d in
every possible way so that he can send as much money as possible to
his brother-in-law, this professor, fondled and pampered by the
whole family, who see in him their glorification. But Serebriakof
soon gets tired of the country; besides, he thinks that the
doctor--a friend of the family who is taking care of him--does not
understand his sickness, and he begins to mistrust him. He wants to
go away, to travel, in order to recover his health, and, in order to
make money, he proposes to sell the estate, which legally belongs to
Sonya, the daughter of his first wife.

Up to this time Uncle Vanya and the other members of the family as
well, had sacrificed themselves entirely to this celebrated man. But
at this proposition Vanya realizes that their idol is nothing but an
abominable egoist, and he begins to despise his brother-in-law. What
is more, he secretly loves the young and beautiful wife of the
professor, while she suffers from the everlasting complaints and
caprices of her husband. However, a general reconciliation takes
place. The professor and his wife leave for the city, and all goes
on as before; Uncle Vanya and the family will sacrifice themselves
for the glory of Serebriakof, to whom all the revenues of the estate
are sent.

The "Three Sisters," that is to say the sisters of Prozorov, live
with their brother in a vulgar, tiresome town,--a town lacking in
men of superior minds, a town where one person is like the next.

The great desire of the three sisters is to go to Moscow, but their
apathy keeps them in the country, and they continue to vegetate
while philosophizing about everything that they see. However, at the
arrival of a regiment, they become animated, and have sentimental
intrigues with the officers till the very day of their departure.

"They are going to leave; we shall be alone; the monotonous life is
going to begin again," cries one of the sisters.

"We must work; work alone consoles," says the second.

And the youngest exclaims, embracing her two sisters, while the
military band plays the farewell march:

"Ah, my dear sisters, your life is not yet completed. We are going
to live. The music is so gay! Just a little bit more, and I feel
that we shall know why we live, why we suffer...."

This certainly is the dominant note of Tchekoff's philosophy: the
impotency of living mitigated by a vague hope of progress.

The last, and perhaps the most important play of Tchekoff, is "The
Cherry