Abstract / Synopsis
We analyze the famous Anton Chekhov play Uncle Vanya by means of graph theory. Moreover, we make the ‘brave’ suggestion that Chekhov might have used graphs to represent the plot of the play and the relationships between characters. Our analysis also includes the analysis of a specific performance of the play held in Bielsko-Biała which differs slightly from the original script. The differences between the two versions are traced via graph-based analyses. When a first round of clique assignments did not give much insight we transformed them via a sequence of operations on consecutive graphs. The final graphs obtained this way from the two versions of the play differ only by one loop, which disturbs the initially intended symmetry. We explore some of the unexpected consequences.
DOI
10.5642/jhummath.201902.11
Recommended Citation
Stanislaw Zawislak & Jerzy Kopeć, "A Graph-Based Analysis of Anton Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya," Journal of Humanistic Mathematics, Volume 9 Issue 2 (July 2019), pages 157-186. DOI: 10.5642/jhummath.201902.11. Available at: https://scholarship.claremont.edu/jhm/vol9/iss2/11
