Varya monologue (Act 4) — Plays by Anton Chekhov, Second Series

It’s time to go to sleep. I’ll go. There’s been an unpleasantness here while you were away. In the old servants’ part of the house, as you know, only the old people live--little old Efim and Polya and Evstigney, and Karp as well. They started letting some tramps or other spend the night there--I said nothing. Then I heard that they were saying that I had ordered them to be fed on peas and nothing else; from meanness, you see.... And it was all Evstigney’s doing.... Very well, I thought, if that’s what the matter is, just you wait. So I call Evstigney.... [Yawns] He comes. “What’s this,” I say, “Evstigney, you old fool.”... [Looks at ANYA] Anya dear! [Pause] She’s dropped off.... [Takes ANYA’S arm] Let’s go to bye-bye.... Come along!... [Leads her] My darling’s gone to sleep! Come on.... [They go. In the distance, the other side of the orchard, a shepherd plays his pipe. TROFIMOV crosses the stage and stops on seeing VARYA and ANYA] Sh! She’s asleep, asleep. Come on, dear.