This act begins like every other I have read, with a very calm and inactive mood as the characters continue to whine about their effortless and pointless lives. All along, the play has consisted of a depressive tone in which little action takes place and a small number of events developed. Surprisingly, close to the end the characters begin to reveal their desires and sentiments, furthermore the emotions they have had all along and have been holding down, begin to burst.
Initially we are introduced to Sonia’s misery due to her unattainable love. She has fallen in love so deeply with Dr. Astroff and by not receiving his affection back it has made her feel undesirable and unattractive. Given that she has now created a friendship with Helen she decides to set forth her feelings and let her step-mother know about her state of mind. Both of them come to the agreement that Helen will speak with the doctor discreetly and try to figure out if the love is reciprocal. A moment before Helen leaves, Sonia briefly remarks “No, it is better not to know—and yet—there may be hope.” With this in mind I began considering what I would prefer. Would I radar have the illusion that my desire was possible even though deep inside I sensed it wasn’t, or would I radar know the disappointing truth and face the fact that my desire is inaccessible? After considering it I determined it would be best to confront reality and move on from there. It is always best to deal with reality than to postpone a fantasy that will sooner or later come to an end.
The conversation that takes place between Helen and Sonia allows us to understand a little better eachs personality, especially Helens. Right from the start Helen has been portrayed as the victim, stuck with a husband she no longer loves and to a life she barely stands, but instances of her conversation permit us to see that she is only a victim because she does nothing to change the fact that she is. When Sonia discusses labors she could do in the country estate to impede her boredom, Helen responds uninterested and unexcited, not even giving a chance to any of the proposals. Another occasion is her unhappiness with being married to the professor. Occasionally she complains about her innocent mistake of getting married with the wrong person, but as several of the men presented in the play devout their love to her, she ignores them and persists on remaining miserably married to the professor denying her feelings. Finally I grasped a little of insensibility in Helens personality in her attempt to extract information from the doctor. Even though she had been placed in a very uncomfortable situation, if offering to do the deed she should have done it as she promised. Lamentably Helen had agreed with Sonia that she would figure out in a discreet and prudent manner whether Sonia’s feeling were mutual. While doing so she directly asked Dr. Astroff if he felt romantic sentiments towards Sonia, completely opposite to what she had promised.
Further on I also focused on Dr, Astroff character. I found it very interesting that he felt passionate of the environment. His extended informative speeches about deforestation and other ecological issues which seemed to bore the rest of the characters were actually very interesting to me. It amazed me that a novel written in 1895 had a message of environmental awareness. Additionally, I found it very comical that his passion for the environment was sort of incorporated to his personality. For instance when revealing his feeling for Helena, he referred to her as “Oh, my sweet tigress! don’t look at me in that way; I am an old bird!”
In this play love is presented as the reality it is and not simplicity like most contemporary films portray it to be. Usually romantic movies have the typical cliché in which love is always found in the most simplistic form, but in reality it is the complete opposite. The play reflects the difficulties and obstacles to which most people can relate and which most people fear such as not being loved back, not loving at all or loving the wrong person. Each character portrays a different situation which develops through the play. Will any of these desires become possible? Will any character find true love or will they remain stuck in their unsatisfied states?
Initially we are introduced to Sonia’s misery due to her unattainable love. She has fallen in love so deeply with Dr. Astroff and by not receiving his affection back it has made her feel undesirable and unattractive. Given that she has now created a friendship with Helen she decides to set forth her feelings and let her step-mother know about her state of mind. Both of them come to the agreement that Helen will speak with the doctor discreetly and try to figure out if the love is reciprocal. A moment before Helen leaves, Sonia briefly remarks “No, it is better not to know—and yet—there may be hope.” With this in mind I began considering what I would prefer. Would I radar have the illusion that my desire was possible even though deep inside I sensed it wasn’t, or would I radar know the disappointing truth and face the fact that my desire is inaccessible? After considering it I determined it would be best to confront reality and move on from there. It is always best to deal with reality than to postpone a fantasy that will sooner or later come to an end.
The conversation that takes place between Helen and Sonia allows us to understand a little better eachs personality, especially Helens. Right from the start Helen has been portrayed as the victim, stuck with a husband she no longer loves and to a life she barely stands, but instances of her conversation permit us to see that she is only a victim because she does nothing to change the fact that she is. When Sonia discusses labors she could do in the country estate to impede her boredom, Helen responds uninterested and unexcited, not even giving a chance to any of the proposals. Another occasion is her unhappiness with being married to the professor. Occasionally she complains about her innocent mistake of getting married with the wrong person, but as several of the men presented in the play devout their love to her, she ignores them and persists on remaining miserably married to the professor denying her feelings. Finally I grasped a little of insensibility in Helens personality in her attempt to extract information from the doctor. Even though she had been placed in a very uncomfortable situation, if offering to do the deed she should have done it as she promised. Lamentably Helen had agreed with Sonia that she would figure out in a discreet and prudent manner whether Sonia’s feeling were mutual. While doing so she directly asked Dr. Astroff if he felt romantic sentiments towards Sonia, completely opposite to what she had promised.
Further on I also focused on Dr, Astroff character. I found it very interesting that he felt passionate of the environment. His extended informative speeches about deforestation and other ecological issues which seemed to bore the rest of the characters were actually very interesting to me. It amazed me that a novel written in 1895 had a message of environmental awareness. Additionally, I found it very comical that his passion for the environment was sort of incorporated to his personality. For instance when revealing his feeling for Helena, he referred to her as “Oh, my sweet tigress! don’t look at me in that way; I am an old bird!”
In this play love is presented as the reality it is and not simplicity like most contemporary films portray it to be. Usually romantic movies have the typical cliché in which love is always found in the most simplistic form, but in reality it is the complete opposite. The play reflects the difficulties and obstacles to which most people can relate and which most people fear such as not being loved back, not loving at all or loving the wrong person. Each character portrays a different situation which develops through the play. Will any of these desires become possible? Will any character find true love or will they remain stuck in their unsatisfied states?
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