“Photograph 2: Anton Chekhov, Uncle Vanya. Stuart Devenie plays Uncle Vanya (centre). Lee Grant plays Marya Vassileyevna, Vanya’s mother (left). Ian Watkin plays the retired professor, Alexander Serebryakov (right). [Auckand Theatre Company. Photo: John McDermot]” (via http://education.waikato.ac.nz )

“What is important is this: the man has been lecturing and writing about art for exactly twenty-five years, and yet he doesn’t know a thing about art.  For twenty-five years he’s been chewing over other men’s ideas about realism, naturalism, and all sorts of other nonsense.  For twenty-five years he has been lecturing and writing on things intelligent people have known about for ages and stupid people aren’t interested in, anyway.  Which means that for twenty-five years he’s been wasting his time…”

- Ivan Petrovich Voynitsky on Aleksandr Vladimirovich Serebryakov, a retired professor and someone who until recently, Ivan had looked up to in Anton Checkhov’s play, Uncle Vanya.

This scene provides people in academia with an “ouch” moment.  Ah, but it’s just Vanya living up to his role as a superfluous man, right?