Is Every Day a New Day? Or Just a Re-run? -- Uncle Vanya Act 1

The first act of Uncle Vanya describes a scene outside a country house where various characters depict their problems. Astrov, the doctor says he has never had a day of rest ever since he arrived to the region. He has to work all day with little reward and for this his emotions have “dulled” a little. Uncle Vanya has nothing in his life, he doesn’t have work and is exasperated with the Professor living in his home. All the characters talk about their lives and problems, yet there is a feeling of routine amongst them, a feeling of lost hope, “will they remember and have a kind word for us? No, they won’t, nurse!”(Act 1 pg 165) Despite this, the scene seems extremely normal, no strange occurrences happening or new developments in the house. This is what makes this first act the more interesting. Will the play depict life realistically or might it perhaps focus on a single aspect of life? Will it show bottled feelings? Might it perhaps criticize the monotonies of our lives?
My first impressions of the play are varied. I feel the play will inevitably use realism as its tool. In the first Act nothing happens, just ordinary small talk that we might see in any home. What will the importance be of realism in the play? In Seize the Day, Bellow used realism to contrast Wilhelm’s feeling to what surrounded him, as well as to give emotion that intangible feeling only a person who has had it understands. How will Chekov use realism? As the characters talked heavily of their emotions, some of them ones that I would not have mentioned in public leads me to think that Chekov’s realism will focus on emotions rather than description or detail. Will the story however, stay in relative routine or will there be a major event that will become the center of the play?
As I read the first act I saw my own family, friends and community. Most of us talk about meaningless things with little relevance, much in the same way the characters of the play talked about various subjects and events. At the same time however, the characters of the play expressed some deep emotions that I usually don’t hear amongst my peers. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? Is keeping all your emotions bottled up good or will it force you to explode? In the play however, the characters seem to be reluctant to take any action towards their emotions which basically negates the effects of their openness. How this theme will develop throughout the play will be very interesting to me.