While most of the characters’ present circumstances seem miserable, newly planted trees represent the possibility of a better future. This symbol doesn’t appear physically in the play; it’s only mentioned in conversations about Astrov’s forestry hobby. While Astrov’s work as a doctor leaves him feeling depressed and guilty as he watches some of his patients die, his forestry work inspires him with a sense of purpose. No character other than Astrov seems to be interested in his efforts to preserve the local environment, but it’s clear that this is a worthwhile endeavor for him, even when he receives no praise for his work. In Act One, Astrov explains the pride that he feels when he looks at the growing saplings he planted. The idea that his work might have a meaningful impact on future generations comforts Astrov, and the sight of the saplings gives him hope that his own narrow life isn’t the end of the broader human story. This closely links the symbol of forestry with the play’s focus on legacy and prestige. Unlike Voynitsky, Astrov isn’t overly worried about people remembering his name after his death. Instead, he finds meaning in the fact that the trees themselves are his legacy, ensuring a brighter, healthier future for those who live long after he’s gone. Astrov and the others may be miserable, but the trees will grow and, one hopes, live to see a brighter future.
Forestry Quotes in Uncle Vanya
…And perhaps this really is just craziness, but when I go past the peasant’s woods, which I saved from destruction, or when I hear the hum of my young trees, which I planted with my own hands, I know the climate is a little in my control and that if in a thousand years man is happy, the responsibility for that will in a small way be mine. When I plant a birch and then watch it come into leaf and sway in the wind, my spirit fills with pride…
We have here a decline which is the consequence of an impossible struggle for existence; a degeneration arising from stagnation, ignorance, a total lack of self-awareness, when a frozen, hungry, sick man, in order to preserve the remnants of life, to protect his children, instinctively, unconsciously grasps at anything to relieve his hunger and get warm, and destroys everything around without a thought for tomorrow. Now almost everything is destroyed, but nothing has yet been created to take its place.
Those who will live after us in a hundred or two hundred years’ time and who will despise us for living our lives so foolishly and with such a lack of taste — they may find a way of being happy, but we… You and I have only one hope. The hope that when we lie in our coffins we’ll be visited by visions, perhaps even agreeable ones.