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Similes
Definition of Soliloquy
A soliloquy is a literary device, most often found in dramas, in which a character speaks to him or herself, relating his or her innermost thoughts and feelings as if... read full definition
A soliloquy is a literary device, most often found in dramas, in which a character speaks to him or herself, relating his or her innermost... read full definition
A soliloquy is a literary device, most often found in dramas, in which a character speaks to him or herself... read full definition
Act 3
Explanation and Analysis—Grey Blobs, Bright Moon:
After Sonya tells Yelena that she's in love with Astrov, Yelena discusses the situation in a soliloquy. Playing with juxtaposition, she uses a metaphor to compare the people who live and work on the estate to "grey blobs" and uses a simile to compare Astrov to a "bright moon." Yelena's description accentuates the differences between Astrov and Voynitsky, who serve as foils for one another.
In the midst of this desperate boredom, where some kind of grey blobs wander about instead of human beings, where you only hear vulgarity and where people do nothing but eat, drink and sleep, sometimes there comes this man, a man unlike others, handsome, interesting, attractive, like a bright moon rising in the darkness…
Through this contrasting set of comparisons, Yelena sympathizes with Sonya's emotions. She understands why Sonya would find Astrov alluring when he is the only person who stands out among the people the young woman sees in her daily life. At the same time, Yelena looks down on the people in Voynitsky's household within this same expression of sympathy. In her view, the people who live there are barely human: they are merely colorless, vulgar masses that wander around. She's unable to see anything meaningful about the way they live their lives.
Up against these gray blobs, the "handsome, interesting, attractive" man who sometimes comes around is a bright source of light—like a moon. Whereas the blobs are only capable of wandering around aimlessly, the metaphorical moon rises in the sky. This difference in motion is notable. Whereas wandering doesn't usually have a destination or purpose, a rising moon is constantly achieving something through its movement. Herself charged with being idle by other characters, Yelena suggests that no one on the estate does any meaningful work besides the doctor, who's only there occasionally.
The contrasts that Yelena uses in her soliloquy reinforce the differences between Astrov and Voynitsky. Earlier in the act, Sonya calls Voynitsky a shadow. Here, Yelena calls Astrov a bright moon. Both disillusioned and fixated on their aging, the men are foils for one another. The big difference between them is the extent to which they possess purpose, passions, and the ways in which they care for other people. Whereas disillusionment only makes Voynitsky more bitter, it fuels Astrov's forestry work and interest in local geography.
Related Themes:
