ABSTRACT
Anton Chekhov's descriptive stage direction is, like all similar stage directions in his plays, extremely scanty. The only interesting features which provide the spectators with a glimpse into the past and present life of the characters are: part of the large country house, the old poplar tree, the guitar and the swing, and the table set for tea. This feeling of deep-seated dissatisfaction with life verging on despondency becomes evident in the very first scene between Dr Astrov and the old nurse Marina who has known the doctor for over eleven years. During that time, he has aged considerably and, Marina observes deprecatingly, grown a little too fond of vodka. Helen, perhaps because she was ‘a little in love with Astrov’, was more clear-sighted about him than anyone else in the play. After Serebryakov, Helen and Sonia have gone into the house, the conversation quite naturally turned to the professor’s beautiful wife.
