A.P. Chekhov's "The Cherry Orchard": description, characters, analysis of the play

“The Cherry Orchard” is the pinnacle of Russian drama of the early 20th century, a lyrical comedy, a play that marked the beginning of a new era in the development of Russian theater.

The main theme of the play is autobiographical - a bankrupt family of nobles sells their family estate at auction. The author, as a person who has gone through a similar life situation, with subtle psychologism describes the mental state of people who will soon be forced to leave their home. The innovation of the play is the absence of division of heroes into positive and negative, into main and secondary ones. They are all divided into three categories:

• people of the past - noble aristocrats (Ranevskaya, Gaev and their lackey Firs);
• people of the present - their bright representative, the merchant-entrepreneur Lopakhin;
• people of the future - the progressive youth of that time (Petr Trofimov and Anya).

History of creation

Chekhov began work on the play in 1901. Due to serious health problems, the writing process was quite difficult, but nevertheless, in 1903 the work was completed. The first theatrical production of the play took place a year later on the stage of the Moscow Art Theater, becoming the pinnacle of Chekhov's work as a playwright and a textbook classic of the theatrical repertoire.

Play Analysis

Description of the work

The action takes place on the family estate of landowner Lyubov Andreevna Ranevskaya, who returned from France with her young daughter Anya. They are met at the railway station by Gaev (Ranevskaya's brother) and Varya (her adopted daughter).

The financial situation of the Ranevsky family is nearing complete collapse. Entrepreneur Lopakhin offers his own version of a solution to the problem - to divide the land into shares and give them to summer residents for use for a certain fee. The lady is burdened by this proposal, because for this she will have to say goodbye to her beloved cherry orchard, with which many warm memories of her youth are associated. Adding to the tragedy is the fact that her beloved son Grisha died in this garden. Gaev, imbued with his sister’s feelings, reassures her with a promise that their family estate will not be put up for sale.

The action of the second part takes place on the street, in the courtyard of the estate. Lopakhin, with his characteristic pragmatism, continues to insist on his plan to save the estate, but no one pays attention to him. Everyone turns to the teacher Pyotr Trofimov who has appeared. He delivers an excited speech dedicated to the fate of Russia, its future and touches on the topic of happiness in a philosophical context. The materialist Lopakhin is skeptical about the young teacher, and it turns out that only Anya is capable of being imbued with his lofty ideas.

The third act begins with Ranevskaya using her last money to invite an orchestra and organize a dance evening. Gaev and Lopakhin are absent at the same time - they went to the city for an auction, where the Ranevsky estate should go under the hammer. After a tedious wait, Lyubov Andreevna learns that her estate was bought at auction by Lopakhin, who does not hide his joy at his acquisition. The Ranevsky family is in despair.

The finale is entirely dedicated to the departure of the Ranevsky family from their home. The parting scene is shown with all the deep psychologism inherent in Chekhov. The play ends with a surprisingly deep monologue by Firs, whom the owners in a hurry forgot on the estate. The final chord is the sound of an axe. The cherry orchard is being cut down.

Main characters

A sentimental person, the owner of the estate. Having lived abroad for several years, she got used to a luxurious life and, by inertia, continues to allow herself many things that, given the deplorable state of her finances, according to the logic of common sense, should be inaccessible to her. Being a frivolous person, very helpless in everyday matters, Ranevskaya does not want to change anything about herself, while she is fully aware of her weaknesses and shortcomings.

A successful merchant, he owes a lot to the Ranevsky family. His image is ambiguous - he combines hard work, prudence, enterprise and rudeness, a “peasant” beginning. At the end of the play, Lopakhin does not share Ranevskaya’s feelings; he is happy that, despite his peasant origins, he was able to afford to buy the estate of his late father’s owners.

Like his sister, he is very sensitive and sentimental. Being an idealist and romantic, to console Ranevskaya, he comes up with fantastic plans to save the family estate. He is emotional, verbose, but at the same time completely inactive.

Petya Trofimov

An eternal student, a nihilist, an eloquent representative of the Russian intelligentsia, advocating for the development of Russia only in words. In pursuit of the “highest truth,” he denies love, considering it a petty and illusory feeling, which immensely upsets Ranevskaya’s daughter Anya, who is in love with him.

A romantic 17-year-old young lady who fell under the influence of the populist Peter Trofimov. Recklessly believing in a better life after the sale of her parents' estate, Anya is ready for any difficulties for the sake of shared happiness next to her lover.

An 87-year-old man, a footman in the Ranevskys' house. The type of servant of old times, surrounds his masters with fatherly care. He remained to serve his masters even after the abolition of serfdom.

A young lackey who treats Russia with contempt and dreams of going abroad. A cynical and cruel man, he is rude to old Firs and even treats his own mother with disrespect.

Structure of the work

The structure of the play is quite simple - 4 acts without dividing into separate scenes. The duration of action is several months, from late spring to mid-autumn. In the first act there is exposition and plotting, in the second there is an increase in tension, in the third there is a climax (the sale of the estate), in the fourth there is a denouement. A characteristic feature of the play is the absence of genuine external conflict, dynamism, and unpredictable twists in the plot line. The author's remarks, monologues, pauses and some understatement give the play a unique atmosphere of exquisite lyricism. The artistic realism of the play is achieved through the alternation of dramatic and comic scenes.

(Scene from a modern production)

The development of the emotional and psychological plane dominates in the play; the main driver of the action is the internal experiences of the characters. The author expands the artistic space of the work by introducing a large number of characters who will never appear on stage. Also, the effect of expanding spatial boundaries is given by the symmetrically emerging theme of France, giving an arched form to the play.

Final conclusion

Chekhov's last play, one might say, is his “swan song.” The novelty of her dramatic language is a direct expression of Chekhov’s special concept of life, which is characterized by extraordinary attention to small, seemingly insignificant details, and a focus on the inner experiences of the characters.

In the play “The Cherry Orchard,” the author captured the state of critical disunity of Russian society of his time; this sad factor is often present in scenes where the characters hear only themselves, creating only the appearance of interaction.

The problem of the theme of the play “The Cherry Orchard”

In the last play by A.P. Chekhov's "The Cherry Orchard" the theme was a situation common at the turn of the century - the sale of the estate and the once luxurious cherry orchard to bankrupt nobles. However, the sale of an orchard is something that lies on the very surface, but in fact the theme and idea of ​​the play “The Cherry Orchard” is much deeper.

The decline of the nobility as a class and their loss of their family nests, the destruction of a way of life that had been formed over centuries, the emergence of a new class of entrepreneurs replacing the nobility, revolutionary ideas about changing life, which raise doubts in the author - all this served as the idea of ​​the play. However, Chekhov's skill was so great that his final play turned out to be so multi-layered that its meaning turned out to be much deeper than the original plan. In addition to the most visible topic, a number of other equally significant ones can be identified. This is the conflict of generations, and misunderstanding of each other, the internal discord of the characters, concluded in the inability to love and hear others, the conscious destruction of their roots, the oblivion of the memory of their ancestors. But the most relevant theme of the work “The Cherry Orchard” today is the destruction of the beauty of human life and the disappearance of connecting links between generations. And the garden itself in this context becomes a symbol of the destruction of an entire culture. And it is no coincidence that in the second act Charlotte Ivanovna has a gun, because, according to Chekhov himself, the gun must definitely fire. But in this play the shot was never fired, and meanwhile the murder of the garden, which personifies beauty, occurs.

The main theme of the play

So what topic can be identified as the main one? The theme of the play “The Cherry Orchard” was not chosen by chance; Chekhov was very interested in this problem, since his family at one time lost their house, sold for debts. And all the time he tried to understand the feelings of people who were losing their native nest, forced to break away from their roots.

While working on the production of the play, A.P. Chekhov was in close correspondence with the actors involved in it. It was extremely important to him that the characters were presented to the public exactly as he intended. Why was this so important to the playwright? Anton Pavlovich became the first writer who did not divide heroes into positive or negative. Each image he created is so close to real people that it is easy to find in them some features of themselves and their friends. His expression: “The whole meaning and drama of a person is inside, and not in external manifestations: People dine, and only dine, and at this time their destinies are formed and their lives are broken” prove that for Chekhov, interest in human characters came first. After all, just as in life there are no people who represent absolute evil or good, so on stage. And it is no coincidence that Chekhov was called a realist.

We can conclude that the main theme of Chekhov’s “The Cherry Orchard” is life shown through the created images. A life in which very often what is desired diverges from reality. After all, history is made by people, but there are no ideal people, as Anton Pavlovich showed very clearly.

The system of images as a means of revealing the theme of the work

The system of images in the play is divided according to the characters’ belonging to a certain time. These are past, present and future. What's left in the past? Lightness, beauty, a centuries-old way of life, understandable to everyone. After all, there were only “men” and “gentlemen”. The gentlemen lived for their own pleasure, and the common people worked. Both of them went with the flow, and there was no need to make firm decisions about their lives, because everything was so established. But the old regime was replaced by the abolition of serfdom. And everything got mixed up. It turned out that smart, sensitive, sympathetic and generous aristocrats could not fit into the new era. They still know how to see and feel the beauty that surrounds them, but they are not able to save them. They are opposed to the present. The real thing is harsh and cynical. Lopakhin is the real thing. He knows how to see and appreciate beauty, but the ability to make a profit is firmly in his mind. He is bitter to realize that he is destroying the past, but he cannot do otherwise.

And finally, the future. It is so foggy and gloomy that it is impossible to say what it will be: joyful or bitter. However, it is clear that the future in the present has a break with the past. Family ties and attachment to one’s home lose their significance, and another theme of the work becomes noticeable: loneliness.

Chekhov was many years ahead of the development of theater. His works are so subtle in their content that it is very difficult to single out any one main theme of the plays. After all, analyzing them, it becomes clear that he sought to show the full depth of life, thereby becoming an unsurpassed master in depicting “undercurrents.”

Work test

“The Cherry Orchard” is a lyrical play by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov in four acts, the genre of which the author himself defined as a comedy.

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The success of the play, written in 1903, was so obvious that already on January 17, 1904, the comedy was shown at the Moscow Art Theater. “The Cherry Orchard” is one of the most famous Russian plays created at that time. It is noteworthy that it is based on Anton Pavlovich Chekhov’s own painful impressions of his friend A.S. Kiselev, whose estate was also sold at auction.

An important thing in the history of the creation of the play is that Anton Pavlovich Chekhov wrote it at the end of his life, being seriously ill. That is why work on the work progressed very difficultly: about three years passed from the beginning of the play to its production.

This is the first reason. The second lies in Chekhov’s desire to fit into his play, intended for production on stage, the entire result of thoughts about the fate of his characters, the work on whose images was carried out very scrupulously.

The artistic originality of the play became the pinnacle of Chekhov's work as a playwright.

Act one: meeting the characters of the play

The heroes of the play - Lopakhin Ermolai Alekseevich, the maid Dunyasha, the clerk Epikhodov Semyon Panteleevich (who is very clumsy, “22 misfortunes”, as those around him call him) - are waiting for the owner of the estate, landowner Lyubov Andreevna Ranevskaya, to arrive. She is due to return after a five-year absence, and the household is in a state of excitement. Finally, Lyubov Andreevna and her daughter Anya crossed the threshold of their house. The owner is incredibly happy that she has finally returned to her native land. Nothing has changed here in five years. Sisters Anya and Varya are talking with each other, rejoicing at the long-awaited meeting, the maid Dunyasha is preparing coffee, ordinary household little things cause tenderness in the landowner. She is kind and generous - both to the old footman Firs and to other members of the household, willingly talks with her brother, Leonid Gaev, but her beloved daughters evoke special reverent feelings. Everything seems to be going as usual, but suddenly, like a bolt from the blue, a message from the merchant Lopakhin: “... Your estate is being sold for debts, but there is a way out... Here is my project...” An enterprising merchant offers to rent out plots of the cherry orchard for dachas , having previously knocked him out. He claims that this will bring considerable income to the family - 25 thousand a year and save them from complete ruin, but no one agrees to such an offer. The family does not want to part with the cherry orchard, which they consider the best and to which they are attached with all their hearts.

So, no one listens to Lopakhin. Ranevskaya pretends that nothing is happening and continues to answer meaningless questions about the trip to Paris, not wanting to accept reality as it is. A casual conversation about nothing starts again.

Entering Petya Trofimov, the former teacher of Ranevskaya’s deceased son Grisha, who at first was unrecognized by her, brings tears to his mother’s eyes with his reminder. The day ends... Finally everyone goes to bed.

Action two: there is very little left before the sale of the cherry orchard

The action takes place in nature, near an old church, from where you can see both the cherry orchard and the city. There is very little time left before the sale of the cherry orchard at auction - literally a matter of days. Lopakhin is trying to convince Ranevskaya and her brother to rent out the garden for dachas, but again no one wants to hear from him, they are hoping for the money that the Yaroslavl aunt will send. Lyubov Ranevskaya remembers the past, perceiving her misfortunes as punishment for sins. First, her husband died from champagne, then her son Grisha drowned in the river, after which she left for Paris so that memories of the area where such grief happened would not stir her soul.

Lopakhin suddenly opened up, talking about his difficult fate in childhood, when his father “didn’t teach, but only beat him when he was drunk, and that was all with a stick...” Lyubov Andreevna invites him to marry Varya, his adopted daughter.

Enter student Petya Trofimov and both daughters of Ranevskaya. A conversation ensues between Trofimov and Lopakhin. One says that “in Russia, very few people still work,” the other calls to appreciate everything that has been given by God and start working.

The attention of the conversation is attracted by a passerby who recites poetry and then asks to donate thirty kopecks. Lyubov Andreevna gives him a gold coin, for which her daughter Varya reproaches her. “People have nothing to eat,” she says. “And you gave him the gold…”

After Varya, Lyubov Andreevna, Lopakhin and Gaeva leave, Anya and Trofimov are left alone. The girl admits to Petya that she no longer loves the cherry orchard as before. The student reasons: “...To live in the present, you must first atone for the past... through suffering and continuous work...”

You can hear Varya calling Anya, but her sister only gets annoyed and does not respond to her voice.

Act three: the day the cherry orchard is sold

The third act of The Cherry Orchard takes place in the living room in the evening. Couples dance, but no one feels joy. Everyone is depressed about looming debts. Lyubov Andreevna understands that they started the ball completely inappropriately. Those in the house are waiting for Leonid, who must bring news from the city: whether the garden has been sold or whether the auction did not take place at all. But Gaev is still not there. Household members begin to worry. The old footman Firs admits that he is not feeling well.

Trofimov teases Varya with Madame Lopakhina, which irritates the girl. But Lyubov Andreevna really offers to marry the merchant. Varya seems to agree, but the catch is that Lopakhin still hasn’t proposed, and she doesn’t want to impose herself.

Lyubov Andreevna worries more and more: has the estate been sold? Trofimov reassures Ranevskaya: “Does it matter, there is no turning back, the path is overgrown.”

Lyubov Andreevna takes out a handkerchief, from which a telegram falls, informing her that her beloved has fallen ill again and is calling her. Trofimov begins to reason: “he’s a petty scoundrel and a nonentity,” to which Ranevskaya responds with anger, calling the student a klutz, a neat freak, and a funny eccentric who doesn’t know how to love. Petya is offended and leaves. A crash is heard. Anya reports that a student fell down the stairs.

The young footman Yasha, talking with Ranevskaya, asks to go to Paris if she has the opportunity to go there. Everyone seems to be busy talking, but are anxiously awaiting the outcome of the auction for the cherry orchard. Lyubov Andreevna is especially worried; she literally cannot find a place for herself. Finally, Lopakhin and Gaev enter. It is clear that Leonid Andreevich is crying. Lopakhin reports that the cherry orchard has been sold, and when asked who bought it, he answers: “I bought it.” Ermolai Alekseevich reports details of the auction. Lyubov Andreevna sobs, realizing that nothing can be changed. Anya consoles her, trying to focus on the fact that life goes on, no matter what. She seeks to instill hope that they will plant “a new garden, more luxurious than this... and quiet, deep joy will descend on the soul like the sun.”

Act four: after the sale of the estate

The property has been sold. In the corner of the children's room there are packed things ready for removal. Peasants come to say goodbye to their former owners. The sounds of cherries being cut down can be heard from the street. Lopakhin offers champagne, but no one except the footman Yasha wants to drink it. Each of the former residents of the estate is dejected by what happened, and family friends are also despondent. Anya voices her mother’s request that the garden not be cut down until she leaves.

“Really, is there really a lack of tact,” says Petya Trofimov and leaves through the hallway.

Yasha and Ranevskaya are going to Paris, Dunyasha, in love with a young footman, asks him to send a letter from abroad.

Gaev hurries Lyubov Andreevna. The landowner sadly says goodbye to the house and garden, but Anna admits that a new life is beginning for her. Gaev is also happy.

Governess Charlotte Ivanovna sings a song as she leaves.

Boris Borisovich Simeonov-Pishchik, a neighboring landowner, comes into the house. To the surprise of everyone, he repays the debt to both Lyubov Andreevna and Lopakhin. He reports the news about a successful deal: he managed to lease the land to the British for the extraction of rare white clay. The neighbor did not know that the estate had been sold, so he is surprised to see the suitcases packed and the former owners preparing to leave.

Lyubov Andreevna, firstly, is worried about the sick Firs, because it is still not known for certain whether he was sent to the hospital or not. Anya claims that Yasha did it, but the girl is mistaken. Secondly, Ranevskaya is afraid that Lopakhin will never propose to Varya. They seem to be not indifferent to each other, however, no one wants to take the first step. And although Lyubov Andreevna makes a last attempt to leave the young people alone to resolve this difficult issue, nothing comes of such an undertaking.

After the former owner of the house looks longingly at the walls and windows of the house for the last time, everyone leaves.

In the bustle, they did not notice that they had locked up the sick Firs, who muttered: “Life has passed, as if he had never lived.” The old footman holds no grudge against his masters. He lies down on the sofa and passes into another world.

We bring to your attention a story by Anton Chekhov, where, with the subtle and inimitable irony characteristic of the writer, he describes the character of the main character, Shchukina. What was the peculiarity of her behavior, read in the story.

The essence of the play “The Cherry Orchard”

From literary sources it is known that Anton Pavlovich Chekhov was very happy when he came up with the title for the play - “The Cherry Orchard”.

It seems logical, because it reflects the very essence of the work: the old way of life is changing to a completely new one, and the cherry orchard, which the former owners treasured, is mercilessly cut down when the estate passes into the hands of the enterprising merchant Lopakhin. “The Cherry Orchard” is a prototype of old Russia, which is gradually fading into oblivion. The past is fatefully crossed out, giving way to new plans and intentions, which, in the author’s opinion, are better than the previous ones.

“The Cherry Orchard” is a social play by A.P. Chekhov about the death and degeneration of the Russian nobility. It was written by Anton Pavlovich in the last years of his life. Many critics say that it is this drama that expresses the writer’s attitude towards the past, present and future of Russia.

Initially, the author planned to create a light-hearted and funny play, where the main driving force of the action would be the sale of the estate under the hammer. In 1901, in a letter to his wife, he shared his ideas. Previously, he had already raised a similar topic in the drama “Fatherlessness,” but he considered that experience unsuccessful. Chekhov wanted to experiment, and not resurrect stories buried in his desk. The process of impoverishment and degeneration of the nobles passed before his eyes, and he watched, creating and accumulating vital material to create artistic truth.

The history of the creation of “The Cherry Orchard” began in Taganrog, when the writer’s father was forced to sell his family nest for debts. Apparently, Anton Pavlovich experienced something similar to Ranevskaya’s feelings, which is why he so subtly delved into the experiences of seemingly fictional characters. In addition, Chekhov was personally familiar with Gaev’s prototype - A.S. Kiselev, who also sacrificed his estate in order to improve his shaky financial situation. His situation is one of hundreds. The entire Kharkov province, where the writer visited more than once, became shallow: the nests of the nobility disappeared. Such a large-scale and controversial process attracted the attention of the playwright: on the one hand, the peasants were liberated and received the long-awaited freedom, on the other, this reform did not increase anyone’s well-being. Such obvious tragedy could not be ignored; the light comedy conceived by Chekhov did not work out.

Meaning of the name

Since the cherry orchard symbolizes Russia, we can conclude that the author devoted the work to the question of its fate, just as Gogol wrote “Dead Souls” for the sake of the question “Where is the bird-troika flying?” In essence, we are not talking about selling the estate, but about what will happen to the country? Will they sell it off, will they cut it down for profit? Chekhov, analyzing the situation, understood that the degeneration of the nobility, the supporting class for the monarchy, promised troubles for Russia. If these people, called by their origin to be the core of the state, cannot take responsibility for their actions, then the country will sink. Such gloomy thoughts awaited the author on the other side of the topic he touched on. It turned out that his heroes were not laughing, and neither was he.

The symbolic meaning of the title of the play “The Cherry Orchard” is to convey to the reader the idea of ​​the work - the search for answers to questions about the fate of Russia. Without this sign, we would perceive the comedy as a family drama, a drama from private life, or a parable about the problem of fathers and children. That is, an erroneous, narrow interpretation of what was written would not allow the reader even a hundred years later to understand the main thing: we are all responsible for our garden, regardless of generation, beliefs and social status.

Why did Chekhov call the play “The Cherry Orchard” a comedy?

Many researchers actually classify it as a comedy, since along with tragic events (the destruction of an entire class), comic scenes constantly occur in the play. That is, it cannot be unambiguously classified as a comedy; it would be more correct to classify “The Cherry Orchard” as a tragifarce or tragicomedy, since many researchers attribute Chekhov’s dramaturgy to a new phenomenon in the theater of the 20th century - antidrama. The author himself stood at the origins of this trend, so he did not call himself that. However, the innovation of his work spoke for itself. This writer has now been recognized and introduced into the school curriculum, but then many of his works remained misunderstood, as they were out of the general rut.

The genre of “The Cherry Orchard” is difficult to determine, because now, given the dramatic revolutionary events that Chekhov did not see, we can say that this play is a tragedy. An entire era dies in it, and hopes for revival are so weak and vague that it’s somehow impossible to even smile in the finale. An open ending, a closed curtain, and only a dull knock on wood is heard in my thoughts. This is the impression of the performance.

main idea

The ideological and thematic meaning of the play “The Cherry Orchard” is that Russia finds itself at a crossroads: it can choose the path to the past, present and future. Chekhov shows the mistakes and inconsistency of the past, the vices and predatory grip of the present, but he still hopes for a happy future, showing exalted and at the same time independent representatives of the new generation. The past, no matter how beautiful it may be, cannot be returned; the present is too imperfect and wretched to accept it, so we must invest every effort in ensuring that the future lives up to bright expectations. To achieve this, everyone must try now, without delay.

The author shows how important action is, but not the mechanical pursuit of profit, but spiritual, meaningful, moral action. It’s him that Pyotr Trofimov is talking about, it’s him that Anechka wants to see. However, we also see in the student the harmful legacy of past years - he talks a lot, but has done little for his 27 years. And yet the writer hopes that this age-old slumber will be overcome on a clear and cool morning - tomorrow, where the educated, but at the same time active descendants of the Lopakhins and Ranevskys will come.

Theme of the work

1. The author used an image that is familiar to each of us and understandable to everyone. Many people still have cherry orchards to this day, but back then they were an indispensable attribute of every estate. They bloom in May, beautifully and fragrantly defend the week allotted to them, and then quickly fall off. Just as beautifully and suddenly, the nobility, once the support of the Russian Empire, fell into disgrace, mired in debt and endless polemics. As a matter of fact, these people were unable to live up to the expectations placed on them. Many of them, with their irresponsible attitude to life, only undermined the foundations of Russian statehood. What should have been a centuries-old oak forest was just a cherry orchard: beautiful, but quickly disappearing. The cherry fruits, alas, were not worth the space they occupied. This is how the theme of the death of noble nests was revealed in the play “The Cherry Orchard.”
2. The themes of the past, present and future are realized in the work thanks to a multi-level system of images. Each generation symbolizes the time allotted to it. In the images of Ranevskaya and Gaev, the past dies away, in the image of Lopakhin the present rules, and the future awaits its day in the images of Anya and Peter. The natural course of events takes on a human face, the change of generations is shown in specific examples.
3. The theme of time also plays an important role. Its power turns out to be destructive. Water wears away a stone - so time erases human laws, destinies and beliefs into powder. Until recently, Ranevskaya could not even imagine that her former serf would settle in the estate and cut down the garden that had been passed on by the Gaevs from generation to generation. This unshakable order of social structure collapsed and sank into oblivion, in its place capital and its market laws were installed, in which power was ensured by money, and not by position and origin.

Issues

1. The problem of human happiness in the play “The Cherry Orchard” is manifested in all the fates of the heroes. Ranevskaya, for example, experienced many troubles in this garden, but is happy to return here again. She fills the house with her warmth, remembers her native lands, and feels nostalgic. She doesn’t care at all about debts, the sale of her estate, or her daughter’s inheritance, in the end. She is happy with forgotten and relived impressions. But the house is sold, the bills are paid off, and happiness is in no hurry with the arrival of a new life. Lopakhin tells her about calm, but only anxiety grows in her soul. Instead of liberation comes depression. Thus, what is happiness for one is misfortune for another, all people understand its essence differently, which is why it is so difficult for them to get along together and help each other.
2. The problem of preserving memory also worries Chekhov. The people of the present are mercilessly cutting down what was the pride of the province. Noble nests, historically important buildings, are dying from inattention, being erased into oblivion. Of course, active businessmen will always find arguments to destroy unprofitable junk, but this is how historical monuments, cultural and artistic monuments will perish ingloriously, which the Lopakhins’ children will regret. They will be deprived of connections with the past, continuity of generations, and will grow up as Ivans who do not remember their kinship.
3. The problem of ecology in the play does not go unnoticed. The author asserts not only the historical value of the cherry orchard, but also its natural beauty and its importance for the province. All the residents of the surrounding villages breathed in these trees, and their disappearance is a small environmental disaster. The area will be orphaned, the gaping lands will become impoverished, but people will fill every patch of inhospitable space. The attitude towards nature must be as careful as towards humans, otherwise we will all be left without the home that we love so much.
4. The problem of fathers and children is embodied in the relationship between Ranevskaya and Anechka. The alienation between relatives is visible. The girl feels sorry for her unlucky mother, but does not want to share her lifestyle. Lyubov Andreevna pampers the child with tender nicknames, but cannot understand that in front of her is no longer a child. The woman continues to pretend that she doesn’t understand anything yet, so she shamelessly builds her personal life to the detriment of her interests. They are very different, so they make no attempt to find a common language.
5. The problem of love for the homeland, or rather, its absence, can also be seen in the work. Gaev, for example, is indifferent to the garden, he only cares about his own comfort. His interests do not rise above consumer interests, so the fate of his father’s house does not bother him. Lopakhin, his opposite, also does not understand Ranevskaya’s scrupulousness. However, he also does not understand what to do with the garden. He is guided only by mercantile considerations; profits and calculations are important to him, but not the safety of his home. He clearly expresses only his love for money and the process of obtaining it. A generation of children dreams of a new kindergarten; they have no use for the old one. This is also where the problem of indifference comes into play. Nobody needs the Cherry Orchard except Ranevskaya, and even she needs memories and the old way of life, where she could do nothing and live happily. Her indifference to people and things is expressed in the scene where she calmly drinks coffee while listening to the news of her nanny's death.
6. The problem of loneliness plagues every hero. Ranevskaya was abandoned and deceived by her lover, Lopakhin cannot establish relations with Varya, Gaev is an egoist by nature, Peter and Anna are just beginning to get closer, and it is already obvious that they are lost in a world where there is no one to give them a helping hand.
7. The problem of mercy haunts Ranevskaya: no one can support her, all the men not only do not help, but do not spare her. Her husband drank himself to death, her lover abandoned her, Lopakhin took away her estate, her brother doesn’t care about her. Against this background, she herself becomes cruel: she forgets Firs in the house, they nail him inside. In the image of all these troubles lies an inexorable fate that is unmerciful to people.
8. The problem of finding the meaning of life. Lopakhin clearly does not satisfy his meaning in life, which is why he rates himself so low. For Anna and Peter, this search is just ahead, but they are already meandering, unable to find a place for themselves. Ranevskaya and Gaev, with the loss of material wealth and their privilege, are lost and cannot find their way again.
9. The problem of love and selfishness is clearly visible in the contrast between brother and sister: Gaev loves only himself and does not particularly suffer from losses, but Ranevskaya has been looking for love all her life, but did not find it, and along the way she lost it. Only crumbs fell to Anechka and the cherry orchard. Even a loving person can become selfish after so many years of disappointment.
10. The problem of moral choice and responsibility concerns, first of all, Lopakhin. He gets Russia, his activities can change it. However, he lacks the moral foundations to understand the importance of his actions for his descendants and to understand his responsibility to them. He lives by the principle: “After us, even a flood.” He doesn’t care what will happen, he sees what is.

Symbolism of the play

The main image in Chekhov's play is the garden. It not only symbolizes estate life, but also connects times and eras. The image of the Cherry Orchard is a noble Russia, with the help of which Anton Pavlovich predicted the future changes that awaited the country, although he himself could no longer see them. It also expresses the author’s attitude to what is happening.

The episodes depict ordinary everyday situations, “little things in life,” through which we learn about the main events of the play. Chekhov mixes the tragic and the comic, for example, in the third act Trofimov philosophizes and then absurdly falls down the stairs. In this one can see a certain symbolism of the author’s attitude: he is ironic at the characters, casting doubt on the veracity of their words.

The system of images is also symbolic, the meaning of which is described in a separate paragraph.

Composition

The first action is exposition. Everyone is waiting for the arrival of the owner of the estate, Ranevskaya, from Paris. In the house, everyone thinks and talks about their own things, without listening to others. The disunity located under the roof illustrates the discordant Russia, where people so different from each other live.

The beginning - Lyubov Andreeva and her daughter enter, gradually everyone learns that they are in danger of ruin. Neither Gaev nor Ranevskaya (brother and sister) can prevent it. Only Lopakhin knows a tolerable rescue plan: cut down the cherries and build dachas, but the proud owners do not agree with him.

Second action. During sunset, the fate of the garden is once again discussed. Ranevskaya arrogantly rejects Lopakhin's help and continues to remain inactive in the bliss of her own memories. Gaev and the merchant constantly quarrel.

Third act (climax): while the old owners of the garden are throwing a ball, as if nothing had happened, the auction is going on: the estate is acquired by the former serf Lopakhin.

Act four (denouement): Ranevskaya returns to Paris to squander the rest of her savings. After her departure, everyone goes their separate ways. Only the old servant Firs remains in the crowded house.

Innovation of Chekhov - playwright

It remains to be added that it is not without reason that the play cannot be understood by many schoolchildren. Many researchers attribute it to the theater of the absurd (what is this?). This is a very complex and controversial phenomenon in modernist literature, debates about the origin of which continue to this day. The fact is that Chekhov's plays, according to a number of characteristics, can be classified as the theater of the absurd. The characters' remarks very often do not have a logical connection with each other. They seem to be directed into nowhere, as if they are being uttered by one person and at the same time talking to himself. The destruction of dialogue, the failure of communication - this is what the so-called anti-drama is famous for. In addition, the alienation of the individual from the world, his global loneliness and life turned to the past, the problem of happiness - all these are features of the existential problems in the work, which are again inherent in the theater of the absurd. This is where the innovation of Chekhov the playwright manifested itself in the play “The Cherry Orchard”; these features attract many researchers in his work. Such a “provocative” phenomenon, misunderstood and condemned by public opinion, is difficult to fully perceive even for an adult, not to mention the fact that only a few people involved in the world of art managed to fall in love with the theater of the absurd.

Image system

Chekhov does not have telling names, like Ostrovsky, Fonvizin, Griboyedov, but there are off-stage characters (for example, a Parisian lover, a Yaroslavl aunt) who are important in the play, but Chekhov does not bring them into “external” action. In this drama there is no division into good and bad heroes, but there is a multifaceted system of characters. The characters in the play can be divided:

• on the heroes of the past (Ranevskaya, Gaev, Firs). They only know how to waste money and think, not wanting to change anything in their lives.
• on the heroes of the present (Lopakhin). Lopakhin is a simple “man” who, with the help of work, got rich, bought an estate and is not going to stop.
• on the heroes of the future (Trofimov, Anya) - this is the young generation dreaming of the highest truth and the highest happiness.

The heroes of The Cherry Orchard constantly jump from one topic to another. Despite the apparent dialogue, they do not hear each other. There are as many as 34 pauses in the play, which are formed between many “useless” statements of the characters. The phrase “You are still the same” is repeated repeatedly, which makes it clear that the characters do not change, they stand still.

The action of the play “The Cherry Orchard” begins in May, when the fruits of the cherry trees begin to bloom, and ends in October. The conflict does not have a pronounced character. All the main events that decide the future of the heroes take place behind the scenes (for example, estate auctions). That is, Chekhov completely abandons the norms of classicism.

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On our website) take place in an old noble estate, which belongs to Lyubov Andreevna Ranevskaya. The estate is located not far from a big city. Its main attraction is a huge cherry orchard, occupying almost a thousand acres. Once upon a time this garden was considered one of the most wonderful places in the province and brought great income to the owners. There is even a mention of it in the Encyclopedic Dictionary. But after the fall of serfdom, the economy on the estate fell into disarray. There is no longer a demand for cherries, which are born only once every two years. Ranevskaya and her brother, Leonid Andreevich Gaev, who lives here on the estate, are on the verge of ruin.

Act 1 of The Cherry Orchard takes place on a cold May morning. Ranevskaya and her daughter Anya return from France. On the estate, where the cherries have already bloomed, her eldest (adopted) daughter Varya (24 years old), who manages the farm in her mother’s absence, and the merchant Ermolai Lopakhin, the son of a serf, a tenacious man who has become very rich in recent years, are waiting for her.

Lyubov Andreevna and Anya arrive from the railway station, accompanied by Gaev and their neighbor-landowner Simeonov-Pishchik, who met them. The arrival is accompanied by a lively conversation, which well outlines the characters of all the characters in this Chekhov play.

"The Cherry Orchard". Performance based on the play by A. P. Chekhov, 1983

Ranevskaya and Gaev are typical inactive aristocrats, accustomed to living on a grand scale without difficulty. Lyubov Andreevna thinks only about her love passions. Six years ago her husband died, and a month later her boy-son Grisha drowned in the river. Having taken most of the estate's funds, Ranevskaya left to console herself in France with her lover, who shamelessly deceived and robbed her. She abandoned her daughters on the estate with almost no money. 17-year-old Anya came to visit her mother in Paris only a few months ago. The adopted Varya had to manage the income-free estate herself, saving on everything and incurring debts. Ranevskaya returned to Russia only because she was left abroad completely penniless. The lover squeezed everything he could out of her, forced her to sell even her dacha near Menton, and he himself remained in Paris.

In the dialogues of the first act, Ranevskaya appears as a woman, exaggeratedly sensitive and vulnerable. She loves to show kindness and give generous tips to footmen. However, in her random words and gestures, spiritual callousness and indifference to loved ones creep in every now and then.

Matching Ranevskaya and her brother, Gaev. The main interest of his life is billiards - he constantly sprinkles billiard terms. Leonid Andreevich loves to make pompous speeches about the “bright ideals of goodness and justice”, about “social self-awareness” and “fruitful work”, but, as you can understand, he himself does not serve anywhere and does not even help young Varya manage the estate. The need to save every penny makes Varya stingy, preoccupied beyond her age, and like a nun. She expresses a desire to give up everything and go wandering through the splendor of holy places, but with such piety she feeds her old servants with only peas. Varya’s younger sister, Anya, is very reminiscent of her mother in her penchant for enthusiastic dreams and isolation from life. A family friend, Simeonov-Pishchik, is a bankrupt landowner like Ranevskaya and Gaev. He is only looking for somewhere to borrow money.

The peasant, poorly educated, but businesslike merchant Lopakhin reminds Ranevskaya and Gaev that their estate will be sold in August for debts. He also offers a way out. The estate is located next to a big city and a railway, so its land can be rented out profitably to summer residents for 25 thousand in annual income. This will not only allow you to pay off your debt, but also make a greater profit. However, the famous cherry orchard will have to be cut down.

Gaev and Ranevskaya reject such a plan with horror, not wanting to lose the dear memories of their youth. But they are unable to come up with anything else. Without cutting down, the estate will inevitably pass to another owner - and the cherry orchard will still be destroyed. However, the indecisive Gaev and Ranevskaya shy away from destroying him with their own hands, hoping for some miracle that will help them out in unknown ways.

Several other characters also participate in the dialogues of the first act: the unlucky clerk Epikhodov, with whom minor misfortunes constantly occur; the maid Dunyasha, who from constant communication with bars herself has become sensitive, like a noblewoman; 87-year-old footman Gaeva Firs, devoted to his master like a dog and refusing to leave him after the abolition of serfdom; Ranevskaya's footman Yasha, a stupid and boorish young commoner, who, however, was imbued with contempt in France for the “ignorant and wild” Russia; superficial foreigner Charlotte Ivanovna, a former circus performer, and now Anya’s governess. The former teacher of Ranevskaya’s drowned son, the “eternal student” Petya Trofimov, also appears for the first time. The character of this remarkable character will be outlined in detail in the following acts of The Cherry Orchard.