Character Background: Sonya

Sofya Alexandrovna (also known as Sonya) from Chekhov's play, Uncle Vanya, is the daughter of another character in the play, Serebryakov. Sonya is simple, gentle and homely; the daughter from Serebryakov's first marriage. Although her age is not mentioned, it is assumed that she is somewhere in her early-to-mid-twenties, as she butts heads with her father's current wife, Yelena (also known as Elena). Elena is close to Sonya's age which makes Sonya uncomfortable. Sonya's father is a wealthy man and she believes that is why Elena, a young, beautiful woman, would marry him.
Sonya finds joy in keeping up her father's estate and quickly chastises those of her relatives who try and disrupt it, mainly her father. She is very much in love with Dr. Astrov; which is part of the unkind feelings she has towards Elena. The Doctor is ennamered by Elena, which creates a huge jealousy within Sonya. The two women reconcile for a short time in the play, but then later return to their previous ways.
Once the Doctor is out of Sonya's life for good, she goes back to doing her work around the estate, commenting that she and her relatives will only find peace when they are dead. The character of Sonya really sticks to the sublety of Chekovian realism. Sonya is much too modest to be overly emotional and too pathetic to be seen as a "fallen heroine". She is a very simple character who merely wants the man who she loves, but does not recieve this.