sell the estate, Vanya and Sonya's home, with a view to investing the proceeds to achieve a higher income for himself and his wife. "Uncle Vanya" is unique among Chekhov's major plays because it is essentially an extensive reworking of his own play published a decade earlier, "The Wood Demon". By elucidating the specific changes Chekhov made during the revision process—these include
Uncle Vanya leaves to ask the professor if Yelena may play the piano. Sonya returns with his negative answer, which quickly dampens the mood. Vanya, Sonya, and Yelena are in the living room, having been called there by Serebryakov. Vanya calls Yelena a water nymph and urges her, once again, to break free. Sonya complains to Yelena that she has loved Astrov for six years but that, because she is not beautiful, he doesn’t notice her. Yelena volunteers to question Astrov and find out if he’s in love with Sonya. Sonya is pleased, but before agreeing she wonders whether uncertainty is better