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 than knowledge, because then, at least, there is hope. When Yelena asks Astrov about his feelings for Sonya, he says he has none and concludes that Yelena has brought up the subject of love to encourage him to confess his own feelings for her. Astrov kisses Yelena, and Vanya witnesses the embrace. Upset, Yelena begs Vanya to use his influence to allow her and the professor to leave immediately. Before Serebryakov can make his announcement, Yelena conveys to Sonya the message that Astrov doesn’t love her. Serebryakov proposes that he solve the family’s financial problems by selling the estate, and