ABSTRACT
The action of the second act takes place on a stormy night of August in ‘the dining-room of Serebryakov’s house’ and is divided into seven scenes. Of these only the two longer ones are of importance in so far as they advance the dramatic action of the play, the first leading up to the climax in the third act by concentrating on Professor Serebryakov’s dissatisfaction with country life and his towering rage against the ‘insipid’ people adverse circumstances had forced him to live with. The sixth scene illustrates the dichotomy in Sonia’s character: the active, level-headed manager of an estate and the naive, helpless young girl utterly incapable of coping with a situation in which her deepest emotions are involved, in spite of the many transparent hints Astrov gives her of his inability to reciprocate her feelings, because of his infatuation with Helen. The entrance of Sonia brought some fresh air into the stifling atmosphere of the sick room.
