“The Cherry Orchard” is the pinnacle of Russian drama of the early 20th century, a lyrical comedy, a play that marked the beginning new era 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 went through such 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.
Analysis of the play
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 version of a solution to the problem - break land plot on 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 Pyotr Trofimov. Recklessly believing in 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. Characteristic feature the play is the absence of genuine external conflict, dynamism, unpredictable turns storyline. 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 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 is 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.
Artistic originality 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, it would seem, is 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.
Entered Petya Trofimov, former teacher Ranevskaya's deceased son Grisha, at first 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 time 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 argue: “he is a petty scoundrel and a nonentity,” to which Ranevskaya responds with anger, calling the student a klutz, a neat little fellow, and a funny eccentric who does not 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 " 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 for her it is beginning new life. 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 news of 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 complex issue, nothing comes of such an idea.
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 was muttering: “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 Anton Chekhov's story about the Defenseless Creature, 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 name 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 old Russia, which is gradually disappearing into oblivion. The past is fatefully crossed out, giving way to new plans and intentions, which, according to the author, are better than the previous ones.
Cherry Orchard – summary plays by A.P. Chekhov
5 (100%) 2 votesComedy in four acts
CHARACTERS:
Ranevska Lyubov Andreevna, landowner.
Anya, her daughter, 17 years old.
Varya, her named daughter, is 24 years old.
Gaev Leonid Andreevich, brother of Ranevskaya.
Lopakhin Ermolai Alekseevich, merchant.
Trofimov Petr Sergeevich, student.
Simeonov-Pishchik Boris Borisovich, landowner.
Charlotte Ivanovna, governess.
Epikhodov Semyon Panteleevich, clerk.
Dunyasha, maid.
Firs, footman, old 87 years old.
Yasha, a young footman.
The events take place on the estate of L.A. Ranevskaya.
Act one
It's May, the cherry trees are blooming. It's starting to get light. In the room, which is still called the nursery, Lopakhin and Dunyasha are waiting for Ranevskaya to arrive. Lyubov Andreevna was abroad for five years and is now returning home. Almost everyone in the household, not excluding old man Firs, went to meet him at the station. The train is two hours late, Lopakhin says about Ranevskaya: “He is a kind person. Lightweight, simple person" She remembers how she pitied him, the boy, when he suffered from his father. Epikhodov enters with a bouquet and immediately drops it. The clerk complains that some kind of trouble happens to him every day: he lost a bouquet, knocked over a chair, bought boots the day before yesterday, and they squeak. He says strangely, incomprehensibly: “You see, excuse me on this word, which circumstance, by the way... It’s just wonderful.” They called it “twenty-two disasters.” While everyone is waiting for Ranevskaya, Dunyasha confesses to Lopakhin that Epikhodov proposed to her.
Finally two carriages arrive. Ranevskaya, Gaev, Simeonov-Pishchik, Anya, Varya, Charlotte appear; in a hurry, Firs, in an old livery and a high cape, passes by, leaning on a stick. Lyubov Andreevna joyfully looks around the old nursery, says through tears: “Children’s room, my dear... I slept here when I was little... And now I’m like a little girl...” Varya, on whom, to tell the truth, the whole monastery rests , makes orders around the house (“Dunyasha, hurry up for coffee... Mother asks for coffee”), kindly says to his sister: “You’re home again. My heart has arrived! The beauty has arrived! Anya tells her how tired she is from her trip to Paris, to see her mother: “We arrive in Paris, it’s cold there, there’s snow. I speak French terrible. Mom lives on the fifth floor... she has some French people, paggies, an old priest with a book, and it’s smoky, uncomfortable... She’s already sold her dacha to Mentoni, she has nothing, nothing. I also didn’t have a penny left, we barely got there. And mom doesn't understand! We sit down at the station for lunch, and she demands the most expensive thing and gives the footmen a ruble each as a tip. Charlotte too. Yasha also demands a portion for himself. After all, mom has a footman, Yasha.” “We saw the scoundrel,” says Varya. She tells her sister the sad news: she failed to pay the interest on the estate and it will be sold.
Lopakhin looks in the door, and Anya asks Varya if he confessed to her, because Lopakhin loves Varya, so why can’t they get along? Varya shakes her head negatively: “I believe that nothing will work out for us. He has a lot to do, he has no time for me... If only you could marry a rich husband, and I would find peace, I would go into emptiness... then to Kyiv... and so I would go to holy places.” Yasha comes into the room. He tries to seem like a “man from abroad”, looks like a rake, speaks delicately (“can I pass here, sir?”). He makes a strong impression on Dunyasha; she flirts with Yasha, he tries to hug her.
Lyubov Andreevna cannot come to her senses: she feels happy that she is back in her home, that Varya is “still the same,” that the old servant Firs is still alive. She laughs with joy, recognizing familiar things: “I want to jump, wave my arms... God knows, I love my homeland, I love dearly, I couldn’t look out of the window, I kept crying... I won’t survive this joy... Shafonko my dear...my table.”
Lopakhin breaks the idyll: he reminds that the estate is being sold for debts, an auction is scheduled for August 22nd. Lopakhin offers a way out: the estate is located near the city; There is a railway nearby, a cherry orchard and the land can be divided into plots and rented out to summer residents. Ranevskaya and Gaev do not understand his proposal. Lopakhin explains: the owners are already loaning money for this project, and in the fall there won’t be a single free piece left - the summer residents will take it all. To tell the truth, some buildings will have to be demolished and the old cherry orchard will have to be cut down. The owners cannot allow this. “If there is something extraordinary in the entire province, it is our cherry orchard,” says Ranevskaya. Gaev adds that in “ Encyclopedic Dictionary"he is mentioned. Lopakhin explains that there is no other way out: either his project, or selling the estate along with the garden for debts, besides, the cherry tree gives birth once every two years, and there is nowhere to put it - no one is buying it. He still hopes to implement his plan, proves that the summer resident “will take care of the farm on his one tithe, and then the cherry orchard will become... rich, luxurious...”
“What nonsense,” Gaev is indignant and makes a magnificent speech dedicated to the hundred-year-old “noble closet”: “I greet your existence, which for more than a hundred years has been directed towards the bright ideals of goodness and justice; your silent call to fruitful work has not weakened for a hundred years, maintaining vigor in generations of our family, faith in a better future and nurturing in us the ideals of goodness...”
Everyone feels awkward. There is a pause. Gaev, who feels a little overwhelmed, resorts to his favorite “billiard vocabulary: “From a bullet to the right into the corner! I’m cutting it to medium!” Varya brings Lyubov Andreevna two telegrams from Paris; and tears them up without reading them.
Charlotte Ivanovna comes into the room, in a white dress, very thin, with a lorgnette on her belt. Lopakhin wants to kiss her hand; the governess coos: “If I allow you to kiss my hand, then you will then wish on the elbow, then on the shoulder...” Lopakhin succeeds by proposing to resolve the issue regarding the dachas after all. Taking advantage of the pause, Pischik tries to beg Ranevskaya for a loan of two hundred and forty rubles (he is completely in debt, and all his thoughts are aimed at getting money somewhere to pay interest on the deposit). Lyubov Andreevna says in confusion that she has no money. But Pischik never loses hope: once he thought that everything was lost, but here railway they paved the way through his land, and he was paid, but now, maybe his daughter will win two hundred thousand, because the ticket is due.
Varya opens the window into the garden. Ranevskaya looks into the garden, laughs with joy: “Oh my garden! After a dark, stormy autumn and cold winter again you feel young, full of happiness, the heavenly angels have not abandoned you...” The brother reminds her that this beautiful garden, “strangely enough,” will be sold for debts. But Ranevskaya doesn’t seem to hear his words: “Look, the deceased mother is walking through the garden... in a white dress... No, there is no one, it seemed to me... What an amazing garden, white masses of flowers... blue sky... »
Enter Petya Trofimov, the former teacher of Grisha, Ranevskaya’s son, who drowned six years ago, at the age of seven. Lyubov Andreevna hardly recognizes him, he has become so haggard and aged during this time. Petya, who is not yet thirty, is called “the shabby gentleman” by everyone. “You were such a little boy then, a sweet student, but now you have sparse hair and glasses. Are you still a student? - “Perhaps I will be an eternal student.”
Varya tells Yasha that his mother has arrived from the village and is already there. The second day is a date with my son. Yasha dismissively says: “It’s very necessary. I could come tomorrow.”
Gaev, left alone with Varya, “wracks his brains” about where he can get money in order to avoid selling the estate. It would be good, he reasons, to receive an inheritance from someone, it would be good to give Anya to a rich man, it would be good to go to Yaroslavl and try his luck with the aunt-countess. He knows that his aunt has a lot of money, but, alas, she does not like her nephews. Lyubov Andreevna married as a lawyer, not a nobleman, and she behaved in a manner that cannot be said to be very respectable.” Gaev advises Ani. go to his Yaroslavl grandmother, and she will not be refused. An angry Firs appears; he still follows the gentleman like a little boy: he reproaches him for “wearing the wrong trousers” and for not going to bed on time. And now the old man appeared to remind Leonid Andreevich that it was time to go to bed. Gaev calms the old servant: “You go, Firse. So be it, I’ll unwind myself... I’m going, I’m going... From both sides to the middle! I’m putting a clean one...” He goes, Firs trots after him.
Act two
A crooked, long-abandoned chapel. You can see the road to the house. Far, far away on the horizon, a city is vaguely visible. The sun will set soon. On old bench Charlotte, Yasha and Dunyasha are sitting, lost in thought. Epikhodov plays the guitar. Charlotte talks about herself: she doesn’t know how old she is, because she doesn’t have a real passport, her parents are circus performers, and she herself knows how to “do different things,” after the death of her parents, a German family took her in and trained her to be a governess . “I really want to talk, but not with anyone... I don’t have anyone,” Charlotte sighs.
Epikhodov hums Dunyasha’s romance: “It would warm my heart with the heat of mutual love...”, but he also tries to please Yasha, telling him what a blessing it must be to visit abroad. Yasha replies importantly: “I can’t disagree with you,” and lights a cigar. Dunyasha, under some pretext, sends away Epikhodov and, left alone with Yasha, admits that she has lost the habit of a simple life, “she has become tender, so delicate,” and if Yasha, whom she passionately loved, deceives her, Dunyasha does not know, what will happen to her. To this, Yasha, yawning, thoughtfully remarks: “In my opinion, it’s like this: if a girl loves someone, then it turns out that she is immoral...”
Ranevskaya and Gaev appear with Lopakhin, who is trying to get an answer from them to the question: do they agree to give up the lands or not? The brother and sister pretend not to hear him. Lyubov Andreevna does not understand where the money is spent (“Yesterday there was a lot of money, but today there is very little”), she is offended that she spends it somehow absurdly, while Varya, saving money, feeds everyone milk soup. Lopakhin again returns to the old topic, reports that the rich Deriganov will come to the auction. Gaev waves it off: the Yaroslavl aunt promised to send money, though not more than fifteen thousand. Lopakhin begins to lose patience. “I have never met such frivolous people like you, gentlemen,” he tells them. “I have never met such unbusinesslike, strange people. They tell you in Russian that your estate is for sale, but you don’t seem to understand.” Lyubov Andreevna agrees that something needs to be done, but “dachas and summer residents are so vulgar!” Lopakhin: “I’ll either burst into tears, or scream, or lose consciousness... You tortured me!”
Ranevskaya begins to feel anxious and talks about her “sins,” for which she apparently received punishment. She always spent money without counting it. Her husband died from champagne. Lyubov Andreevna fell in love with another, became friends with him, and it was at that time that her son drowned in the river; Lyubov Andreevna went abroad never to return. The man she loved followed her. She bought a dacha near Mentoni, treated him for three years, spent all her money, in the end they sold the dacha for debts, and this man left her and got along with someone else; Lyubov Andreevna wanted to poison herself... .
Firs arrives: he brought a coat for Gaev - because the air is humid. Firs recalls ancient times; then everything was clear: the men were with the popes, the gentlemen with the men, but “now everything is scattered.” Gaev talks about his next project - they promised to introduce him to a general who lends money. Even his sister no longer believes him: “He’s delusional. There are no generals."
Trofimov appears. He resumes the conversation he started the day before with Gaivim and Ranevskaya. “We need to stop admiring ourselves,” he says. “We just need to work... Humanity moves forward, improving its strength. Everything that is unattainable for him now will someday become close and understandable, but he just has to work... Here in Russia, very few people work yet. The vast majority of the intelligentsia that I know are not looking for anything, are not doing anything and are not yet capable of work... Everyone is serious, everyone has carved faces, everyone talks about important things, philosophizes, and yet in front of everyone the workers eat disgustingly ... everywhere there is stench, dampness, moral impurity... all the beautiful conversations we have are only to avert the eyes of ourselves and others... There is only dirt, vulgarity, Asian stuff... I'm afraid of serious conversations... It's better to keep silent ! Lopakhin, agreeing with the “eternal student” that there are few honest people, believes, however, that Petya’s words do not concern him: he, Lopakhin, works from morning to night.
Gaev, as if reciting, tries to pronounce touching speech: “O naturally strange one, you shine with eternal radiance...” and further in the same spirit. Trofimov ironically remarks to him: “You are better than a yellow doublet in the middle.” Everyone falls silent. You can only hear Firs quietly muttering. Suddenly a distant sad sound is heard, which fades away, like the sound of a jet bursting. Lyubov Andreevna shudders. Firs says that before the “misfortune” (that is, before the peasants received their freedom) there was: the owl was screaming, and the samovar was humming...” A drunk passer-by appears and asks for “thirty kopecks”; Lyubov Andreevna, taken aback, gives him a gold one. To Varya’s reproaches (“People have nothing to eat at home, but you are golden to him”), Rapevska answers in confusion: “What should I do with me, stupid!” - and invites everyone to dinner.
Petya and Anya are left alone. Petya assures the girl that they are above love, that the goal of their life is to bypass those small and deceptive things that prevent them from being free and happy, calls on her to continuously go “to the bright star that burns there in the distance”: “All of Russia is our garden. The earth is great and beautiful... Think, Anya: your grandfather, great-grandfather and all your ancestors were. kriposniks who owned living souls. And don’t human beings look at you from every cherry tree in the garden, from every leaf, from every trunk, don’t you really hear voices... Owning living souls - after all, this has reborn all of you who lived before and are living now. So your mother, you, and uncle no longer notice that you are living on credit, at other people’s expense, at the expense of those people whom you do not allow further than the hallway... We are at least two hundred years behind. We have nothing at all, no definite relationship to the past, we only philosophize, complain about melancholy or drink vodka. It’s so clear: in order to begin to live in modern times, we must first redeem our past, put an end to it, and we can redeem it only through suffering, only through unusual, continuous labor.” He calls on Anya to believe him, “throw the keys to the farm into the well” and be “free like the wind.”
Epikhodov can be heard playing a sad song on the guitar. The moon is rising. Somewhere nearby, Varya is calling Anya... Petya Trofimov talks about happiness: “...I can already hear his steps. And if we don’t see him, don’t recognize him, then what kind of trouble is it? Others will see him!”
Act three
There is a ball in the living room of Ranevskaya's house. The chandelier is burning brightly, the orchestra is playing, couples are dancing. Firs in a tailcoat carries seltzer water on a tray. Varya sighs bitterly: they hired musicians, but there is nothing to pay. Pishchik, as always, is looking for someone to borrow money from: “I’m now in such a situation that at least make counterfeit pieces of paper...” Charlotte shows Petya and Pishchik card tricks and demonstrates the trick of the devil.
Today the auction was supposed to take place in the city, and Ranevskaya is looking forward to her brother, who went there with Lopakhin. The Yaroslavl aunt sent Gaev an order for him to buy the estate in her name, Ani. But that meager fifteen thousand, unfortunately, would not even be enough to pay the interest on the debts. Trofimov teases Varya, calling her “Madame Lopakhina.” Lyubov Andreevna picks up this topic: why shouldn’t Varya really marry Ermolai Alekseevich, he is a kind, interesting person. Varya, almost crying, replies that it is not for her to confess to him: “For two years now everyone has been telling me about him, everyone is talking, but he is either silent or joking...” Petya complains to Ranevskaya about Varya: and all summer she didn’t give him and Anya peace because she was afraid that “a romance wouldn’t work out” between them, but she and Anya were “higher than love.” Lyubov Andreevna hardly hears him; her thoughts are only occupied with the fact that the estate has been sold. She tells Petya that he is young, has not had time to suffer” and therefore cannot understand her: she was born here, her ancestors lived here, she cannot imagine her life without the cherry orchard... “I would willingly give Anya for you, I swear to you , only, my dear, you have to study, you have to finish the course. You do nothing, only fate throws you from place to place...”
Lyubov Andreevna takes out her handkerchief, and a telegram falls to the floor. She admits to Petya that he “ bad person“He’s sick again, calls her to Paris, bombards her with telegrams. What can you do, she loves him. She understands that this is a “stone on her neck,” but she goes to the bottom with it and cannot live without this stone. Petya, through tears, reminds Ranevskaya that that man is a petty scoundrel, he ripped her off, but she does not want to hear this, closes her ears and angrily tells Trofimov that at his age you should already have a mistress, that he is just a “clean”, incompetent. Petya, horrified by what he heard, walks away.
In the hall, a figure in a gray top hat and checkered trousers is waving his arms and jumping - this is entertaining the guests, Charlotte Ivanovna. Epikhodov talks with Dunyasha. “You, Avdotya Fedorovna, don’t want to see me... as if I’m some kind of insect,” he sighs. “Of course, maybe you’re right... But if you look from your point of view, then you, let me put it this way, forgive me for my frankness, they completely brought me into a state of mind...” Dunyasha, playing with a fan: “I beg you, we’ll talk later, but now give me peace. Now I'm dreaming..."
Finally Gaev and Lopakhin arrive. Lyubov Andreevna, worried, rushes to them: “Well? Was there any bidding? Gaev, without answering anything, waves his hands; he's almost crying. When asked by Ranevskaya who bought the cherry orchard, Lopakhin briefly answers: “I bought it.” There is a pause. Lyubov Andreevna is shocked and almost falls; Varya takes the keys from her belt, throws them on the floor and leaves.
Lopakhin laughs with joy: “My God, Lord, my cherry orchard!.. If only my father and grandfather had risen from their graves and looked at everything that had happened, how their Ermolai, beaten, illiterate Ermolai bought an estate, the most beautiful of which there is nothing in the world.” light. I bought an estate where my father and grandfather were slaves, where they were not even allowed into the kitchen. I’m dreaming, I’m only imagining this, it’s only seeming... We’ll set up dachas, and our grandchildren and great-grandchildren will see a new life here... Musician, play!”
Lyubov Andreevna is crying bitterly. Music plays quietly. Anya approaches her mother and kneels in front of her: “My dear, kind, good mother!.. The cherry orchard has been sold, it’s no longer there... but don’t cry, mom, you still have a life ahead of you, your kind, pure soul remains ... We will plant a new garden, which will be more luxurious for this, you will see it, you will understand, and joy, quiet, deep joy will descend on your soul, like the sun in the evening, and you will smile, mother!..”
Act four
There are no curtains or paintings in the “children’s room”; the furniture that remains is pushed into a corner. It feels empty. Suitcases are stacked at the door. When leaving they pack their things. To hear Gaev’s voice: “Thank you, brothers, thank you,” the men came to say goodbye. Lyubov Andreevna, saying goodbye, gives them her wallet. “I couldn’t! I couldn’t!” - she says to her brother making excuses.
Lopakhin reminds them that it’s time to get ready for the station. He himself is also leaving for the winter in Kharkov: “I kept hanging around with you, I’m tired of doing nothing... I can’t do it without difficulty, I don’t know what to do with my hands...” Petya Trofimov is going back to Moscow, to the university, and Lopakhin offers him money for travel, but he refuses: “Give me at least two hundred thousand, I won’t take it. I am a free person... I can do without you, I can pass by you, I am strong and proud. Humanity is moving towards the highest truth, towards the highest happiness that is possible on earth, and I am in the forefront,” Lopakhin: “Will you get there?” Trofimov: “I’ll get there or I’ll show others how to get there.” You can hear an ax knocking on a tree in the distance. Lopakhin, saying goodbye to Petya, reports that Gaev has received a position at the bank, with a salary of six thousand a year, “but he can’t sit still because he’s very lazy...”
Dunyasha is constantly busy with things; Left alone with Yasha, she, crying, throws herself on his neck: “You are going... leaving me...” Yasha, drinking a glass of champagne for the road that Lopakhin bought, says importantly: “This is not for me, not I can live.... Nothing can be done... I've seen enough of ignorance - I've had enough. Why cry? Behave decently, then you won’t cry.” Lyubov Andreevna, Gaev, Anya and Charlotta Ivanovna enter, Ranevskaya is worried, they sent the sick Firs to the hospital, Anya assures her: “Yasha said that the old man was taken away in the morning.” Lyubov Andreevna says goodbye to her daughter: “My girl, we’ll see you soon... I’m going to Paris, I’ll live there with the money that your Yaroslavl grandmother sent to buy the estate - long live grandma! “And this money won’t last long.” Apya, kissing her mother’s hand, reassures her: she will pass the exam at the gymnasium, will work and help her mother: “We will read in the autumn evenings, we read a lot of books, and a new, wonderful world will open up before us,” Anya dreams. “Mom, come.” .."
Charlotte, cradling a bundle that looks like a baby's swaddling clothes and quietly humming a song, complains that she now has nowhere to live. Lopakhin promises to find a place for her too. Suddenly, short of breath Simeonov-Pishchik appears and begins to repay everyone’s debts. It turns out that “the most unusual event” happened: the British found white clay on his land, he gave them the plot for twenty-four years and now has money.
“Well, now we can go,” Lyubov Andreevna concludes. True, she still has one more “sadness” left - Varya’s unsettled situation. Ranevskaya begins a conversation with Lopakhin on this topic: “She loves you, you like her, and I don’t know, I don’t know why you seem to be kissing each other.” Lopakhin replies that he is “at least ready now.” Lyubov Andreevna arranges a face-to-face meeting for Lopakhina and Varya. Some strange and awkward conversation takes place between them: Varya is looking for something among the things, says that she has gone to work as housekeepers for the Ragulins; Lopakhin says something about the weather, reports that he is going to Kharkov. There is a pause. At this time, someone calls Lopakhin, and he, supposedly waiting for this call, leaves without making an offer. Varya, sitting on the floor, quietly sobs, resting her head on a bundle of clothes.
Lyubov Andreevna enters, already prepared for the journey, followed by all the household and servants. Epikhodov is busy with a circle of things. Gaev, afraid to cry, excitedly mutters: “Train... station... Croise in the middle, white doublet in the corner...” Left alone, Ranevskaya and Gaev, supposedly waiting, rush to each other and restrainedly, quietly sob. “My sister, my sister...” - “Oh my dear, my tender, beautiful garden! My life. My. youth, my happiness, goodbye!.. Farewell!..” From afar, the excited voices of Anya and Petya Trokhimov sound, they call... The door to the house is locked... You can hear the carriages driving away. There is silence.
A sick Firs appears, whom everyone had forgotten in the house. He sighs worriedly: “...Leonid Andreevich, apparently, didn’t put on a fur coat, he went in a coat... Life passed, as if he had never lived...” he mutters. “To hear a distant sound, as if from the sky, the sound of a string that has broken, sad, it freezes. There is silence, and you can only hear how far away. garden they knock on a tree with an ax.”
Year of writing:
1903
Reading time:
Description of the work:
The work The Cherry Orchard was written in 1903 by Anton Chekhov. It is a play and is considered to be Chekhov's last dramatic work. In essence, this is a sad elegy about the fact that the times of “noble nests” are irrevocably gone.
Below we present to you a brief summary of the play The Cherry Orchard.
Summary of the play
Cherry Orchard
The estate of landowner Lyubov Andreevna Ranevskaya. Spring, cherry trees are blooming. But the beautiful garden will soon have to be sold for debts. For the last five years, Ranevskaya and her seventeen-year-old daughter Anya have lived abroad. Ranevskaya’s brother Leonid Andreevich Gaev and her adopted daughter, twenty-four-year-old Varya, remained on the estate. Things are bad for Ranevskaya, there are almost no funds left. Lyubov Andreevna always squandered money. Six years ago, her husband died from drunkenness. Ranevskaya fell in love with another person and got along with him. But soon her little son Grisha died tragically, drowning in the river. Lyubov Andreevna, unable to bear the grief, fled abroad. The lover followed her. When he fell ill, Ranevskaya had to settle him at her dacha near Menton and look after him for three years. And then, when he had to sell his dacha for debts and move to Paris, he robbed and abandoned Ranevskaya.
Gaev and Varya meet Lyubov Andreevna and Anya at the station. The maid Dunyasha and the merchant Ermolai Alekseevich Lopakhin are waiting for them at home. Lopakhin's father was a serf of the Ranevskys, he himself became rich, but says of himself that he remained a “man a man.” The clerk Epikhodov comes, a man with whom something constantly happens and who is nicknamed “twenty-two misfortunes.”
Finally the carriages arrive. The house is filled with people, everyone is in pleasant excitement. Everyone talks about their own things. Lyubov Andreevna looks at the rooms and through tears of joy remembers the past. The maid Dunyasha can’t wait to tell the young lady that Epikhodov proposed to her. Anya herself advises Varya to marry Lopakhin, and Varya dreams of marrying Anya to a rich man. The governess Charlotte Ivanovna, a strange and eccentric person, boasts about her amazing dog; the neighbor, the landowner Simeonov-Pishchik, asks for a loan of money. The old faithful servant Firs hears almost nothing and mutters something all the time.
Lopakhin reminds Ranevskaya that the estate should soon be sold at auction, the only way out is to divide the land into plots and rent them out to summer residents. Ranevskaya is surprised by Lopakhin’s proposal: how can her beloved wonderful cherry orchard be cut down! Lopakhin wants to stay longer with Ranevskaya, whom he loves “more than his own,” but it’s time for him to leave. Gaev makes a welcoming speech to the hundred-year-old “respected” cabinet, but then, embarrassed, he again begins to meaninglessly utter his favorite billiard words.
Ranevskaya does not immediately recognize Petya Trofimov: so he has changed, turned ugly, the “dear student” has turned into an “eternal student.” Lyubov Andreevna cries, remembering her little drowned son Grisha, whose teacher was Trofimov.
Gaev, left alone with Varya, tries to talk about business. There is a rich aunt in Yaroslavl, who, however, does not love them: after all, Lyubov Andreevna did not marry a nobleman, and she did not behave “very virtuously.” Gaev loves his sister, but still calls her “vicious,” which displeases Anya. Gaev continues to build projects: his sister will ask Lopakhin for money, Anya will go to Yaroslavl - in a word, they will not allow the estate to be sold, Gaev even swears by it. The grumpy Firs finally takes the master, like a child, to bed. Anya is calm and happy: her uncle will arrange everything.
Lopakhin never ceases to persuade Ranevskaya and Gaev to accept his plan. The three of them had breakfast in the city and, on their way back, stopped in a field near the chapel. Just now, here, on the same bench, Epikhodov tried to explain himself to Dunyasha, but she had already preferred the young cynical lackey Yasha to him. Ranevskaya and Gaev don’t seem to hear Lopakhin and are talking about completely different things. Without convincing the “frivolous, unbusinesslike, strange” people of anything, Lopakhin wants to leave. Ranevskaya asks him to stay: “it’s still more fun” with him.
Anya, Varya and Petya Trofimov arrive. Ranevskaya starts a conversation about a “proud man.” According to Trofimov, there is no point in pride: a rude, unhappy person should not admire himself, but work. Petya condemns the intelligentsia, who are incapable of work, those people who philosophize importantly, and treat men like animals. Lopakhin enters the conversation: he works “from morning to evening,” dealing with large capitals, but he is increasingly convinced how few decent people there are around. Lopakhin doesn’t finish speaking, Ranevskaya interrupts him. In general, everyone here does not want and does not know how to listen to each other. There is silence, in which the distant sad sound of a broken string can be heard.
Soon everyone disperses. Left alone, Anya and Trofimov are glad to have the opportunity to talk together, without Varya. Trofimov convinces Anya that one must be “above love”, that the main thing is freedom: “all of Russia is our garden,” but in order to live in the present, one must first atone for the past through suffering and labor. Happiness is close: if not they, then others will definitely see it.
The twenty-second of August arrives, trading day. It was on this evening, completely inappropriately, that a ball was being held at the estate, and a Jewish orchestra was invited. Once upon a time, generals and barons danced here, but now, as Firs complains, both the postal official and the station master “don’t like to go.” Charlotte Ivanovna entertains guests with her tricks. Ranevskaya anxiously awaits her brother's return. The Yaroslavl aunt nevertheless sent fifteen thousand, but it was not enough to redeem the estate.
Petya Trofimov “calms” Ranevskaya: it’s not about the garden, it’s over long ago, we need to face the truth. Lyubov Andreevna asks not to judge her, to have pity: after all, without the cherry orchard, her life loses its meaning. Every day Ranevskaya receives telegrams from Paris. At first she tore them right away, then - after reading them first, now she no longer tears them. "This wild man", whom she still loves, begs her to come. Petya condemns Ranevskaya for her love for “a petty scoundrel, a nonentity.” Angry Ranevskaya, unable to restrain herself, takes revenge on Trofimov, calling him a “funny eccentric”, “freak”, “neat”: “You have to love yourself... you have to fall in love!” Petya tries to leave in horror, but then stays and dances with Ranevskaya, who asked him for forgiveness.
Finally, a confused, joyful Lopakhin and a tired Gaev appear, who, without saying anything, immediately goes home. The Cherry Orchard was sold, and Lopakhin bought it. The “new landowner” is happy: he managed to outbid the rich man Deriganov at the auction, giving ninety thousand on top of his debt. Lopakhin picks up the keys thrown on the floor by the proud Varya. Let the music play, let everyone see how Ermolai Lopakhin “takes an ax to the cherry orchard”!
Anya consoles her crying mother: the garden has been sold, but there is a whole life ahead. There will be a new garden, more luxurious than this, “quiet, deep joy” awaits them...
The house is empty. Its inhabitants, having said goodbye to each other, leave. Lopakhin is going to Kharkov for the winter, Trofimov is returning to Moscow, to the university. Lopakhin and Petya exchange barbs. Although Trofimov calls Lopakhin a “beast of prey,” necessary “in the sense of metabolism,” he still loves his “tender, subtle soul.” Lopakhin offers Trofimov money for the trip. He refuses: no one should have power over the “free man”, “in the forefront of moving” to the “highest happiness”.
Ranevskaya and Gaev even became happier after selling the cherry orchard. Previously they were worried and suffered, but now they have calmed down. Ranevskaya is going to live in Paris for now with money sent by her aunt. Anya is inspired: a new life is beginning - she will graduate from high school, work, read books, and a “new wonderful world” will open up before her. Suddenly, out of breath, Simeonov-Pishchik appears and instead of asking for money, on the contrary, he gives away debts. It turned out that the British found white clay on his land.
Everyone settled down differently. Gaev says that now he is a bank employee. Lopakhin promises to find a new place for Charlotte, Varya got a job as a housekeeper for the Ragulins, Epikhodov, hired by Lopakhin, remains on the estate, Firs should be sent to the hospital. But still Gaev sadly says: “Everyone is abandoning us... we suddenly became unnecessary.”
There must finally be an explanation between Varya and Lopakhin. Varya has been teased as “Madame Lopakhina” for a long time. Varya likes Ermolai Alekseevich, but she herself cannot propose. Lopakhin, who also speaks highly of Varya, agrees to “end this matter right away.” But when Ranevskaya arranges their meeting, Lopakhin, having never made up his mind, leaves Varya, using the first pretext.
“It's time to go! On the road! - with these words they leave the house, locking all the doors. All that remains is old Firs, whom everyone seemed to care about, but whom they forgot to send to the hospital. Firs, sighing that Leonid Andreevich went in a coat and not a fur coat, lies down to rest and lies motionless. The same sound of a broken string is heard. “Silence falls, and you can only hear how far away in the garden an ax is knocking on a tree.”
The work “The Cherry Orchard” was created by Chekhov in 1903. This is a play about the decline of noble life on estates, about the imaginary and real owners of the Russian land, about the inevitable renewal of Russia. Chekhov presented Russia's obsolete past with his play The Cherry Orchard. A summary will follow below.
First, let's introduce the main characters:
Landowner Lyubov Andreevna Ranevskaya. Her own daughter Anya is 17 years old. Adopted daughter Varya, 24 years old. Ranevskaya's brother is Leonid Andreevich Gaev. Student Trofimov Petr Sergeevich. Governess Charlotte Ivanovna. Merchant Lopakhin Ermolai Alekseevich. Landowner Semionov-Pishchik Boris Borisovich. Maid Dunyasha. Young footman Yasha. Old footman Firs. Clerk Semyon Panteleevich Epikhodov.
“The Cherry Orchard”: summary of the first act
Dawn. It’s spring outside, you can see cherry trees in bloom. Only it’s still cold in the garden, so all the windows are closed. Lopakhin and Dunyasha enter the room. They are talking about the train that was late. And Lopakhin is upset that he could not meet Lyubov Andreevna, who lately lived abroad, at the station.
Then Epikhodov enters; he recently proposed to Dunyasha. Everyone hears two carriages approaching. The commotion begins. The footman Firs enters, dressed in an old livery. And behind him comes Ranevskaya, Gaev, Anya, Simionov-Pishchik and Charlotte Ivanovna. Anya and Ranevskaya remember the past.
Then Anya talks with Varya. She talks about how she found her mother there without money, among strangers. But Ranevskaya did not seem to understand her position. She gives the footmen a ruble tip, and they order the most exquisite and expensive dishes. But in fact, there was barely enough money to get home. And now the estate must be sold, the auction is scheduled for August.
“The Cherry Orchard”: a summary of the second act
Evening. Sunset. The action takes place near an abandoned chapel. Lopakhin is interested in plots for summer cottages. He believes that the land should be divided into plots and leased out. Only for this you will have to cut down the cherry orchard. But Ranevskaya and Gaev are against this, they call it vulgarity. Gaev dreams of some kind of inheritance, about a Yaroslavl aunt who promised to give money, but how much it will be and when is unknown. Merchant Lopakhin once again reminds us of the auction.
“The Cherry Orchard”: a summary of the third and fourth acts
A Jewish orchestra is playing. There are dancing couples around. Varya is worried that the musicians were invited, but they have nothing to pay them with. Ranevskaya cannot wait for her brother to arrive from the auction. Everyone hopes that he bought the estate with the money sent by the Yaroslavl aunt. Only she sent only fifteen thousand, and it’s not even enough for interest. Gaev and Lopakhin return from the auction. Gaev is crying. Ranevskaya learns that the garden has been sold, its new owner is Lopakhin. She almost faints.
The rooms have little furniture, no curtains or paintings. Luggage costs. Lopakhin warns that they need to leave in a few minutes. Gaev went to work at the bank. Ranevskaya goes to Paris with her aunt’s money sent from Yaroslavl. Yasha goes with her. Gaev and Ranevskaya are depressed and say goodbye to the house. Anya thinks that her mother will return to her soon. And she will study at the gymnasium, go to work and begin to help her mother. Everyone gets out noisily and leaves for the station. And only the forgotten Firs remained in closed house. Silence. The sound of an ax can be heard.
“The Cherry Orchard”: analysis. Highlights
The summary tells us that Gaev and Ranevskaya are an outdated past. The cherry orchard is dear to them as a memory of childhood days, of prosperity, of youth, of an easy and graceful life. And Lopakhin understands this. He tries to help Ranevskaya by offering to rent out plots of land. There is simply no other way out. Only the lady is careless as always, she thinks that everything will somehow resolve itself. And when the garden was sold, she did not grieve for long. The heroine is not capable of serious experiences; she easily moves from anxiety to cheerful animation. And Lopakhin is proud of the purchase and dreams of his new life. Yes, he bought an estate, but he still remained a man. And although the owners of the cherry orchard went bankrupt, they are, as before, gentlemen.
