Uncle Vanya

A woman can become a man's friend only in the following stages - first an acquantaince, next a mistress, and only then a friend.

..when one has no real life, one lives by mirages. It's still better than nothing.

SONIA: What can we do? We must live our lives. [A pause] Yes, we shall live, Uncle Vanya. We shall live through the long procession of days before us, and through the long evenings; we shall patiently bear the trials that fate imposes on us; we shall work for others without rest, both now and when we are old; and when our last hour comes we shall meet it humbly, and there, beyond the grave, we shall say that we have suffered and wept, that our life was bitter, and God will have pity on us. Ah, then dear, dear Uncle, we shall see that bright and beautiful life; we shall rejoice and look back upon our sorrow here; a tender smile—and—we shall rest. I have faith, Uncle, fervent, passionate faith. [SONIA kneels down before her uncle and lays her head on his hands. She speaks in a weary voice] We shall rest. [TELEGIN plays softly on the guitar] We shall rest. We shall hear the angels. We shall see heaven shining like a jewel. We shall see all evil and all our pain sink away in the great compassion that shall enfold the world. Our life will be as peaceful and tender and sweet as a caress. I have faith; I have faith. [She wipes away her tears] My poor, poor Uncle Vanya, you are crying! [Weeping] You have never known what happiness was, but wait, Uncle Vanya, wait! We shall rest. [She embraces him] We shall rest. [The WATCHMAN’S rattle is heard in the garden; TELEGIN plays softly; MME. VOITSKAYA writes something on the margin of her pamphlet; MARINA knits her stocking] We shall rest.

What must human beings be, to destroy what they can never create?

This man, who for twenty-five years has been reading and writing about art, and in all that time has never understood anything about art, has for twenty-five years been hashing over other people's ideas about realism, naturalism and all that nonsense; for twenty-five years he has been reading and writing about what intelligent people already know and about what stupid people don't want to know--which means that for twenty-five years he's been taking nothing and making nothing out of it. And with it all, what conceit! What pretension!

One hundred years from now, the people who come after us, for whom our lives are showing the way--will they think of us kindly? Will they remember us with a kind word? I wish to God I could think so.

There is no greater sorrow than to know another's secret when you cannot help them.

HELENA. What a fine day! Not too hot. [A pause.] VOITSKI. A fine day to hang oneself.

Everything should be first-rate in a person, his face, clothes, soul and thoughts.

When a woman is plain, people say, 'What beautiful eyes you have, beautiful hair.

..One has to be a mindless barbarian to burn such beauty in a stove, to destroy what we can not create..

he is a man of genius. Do you know what that means? It means he is brave, profound, and of clear insight. He plants a tree and his mind travels a thousand years into the future, and he sees visions of the happiness of the human race. People like him are rare and should be loved.

And the existence is tedious, anyway; it is a senseless, dirty business, this life.

A woman can only become a man's friend after having first been his acquaintance and then his beloved—then she becomes his friend.

Who but a stupid barbarian could burn so much beauty in his stove and destroy that which he cannot make? Man is endowed with reason and the power to create, so that he may increase that which has been given him, but until now he has not created, but demolished. The forests are disappearing, the rivers are running dry, the game is exterminated, the climate is spoiled, and the earth becomes poorer and uglier every day.

I used to think every fool was out of his senses, but now I see that lack of sense is a man's normal state, and you are perfectly normal.

God alone knows what a man's real calling is.

for twenty-five years he has been reading and writing things that clever men have long known and stupid ones are not interested in;

Why cannot you look calmly at a woman unless she is yours?

Man is endowed with reason and the power to create, so that he may increase that which has been given him, but until now he has not created, but demolished.

In your veins flows a mermaid’s blood, so be a mermaid.

When real life is wanting one must create an illusion. It is better than nothing.

But, as I was saying, life holds nothing for me; my race is run. I am old, I am tired, I am trivial; my sensibilities are dead. I could never attach myself to any one again.

If you could only see your face, your gestures! Oh, how tedious your life must be.

Ne yapabiliriz? Yaşamak gerek! Yaşayacağız Vanya Dayı. Çok uzun günler, boğucu akşamlar geçireceğiz. Alınyazımızın bütün sınavlarına sabırla katlanacağız. Bugün de, yaşlılığımızda da, dinlenmek bilmeden, başkaları için çalışıp didineceğiz. Ecel saati gelip çatınca da uysalca öleceğiz ve orda, mezarın ötesinde, çok acı çektik, gözyaşı döktük, çok acı şeyler yaşadık diyeceğiz... Tanrı da acıyacak bize ve biz seninle canım dayıcığım, parlak, güzel, sevimli bir hayata kavuşacağız ve buradaki mutsuzluklarımıza sevecenlikle, hoşgörüyle gülümseyeceğiz ve dinleneceğiz... İnanıyorum buna dayıcığım, bütün kalbimle, tutkuyla inanıyorum... Dinleneceğiz! Dinleneceğiz! Melekleri dinleyeceğiz, elmas gibi yıldızlarla kaplı gökleri göreceğiz. Dünyanın tüm kötülüklerinin, tüm acılarımızın, dünyayı baştan başa kaplayacak olan merhametin önünde silinip gittiğini göreceğiz ve hayatımız bir okşama gibi dingin, yumuşak ve tatlı olacak. İnanıyorum, inanıyorum buna! Zavallı, zavallı Vanya dayı, ağlıyorsun... Hayatında mutluluğu tadamadın, ama bekle Vanya dayı, bekle... Dinleneceğiz, Dinleneceğiz...

Why cannot you look calmly at a woman unless she is yours? Because, the doctor was right, you are all possessed by a devil of destruction; you have no mercy on the woods or the birds or on women or on one another.

...shallow in thought, shallow in feeling.

forests are the ornaments of the earth, that they teach mankind to understand beauty and attune his mind to lofty sentiments. Forests temper a stern climate, and in countries where the climate is milder, less strength is wasted in the battle with nature, and the people are kind and gentle. The inhabitants of such countries are handsome, tractable, sensitive, graceful in speech and gesture. Their philosophy is joyous, art and science blossom among them, their treatment of women is full of exquisite nobility——

My life has been a failure. I am clever and brave and strong. If I had lived a normal life I might have become another Schopenhauer or Dostoieffski. I am losing my head!