Analysis of the cherry orchard summary. A.P. Chekhov "The Cherry Orchard": description, characters, analysis of the play. The main character of "The Cherry Orchard"
"The Cherry Orchard" is the pinnacle of Russian drama at the beginning of the 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 is auctioning off their family estate. The author, as a person who has gone through a similar life situation, with a subtle psychologism describes the state of mind of people who are soon forced to leave their home. The novelty of the play is the lack of division of heroes into positive and negative, major and minor. They all fall 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;
- the people of the future are the progressive youth of that time (Peter Trofimov and Anya).
History of creation
Chekhov began work on the play in 1901. Due to serious health problems, the writing process was rather 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 piece
Description of the work
The action takes place in the family estate of the landowner Lyubov Andreevna Ranevskaya, who returned from France with her young daughter Anya. At the railway station, they are met by Gaev (Ranevskaya's brother) and Varya (her adopted daughter).
The financial situation of the Ranevsky family is approaching complete collapse. The entrepreneur Lopakhin offers his version of the solution to the problem - to break land plot on shares and give them for use to summer residents for a fee. The lady is burdened by this offer, because for this she will have to say goodbye to her beloved cherry orchard, which is associated with many fond memories of her youth. Adding to the tragedy is the fact that her beloved son Grisha died in this garden. Gayev, imbued with the feelings of his sister, 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 switches to the appeared teacher Pyotr Trofimov. He delivers an excited speech on 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's last money inviting the orchestra and arranging a dance evening. At the same time, Gaev and Lopakhin are absent - they left for the city for the auction, where the Ranevsky estate should go under the hammer. After anxious waiting, Lyubov Andreevna learns that her estate was bought at auction by Lopakhin, who does not hide the joy of his acquisition. The Ranevsky family is in despair.
The final is entirely devoted to the departure of the Ranevsky family from their home... The scene of parting is shown with all the deep psychologism inherent in Chekhov. The play ends with a remarkably deep monologue by Firs, which the owners in a hurry forgot in the estate. The final chord is the clatter of an ax. The cherry orchard is being cut.
main characters
Sentimental person, owner of the estate. Having lived for several years abroad, she is accustomed to a luxurious life and, by inertia, continues to allow herself a lot 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 in 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 - it combines diligence, prudence, enterprise and rudeness, a "peasant" beginning. In the finale of the play, Lopakhin does not share the feelings of Ranevskaya, he is happy that, despite his peasant origin, he was able to afford to buy the estate of the owners of his late father.
Like his sister, he is very sensitive and sentimental. Being an idealist and romantic, to comfort 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, who stands up for the development of Russia only in words. In pursuit of the "higher truth", he denies love, considering it a shallow and ghostly feeling, which immensely grieves 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 parental estate, Anya is ready for any difficulties for the sake of joint happiness next to her lover.
An 87-year-old man, a footman in the Ranevskys' house. A type of servant of the old times, he surrounds his masters with paternal care. He remained to serve his masters even after the abolition of serfdom.
A young lackey, with contempt for Russia, dreaming of going abroad. A cynical and cruel man, rude to old Firs, even disrespectful to his own mother.
The structure of the work
The structure of the piece is quite simple - 4 acts without dividing into separate scenes. The duration is several months, from late spring to mid-autumn. In the first act there is an exposition and a set-up, in the second - an increase in tension, in the third - the culmination (sale of the estate), in the fourth - the denouement. Characteristic feature the play is the absence of genuine external conflict, dynamism, unpredictable twists in the storyline. 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 play is dominated by the development of the emotional and psychological plan, the main driving force of the action is the inner 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 the stage. The effect of expanding the spatial boundaries is also given by the symmetrically arising theme of France, which gives 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 an extraordinary attention to small, seemingly insignificant details, focusing on the inner experiences of the characters.
In the play "The Cherry Orchard" the author captured the state of critical disunity in 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.
Chekhov himself called "The Cherry Orchard" a comedy, although he later admitted that "I came out ... a comedy, sometimes even a farce." And the great director KS Stanislavsky called the work a tragedy: "This is a tragedy ..." and funny, but after all, in The Cherry Orchard, there seems to be no tragic, so, the usual collapse of not very lucky people who continue to live on, not really looking back - which is why they forget old Firs in the house abandoned by everyone .. At the same time, this "comedy" shows the deepest internal tragedy of people who have outlived their time and are feverishly trying to somehow get settled in a new, so incomprehensible to them, even hostile to them, life, the departure of a whole historical era, to replace which was the era of the greatest social and moral upheavals. Only this is now clear to us what will happen "after" Ranevskaya and Gaev, what will replace the "cherry orchard" they felt good and which they would like to keep for themselves forever.
The peculiarity of the era determined the main external conflict of the play "The Cherry Orchard": it is the conflict between the past, present and future. However, not only he determines the plot and composition of the work, it is permeated with internal conflicts, almost each of the character images carries duality, he not only opposes reality, but also painfully tries to reconcile himself with his own soul, which turns out to be the most difficult thing. Chekhov's characters cannot be divided into "positive" and "negative", they are real people, in which there is a lot of both good and not so, who behave as they think they need to behave in the situations in which they find themselves - and it can be funny, and not very, and completely sad.
The image of Lyubov Andreevna Ranevskaya is a pivotal image, all the other characters are somehow connected with her. In Ranevskaya, sincerity and spiritual callousness, ardent love for the Motherland and complete indifference to her are combined; they say about her that she is a "good", "easy" person - and this is true, as well as the fact that it is unbearably difficult to live next to her ... First of all, it should be noted that the inconsistency of Ranevskaya's image does not mean that she is some special, complex, incomprehensible person, rather, on the contrary: she is always the way she is, just to those around her such behavior seems to some extravagant, and to some, and unusually attractive. The contradictory behavior of Lyubov Andreevna is explained by the fact that she did not really understand that life has changed, she continues to live in a life when she did not need to think about a piece of bread, when the cherry orchard provided an easy and carefree life for its owners. Therefore, she wastes money, repenting herself for this, so she does not think about the future ("everything will work out!"), That is why she is so cheerful. She spends money on her "fatal passion", realizing that this makes life difficult for her daughters, and at the end of the play she again returns to Paris, where she can live as she used to. Ranevskaya is one of the best manifestations of the old life (it is no coincidence that Lopakhin worships her, who from childhood sees an unattainable ideal in her), however, like all this life, she must leave - and the viewer perceives her departure with sympathy and pity, because by -humanly she is so sweet and attractive.
Little can be said about Ranevskaya's brother, Gaev. He is very similar to his sister, but he does not have her lightness and charm, he is simply ridiculous in his unwillingness and inability to look life in the eyes and "grow up" - Chekhov emphasizes that the lackey Firs still perceives him as a little boy, which, in essence, he is. Gayev's inappropriate, tearful monologues (referring to the closet!) Are not just ridiculous, they acquire a shade of tragedy, since such a blatant isolation from the life of an elderly person cannot but frighten.
Much attention in the play "The Cherry Orchard" is paid to the problem of the future. Chekhov shows us, so to speak, two options for the future: the future "according to Peta Trofimov" and the future "according to Yermolai Lopakhin." In different periods of history, each of these options for the future had its adherents and opponents.
Petya Trofimov with his vague appeals, loud assurances that "All Russia is our garden", with the exposure of modernity during the creation of the play, was perceived as a positive hero, his words "I anticipate happiness, Anya, I already see it ..." auditorium with great enthusiasm. However, Chekhov himself was wary of this hero: we see Petya, who, the "shabby gentleman", does practically nothing. For his nice words it is difficult to see really real cases, moreover, he constantly finds himself in a ridiculous position. Even when at the beginning of Act IV he loudly promises Lopakhin that he will reach "the highest truth, the highest happiness that is possible on earth," because in this movement of humanity towards them he is "in the forefront!" can find ... his own galoshes, and this makes his confidence ridiculous: he swings at such things, but he cannot find galoshes! ..
The future "according to Yermolai Lopakhin" is portrayed in a completely different way. A former serf who bought "an estate where grandfather and father were slaves, where they were not even allowed into the kitchen," who gets up "at five o'clock in the morning" and works day-to-day, who has made millions and knows what needs to be done with the cherry orchard ( "Both the cherry orchard and the land must be rented out for summer residences, do it now, as soon as possible"), in fact, he knows practically nothing about relations between people, he is tormented by the fact that wealth does not give him a feeling of happiness. The image of Lopakhin is an image close to a tragic one, because for this person the meaning of life has become the accumulation of money, he succeeded, but why is he then so desperate, "with tears", exclaims at the end of the third act, when he has already become the owner of the estate , "there is nothing more beautiful in the world": "Oh, it would be more likely that all this would pass, would sooner change somehow our awkward, unhappy life"? A millionaire - and an unhappy life? .. But in fact: he understands that he has remained a "peasant peasant", he loves Varya in his own way, but he does not dare to explain himself to her, he is able to feel beauty ("I in the spring he sowed a thousand acres of poppy seeds and now earned forty thousand pure. ... What despair is heard in his words: "We will set up summer cottages, and our grandchildren and great-grandchildren will see here new life... "! Grandchildren and great-grandchildren - this is understandable, but what is left for yourself in life? ..
An interesting image of the old servant Firs, for whom the liberation of the serfs was a "misfortune". He cannot imagine a life other than a life in slavery, and therefore remains in the house - to die with the cherry orchard, for which not Ermolai Lopakhin "will suffice with an ax," but time itself. The image of the "cherry orchard" is a semi-symbolic image of the past, which is doomed and from which one needs to get rid of for the sake of the future, but we have already seen what it can be, this future. The historical doom of the past is obvious, but it in no way explains what, in fact, this future, longed for by some and cursed by other heroes, can become, therefore, the entire play of Chekhov is permeated with anxious expectations that make the life of the heroes even more bleak, and parting with the "cherry orchard" is especially painful - isn't that why Lopakhin is in a hurry, ordering to cut down trees when the old owners have not yet left the doomed estate?
The Cherry Orchard, which we analyzed, was created by Chekhov on the eve of dramatic changes in Russian life, and the author, welcoming them, fervently wishing for a change in life for the better, could not help but see that any changes are always destruction, they bring with them then drama and tragedy, "progress" necessarily denies something that earlier, at one time, was also progressive. This realization determined the moral pathos of Chekhov's "comedy", his moral position: he welcomes the change in life and at the same time worries about what it can bring to people; he understands the historical doom of his heroes and humanly sympathizes with them, who find themselves "between the past and the future" and are trying to find their place in a new, frightening life for them. As a matter of fact, Chekhov's play "The Cherry Orchard" is very relevant today, because now Russia is again "between the past and the future," and I really want us to be happier than the heroes of "The Cherry Orchard".
The play "The Cherry Orchard" is the last dramatic work in which Anton Pavlovich Chekhov pays tribute to his time, the nobles and such a vast concept as "estate", so valued by the author at all times.
Cherry Orchard genre always served as a reason for controversy and gossip. Chekhov himself wished to classify the play as a comedy genre, thereby going against the critics and connoisseurs of literature, who in a voice convinced everyone that the work belonged to tragicomedy and drama. Thus, Anton Pavlovich gave readers the opportunity to judge his creation for themselves, observe and experience the variety of genres presented on the pages of the book.
Leitmotif of all scenes a cherry orchard is used in the play, because it is not just a background against which a whole series of events take place, but also a symbol of the course of life in the estate. Throughout his career, the author gravitated towards symbolism, not giving up on it in this play. It is against the background of the cherry orchard that both external and internal conflicts develop.
The reader (or viewer) sees successive owners of the house, as well as the sale of an estate for debts. On a cursory reading, it is noticeable that all the opposing forces are represented in the play: young people, noble Russia and aspiring entrepreneurs. Of course, social confrontation, often taken as the main line of conflict, is obvious. However, more attentive readers may notice that the key reason for the collision is not social confrontation at all, but the conflict of key characters with their environment and reality.
"Underwater" flow of the play no less interesting than its main plot. Chekhov builds his narrative on semitones, where, among the unambiguous and indisputable events, taken as fact and for granted, from time to time there are questions of life that emerge throughout the play. “Who am I and what do I want?” Firs, Epikhodov, Charlotte Ivanovna and many other heroes ask themselves. Thus, it becomes obvious that the leading motive of The Cherry Orchard is not at all the opposition of social strata, but the loneliness that haunts every hero throughout his life.
Teffi described "The Cherry Orchard" with only one saying: "Laughter through tears", analyzing this immortal work. It is both funny and sad to read it, realizing that both conflicts raised by the author are relevant to this day.
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the subtopic can be divided into the past, this is Gaev and Ranevskaya, who absolutely do not know how to spin in life, the present is Yermolai Lopakhin, a merchant, he knows what is needed, he does everything prudently, and the future is Anya and Petya Trofimov, "humanity is moving towards the highest truth and I am in front row "of his quote. Russia is our garden .. and at the end, "you can only hear how they knock on the trees with an ax .." that is, the garden was destroyed and no one was able to properly dispose of it.
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Cherry Orchard 1903 A summary of the comedy
The estate of the landowner Lyubov Andreevna Ranevskaya. Spring, cherry trees are blooming. But the beautiful garden must soon be sold for debt. For the past 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. Ranevskaya's business is bad, there are almost no funds left. Lyubov Andreevna always littered with money. Her husband died of drunkenness six years ago. Ranevskaya fell in love with another person, got along with him. But soon her little son Grisha died tragically by 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 take care of him for three years. And then, when he had to sell the dacha for debts and move to Paris, he robbed and left Ranevskaya.
Gaev and Varya meet Lyubov Andreevna and Anya at the station. At home the maid Dunyasha and the familiar merchant Ermolai Alekseevich Lopakhin are waiting for them. Lopakhin's father was a serf of the Ranevskys, he himself became rich, but says about himself that he remained a "peasant peasant." The clerk Epikhodov comes, a man with whom something constantly happens and who was nicknamed "twenty-two misfortunes."
At last the carriages arrive. The house is filled with people, everyone is pleasantly excited. Everyone talks about their own. Lyubov Andreevna looks at the rooms and through tears of joy recalls 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 off as a rich man. The governess Charlotte Ivanovna, a strange and eccentric person, boasts about her amazing dog, the neighbor landowner Simeonov-Pischik asks for a loan. He hears almost nothing and the old faithful servant Firs mutters something all the time.
Lopakhin reminds Ranevskaya that the estate should soon be sold at auction, the only way out is to split the land into plots and lease them to summer residents. Ranevskaya Lopakhin's proposal surprises: how can you cut down her favorite wonderful cherry orchard! Lopakhin wants to stay longer with Ranevskaya, whom he loves "more than his own," but it's time for him to leave. Gaev addresses a hundred-year-old "respected" wardrobe with a welcoming speech, but then, embarrassed, again begins to uselessly utter his favorite billiard words.
Ranevskaya does not immediately recognize Petya Trofimov: this is how he changed, looked ugly, the "sweet student" turned into an "eternal student." Lyubov Andreevna cries, remembering her little drowned son Grisha, whose teacher was Trofimov.
Gayev, left alone with Varya, tries to talk about business. There is a rich aunt in Yaroslavl, who, however, does not like them: after all, Lyubov Andreevna did not marry a nobleman, and she did not behave "very virtuous". Gaev loves his sister, but still calls her "vicious", which displeases Ani. 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 about it. Grumpy Firs finally takes the master, like a child, to sleep. 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, returning, stopped in a field near the chapel. Just here, on the same bench, Epikhodov tried to explain himself to Dunyasha, but she already preferred the young cynical lackey Yasha to him. Ranevskaya and Gaev do not seem to hear Lopakhin and talk about completely different things. Without convincing the "frivolous, non-business, strange" people of anything, Lopakhin wants to leave. Ranevskaya asks him to stay: with him "still more fun."
Anya, Varya and Petya Trofimov arrive. Ranevskaya starts a conversation about a “proud person”. According to Trofimov, there is no point in pride: a rude, unhappy person needs not to admire himself, but to work. Petya condemns the intelligentsia, incapable of work, those people who philosophize importantly, but treat men like animals. Lopakhin enters the conversation: he just works "from morning to evening", dealing with large capitals, but he is more and more convinced that there are few decent people around. Lopakhin does not finish, Ranevskaya interrupts him. In general, everyone here does not want and do not know how to listen to each other. There is a silence in which the distant sad sound of a broken string is heard.
Soon, everyone disperses. Left alone, Anya and Trofimov are happy 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 Russia is our garden,” but in order to live in the present, one must first redeem the past by suffering and labor. Happiness is close: if not they, then others will surely see it.
The twenty-second of August arrives, the day of trading. It was on this evening, quite inappropriately, that a ball was being organized in the estate, and a Jewish orchestra was invited. Once upon a time, generals and barons danced here, but now, as Firs laments, both the postal official and the station chief "are not going to go hunting." Guests are entertained by Charlotte Ivanovna with her tricks. Ranevskaya anxiously awaits her brother's return. Yaroslavl's aunt still sent fifteen thousand, but they are not enough to redeem the estate.
Petya Trofimov “calms down” Ranevskaya: it's not about the garden, it's over for a long time, you need to face the truth. Lyubov Andreevna asks not to condemn her, to pity her: after all, without the cherry orchard, her life loses its meaning. Every day Ranevskaya receives telegrams from Paris. The first time she tore them at once, then - having read them first, now she no longer tears. “This wild man,” whom she still loves, begs her to come. Petya condemns Ranevskaya for her love of "a petty scoundrel, nothingness." Angry Ranevskaya, unable to restrain herself, takes revenge on Trofimov, calling him a "funny eccentric", "freak", "neat": "You must love yourself ... you must fall in love!" Petya, in horror, tries to leave, but then stays, dances with Ranevskaya, who asked him for forgiveness.
Finally, a confused, joyful Lopakhin and a tired Gayev appear, who, without telling anything, immediately goes to his room. The cherry orchard was sold, and Lopakhin bought it. The "new landowner" is happy: he managed to surpass the rich man Deriganov at the auction, giving ninety thousand in excess of the debt. Lopakhin picks up the keys thrown on the floor by the proud Varya. Let the music play, let everyone see how Yermolai Lopakhin “enough with an ax in the cherry orchard”!
Anya consoles her crying mother: the garden is sold, but there is a whole life ahead. There will be a new garden, more luxurious than this, they will have a "quiet deep joy" ...
The house is empty. Its inhabitants, having said goodbye to each other, disperse. 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 "predatory beast" necessary "in the sense of metabolism," he still loves in him a "gentle, subtle soul." Lopakhin offers Trofimov money for the trip. He refuses: no one should have power over a "free man" who is "in the forefront" to the "highest happiness".
Ranevskaya and Gaev even cheered up after the sale of the cherry orchard. Previously, they worried, suffered, but now they have calmed down. Ranevskaya is going to live in Paris for the time being with the money sent by her aunt. Anya is inspired: a new life begins - she will graduate from the gymnasium, work, read books, a "new wonderful world" will open before her. Suddenly a breathless Simeonov-Pischik appears and instead of asking for money, on the contrary, he distributes debts. It turned out that the British had found white clay on his land.
Everyone settled down differently. Gaev says that he is now a banking campaigner. 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."
An explanation must finally occur between Varya and Lopakhin. For a long time Varya has been teased "Madame Lopakhin". Vara likes Yermolai Alekseevich, but she herself cannot make an offer. Lopakhin, who also speaks very well of Vara, agrees to "end it at once" with this case. But, when Ranevskaya arranges for their meeting, Lopakhin, without making up his mind, leaves Varya, using the very 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 the old Firs, whom, it would seem, everyone took care of, but whom they forgot to send to the hospital. Firs, sighing that Leonid Andreyevich went in an overcoat, and not in a fur coat, lies down to rest and lies motionless. The same sound of a broken string is heard. "Silence sets in, and you can only hear how far away in the garden they are knocking on a tree with an ax."
Retold . Source: All the masterpieces of world literature in summary... Plots and characters. Russian literature of the XIX century / Ed. and comp. V.I. Novikov. - M.: Olymp: ACT, 1996 .-- 832 p. On the cover:
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"The Cherry Orchard" is the last work of AP Chekhov. The writer was terminally ill when he wrote this play. He was aware that he would soon die, and, probably, that is why the whole play is filled with some kind of quiet sadness and tenderness. This is the great writer’s farewell to everything that was dear to him: to the people, to Russia, whose fate worried him until the last minute. Probably, at such a moment, a person thinks about everything: about the past - he remembers all the most important things and sums up the results - as well as about the present and future of those whom he leaves on this earth. In the play "The Cherry Orchard" it was as if there was a meeting of the past, present and future. It seems that the heroes of the play belong to three different eras: some live in yesterday and are absorbed in memories of times long past, others are busy with momentary affairs and strive to benefit from everything they have on this moment and still others look far ahead, not taking into account real events.
Thus, the past, present and future do not merge into one whole: they exist by piecework and sort things out among themselves.
Gayev and Ranevskaya are prominent representatives of the past. Chekhov pays tribute to the education and refinement of the Russian nobility. Both Gaev and Ranevskaya know how to appreciate beauty. They find the most poetic words to express their feelings in relation to everything that surrounds them - be it an old house, a favorite garden, in a word, everything that is dear to them.
since childhood. They even refer to the closet as to an old friend: “Dear, dear closet! I greet your existence, which for more than a hundred years has been directed towards the bright ideals of goodness and justice ... ”Ranevskaya, finding herself at home after five years of separation, is ready to kiss every thing that reminds her of her childhood and youth. Home for her is a living person, a witness to all her joys and sorrows. Ranevskaya has a very special attitude to the garden - he seems to personify all the best and brightest that was in her life, is a part of her soul. Looking out the window at the garden, she exclaims: “O my childhood, my purity! In this nursery I slept, looked from here at the garden, happiness woke up with me every morning, and then he was exactly the same, nothing changed. " Ranevskaya's life was not easy: she lost her husband early, and soon after that her seven-year-old son died. The person with whom she tried to connect life turned out to be unworthy - he cheated on her and wasted her money. But returning home for her is like falling to a life-giving source: she again feels young and happy. All the pain that boiled in her soul and the joy of meeting are expressed in her address to the garden: “O my garden! After a dark, rainy autumn and cold winter, you are young again, full of happiness, the angels have not left you ... ”The garden for Ranevskaya is closely connected with the image of the deceased mother - she directly sees her mother in a white dress walking through the garden.
Neither Gaev nor Ranevskaya can allow their estate to be leased to summer residents. They consider this idea itself vulgar, but at the same time they do not want to face reality: the day of the auction is approaching, and the estate will be sold under the hammer. Gaev shows complete infantilism in this matter (the remark “Puts a lollipop in his mouth” as if confirms this): “We will pay the interest, I am convinced ...” Where did he get such conviction? Who is he counting on? Obviously not on myself. Having no reason for that, he swears to Varya: “I swear by my honor, what you want, I swear, the estate will not be sold! ... I swear by my happiness! Here is my hand for you, call me then a trashy, dishonest person, if I admit it to the auction! I swear with all my being! " Beautiful but empty words. Lopakhin is a different matter. This person does not throw words to the wind. He sincerely tries to explain to Ranevskaya and Gaeva that there is a real way out of this situation: “Every day I say the same thing. Both the cherry orchard and the land must be leased out for summer cottages, to do it now, as soon as possible - the auction is on the way! Understand! Once you finally decide to have summer cottages, you will be given as much money as you like, and then you are saved. " With this call, the “present” refers to the “past,” but the “past” does not heed. To “finally solve” is a daunting task for people of this kind. It is easier for them to be in a world of illusion. But Lopakhin does not waste time. He just buys this estate and rejoices in the presence of the unfortunate and disadvantaged Ranevskaya. Buying an estate for him has a special meaning: "I bought an estate where my grandfather and father were slaves, where they were not even allowed into the kitchen." This is the pride of the plebeian who “wiped his nose” to the aristocrats. He only regrets that his father and grandfather do not see his triumph. Knowing what the cherry orchard meant in Ranevskaya's life, he literally dances on her bones: “Hey, musicians, play, I wish to listen to you! Come all to see how Yermolai Lopakhin has enough ax in the cherry orchard, how the trees will fall to the ground! " And right there she sympathizes with the sobbing Ranevskaya: “Oh, it would be more likely that all this would pass, it would sooner change somehow our awkward, unhappy life.” But this is a momentary weakness, because he is experiencing his finest hour. Lopakhin is a man of the present, the master of life, but is the future behind him?
Perhaps the man of the future is Petya Trofimov? He is a lover of truth (“Do not deceive yourself, you must at least once in your life look the truth straight in the eye”). He is not interested in his own appearance (“I don’t want to be handsome”). He apparently considers love to be a relic of the past (“We are higher than love”). Everything material does not attract him either. He is ready to destroy both the past and the present “to the ground, and then ...” And then what? Is it possible to grow a garden without knowing how to appreciate beauty? Petya gives the impression of a frivolous and superficial person. Chekhov, apparently, is not at all happy with the prospect of such a future for Russia.
The rest of the characters in the play are also representatives of three different eras. For example, old servant Firs is all from the past. All his ideals are associated with distant times. He considers the reform of 1861 to be the beginning of all troubles. He does not need "will", since his whole life is devoted to masters. Firs is a very integral nature, he is the only hero of the play, endowed with such a quality as devotion.
Lackey Yasha is akin to Lopakhin - no less enterprising, but even more soulless person. Who knows, maybe he will soon become the master of life?
The last page of the play has been read, but there is no answer to the question: "So with whom does the writer associate his hopes for a new life?" There is a feeling of some kind of confusion and anxiety: who will decide the fate of Russia? Who can save beauty?
Analysis of the play by A.P. Chekhov's "The Cherry Orchard"
The play "The Cherry Orchard" (1903) is the last work of A.P. Chekhov, completing his creative biography.
The action of the play, according to the author's very first remark, takes place on the estate of the landowner Lyubov Andreevna Ranevskaya, in an estate with a cherry orchard, surrounded by poplars, with a long alley that "goes straight, straight, like a stretched belt" and "shines on moonlit nights."
Ranevskaya and her brother Leonid Andreevich Gaev are the owners of the estate. But they brought him with their frivolity, complete misunderstanding real life to a miserable state: it will be sold at auction. The rich peasant son, the merchant Lopakhin, a family friend, warns the owners of the impending catastrophe, offers them his projects of salvation, encourages them to think about the impending disaster. But Ranevskaya and Gaev live in illusory notions. Gaev rushes about with fantastic projects. Both of them shed many tears over the loss of their cherry orchard, without which, it seems to them, they cannot live. But business goes on as usual, auctions take place, and Lopakhin buys the estate himself. When the trouble happened, it turns out that no special drama for Ranevskaya and Gaev seems to be happening. Lyubov Andreevna returns to Paris, to her ridiculous "love", to which she would have returned anyway, despite all her words that she cannot live without her homeland. Leonid Andreevich is also reconciling with what happened. “Awful drama” for her characters does not turn out to be so difficult for the simple reason that they cannot have anything serious, nothing dramatic at all. This is the comedic, satirical basis of the play. An interesting way is by which Chekhov emphasized the illusory, frivolousness of the Gaev-Ranevsky world. He surrounds these central characters of the comedy with characters that reflect the comic worthlessness of the main figures. The figures of Charlotte, the clerk Epikhodov, the footman Yasha, the maid Dunyasha are caricatures / of the "gentlemen".
In the lonely, absurd, unnecessary fate of Charlotte Ivanovna's co-worker, there is a resemblance to the absurd, unnecessary fate of Ranevskaya. Both of them regard themselves as something incomprehensible, unnecessary, strange, and both life seems vague, obscure, some kind of ghostly. Like Charlotte, Ranevskaya, too, “it all seems that she is young,” and Ranevskaya lives as a cohabiting person during her lifetime, not understanding anything about her.
Epikhodov's clownish figure is remarkable. With his "twenty-two misfortunes", he is also a caricature - and on Gayev, and on the landowner Simeonov-Pishchik, and even on Petya Trofimov. Epikhodov is a "fool", to use the old man Firs's favorite saying. One of Chekhov's contemporary critics correctly pointed out that "The Cherry Orchard" is "a play of idiots." Epikhodov focuses on this theme of the play. He is the soul of all "nonsense". After all, both Gaev and Simeonov-Pishchik also have constant "twenty-two misfortunes"; like Epikhodov, nothing comes out of all their intentions, comic failures are pursued at every step.
Simeonov-Pischik, constantly on the verge of complete bankruptcy and out of breath, running around all his acquaintances with a request to lend money, also represents "twenty-two misfortunes." Boris Borisovich is a man “living on debt,” as Petya Trofimov says about Gaev and Ranevskaya; these people live at someone else's expense - at the expense of the people.
Petya Trofimov is not one of the progressive, skillful, strong fighters for future happiness. In all his appearance, one can feel the contradiction between the strength, the scope of the dream and the weakness of the dreamer, which is characteristic of some Chekhov's heroes. "Eternal student", "shabby gentleman", Petya Trofimov is clean, sweet, but eccentric and not strong enough for a great struggle. There are traits of "nonsense" in him, characteristic of almost all the characters in this play. But everything that he says to Ana is dear and close to Chekhov.
Anya is only seventeen years old. And youth for Chekhov is not only a biographical and age sign. He wrote: "... That youth can be taken healthy, which does not put up with the old ways and stupidly or cleverly struggles with them - this is how nature wants and this is the basis for progress."
Chekhov has no "villains" and "angels", he does not even distinguish between heroes, positive and negative. In his works, there are often "good bad" characters. Such principles of typology, unusual for the previous drama, lead to the appearance in the play of characters combining contradictory, moreover, mutually exclusive features and properties.
Ranevskaya is impractical, selfish, she is shallow and went in her love interest, but she is also kind, responsive, the sense of beauty does not fade in her. Lopakhin sincerely wants to help Ranevskaya, expresses genuine sympathy for her, shares her passion for the beauty of the cherry orchard. Chekhov emphasized in letters related to the production of The Cherry Orchard: “The role of Lopakhin is central ... After all, this is not a merchant in the vulgar sense of the word ... This is a gentle person ... a decent person in every sense, he must behave quite decently, intelligently , not shallow, without tricks. " But this gentle man is a predator. Petya Trofimov explains to Lopakhin his life purpose in the following way: “This is how, in terms of metabolism, a predatory animal is needed, which eats everything that comes his way, so you are needed”. And this gentle, decent, intelligent person "eats" the cherry orchard ...
The Cherry Orchard acts in the play as the personification of a wonderful creative life, and the "judge" of the characters. Their attitude to the garden as to the highest beauty and purposefulness is the author's measure of the moral dignity of this or that hero.
Ranevskaya was not given to save the garden from destruction, and not because she was unable to turn the cherry orchard into a commercial, profitable one, as it was 40-50 years ago ... mental strength, the energy was absorbed by love passion, drowning its natural responsiveness to the joys and troubles of others, making her indifferent both to the ultimate fate of the cherry orchard and to the fate of loved ones. Ranevskaya turned out to be below the idea of the Cherry Orchard, she betrays her.
This is precisely the meaning of her admission that she cannot live without a person who abandoned her in Paris: not a garden, not an estate is the focus of her innermost thoughts, hopes and aspirations. Lopakhin also does not rise to the idea of the Cherry Orchard. He sympathizes and worries, but he only cares about the fate of the owner of the garden, the very same cherry orchard in the plans of the entrepreneur is doomed to death. It is Lopakhin who brings the action to its logical conclusion, which develops in its culminating inconsistency: "Silence sets in, and you can only hear how far away in the garden they are knocking on a tree with an ax."
IA Bunin blamed Chekhov for his "Cherry Orchard", because in Russia there were no cherry orchards anywhere, but mixed ones. But Chekhov's garden is not a concrete reality, but a symbol of fleeting and at the same time eternal life. His garden is one of the most complex symbols of Russian literature. The modest glow of cherry blossoms is a symbol of youth and beauty; describing in one of the stories a bride in a wedding dress, Chekhov compared her to a cherry tree in bloom. A cherry tree is a symbol of beauty, kindness, humanity, confidence in the future; this symbol contains only a positive meaning and does not have any negative meanings.
Chekhov's symbols transformed the ancient genre of comedy; it had to be staged, played and watched in a completely different way from the comedies of Shakespeare, Moliere or Fonvizin.
The cherry orchard in this play is least of all a decoration against which the characters philosophize, dream, and quarrel. The garden is the personification of the value and meaning of life on earth, where every new day branches off from the past, like young shoots go from old trunks and roots.
General description of the comedy.
This lyrical comedy, as Chekhov himself calls it, is aimed at revealing a social theme about the death of old noble estates. The action of the comedy takes place on the estate of L.A. Ranevskaya, a landowner and is tied to the fact that due to debts, the inhabitants have to sell their so beloved cherry orchard. Before us is the nobility in a state of decline. Ranevskaya and Gaev (her brother) are impractical people and do not know how to manage. Being weak-willed people, they abruptly change their mood, easily shed tears over a trifling reason, willingly gossip and arrange luxurious holidays on the eve of their ruin. In the play, Chekhov also shows people of a new generation, perhaps the future belongs to them. These are Anya Ranevskaya and Petya Trofimov (former teacher of the deceased son of Ranevskaya Grisha). New people should be strong fighters for the future happiness. True, Trofimov is difficult to classify as such: he is a "fool", not too strong and, in my opinion, not smart enough for a great struggle. Hope is for young Anya. “We will plant a new garden, more luxurious than this ...” - she believes, and in this belief - the only version of the happy development of the situation in the play for Russia.
1) Form: a) the problematic part (subject beginning), the world of a work of art: Main characters (images): landowner Ranevskaya Lyubov Andreevna, her daughters Anya and Varya, her brother Gaev Leonid Andreevich, merchant Lopakhin Ermolai Alekseevich, student Trofimov Pyotr Sergeevich, landowner Simeonov-Pischik Boris Borisovich, governess Charlotta Ivanovna, clerk Epikhodov Firnaya Panteleevich Yasha, as well as several minor characters (passer-by, stationmaster, postal official, guests and servants). In addition, we distinguish the "garden" as an independent hero, he takes his place in the system of images of the play. b) The structure (composition) of the work, the organization of the work at the level of macrotext: a comedy consists of four acts. All of them are intertwined with each other in plot and chronological terms, forming a single picture of events. c) Fiction speech
This work is a comedy, so it is very emotional. We note that the text of the play is full of historicisms and archaisms, denoting objects and phenomena from the life of people of the early 20th century (lackey, noblemen, master). There is colloquial vocabulary and colloquial forms of words in the replies of the servants (“I’m good, what a fool I fooled!”, “Charming, after all, I will take one hundred and eighty rubles from you ... French and German languages, direct transliteration and foreign words as such ("Sorry!", "Ein, zwei, drei!", "Grand-rond is dancing in the hall").
topic - this is a phenomenon of the external and internal life of a person, which is the subject of research of a work of art. The investigated work polythematic since contains more than one topic.
By the way of expression, topics are divided into: 1) explicitly expressed: home love theme("Children's, my dear, beautiful room ...", "Oh, my garden!" the theme of family, love for relatives("My darling has arrived!" old age theme("You're tired, grandfather. You'd rather be dead", "Thank you, Firs, thank you, my old man. I'm so glad you're still alive"), love theme("And what is there to hide or keep silent, I love him, it's clear. I love, I love ... This is a stone on my neck, I go to the bottom with it, but I love this stone and I cannot live without it", " You have to be a man, in your age you have to understand those who love. And you have to love yourself ... you have to fall in love "; 2) implicitly expressed: nature conservation theme, the theme of the future of Russia.
2) cultural and historical themes: the theme of the future of Russia
According to the classification of the philologist Potebnya:
2) Internal form (figurative structures, plot elements, etc.)
3) External form (words, text structure, composition, etc.)
Problems of the work.
The main problems of this play are questions about the fate of the Motherland and the duty, responsibility of the young generation. The problem is implicitly expressed, since the author conveys this idea through the symbol of the cherry orchard, revealed from various aspects: temporal, figurative and spatial).
Specific issues: a) social (social relationships, building a new life, the problem of a noble idle society); b) socio-psychological (inner experiences of the heroes); d) historical (the problem of nobles getting used to the abolition of serfdom).
Chronotope.
Straightforward, the action takes place in May 1900, just after the abolition of serfdom, and ends in October. Events take place in chronological order in the Ranevskaya estate, however, there are references to the past of the heroes.
Characteristics of the heroes.
It is worth noting that there are no sharply positive or sharply negative characters in the work.
External appearance characters are given very briefly, and mainly only the clothes are described. The text contains the characteristics of not all heroes.
Lopakhin - "in a white vest, yellow shoes", "with a pig's snout", "thin, delicate fingers, like an artist"
Trofimov - 26-27 years old, "in a shabby old uniform, glasses", "hair is not thick", "How ugly you have become, Petya", "stern face"
Firs - 87 years old, "in a jacket and white waistcoat, shoes on his feet."
Lyubov Ranevskaya, landowner - “She is a good person. Easy, simple person ”, very sentimental. Lives idle by force of habit, despite the fact that everything is in debt. The heroine thinks that everything will be formed by itself, but the world collapses: the garden goes to Lopakhin. The heroine, having lost her estate and her homeland, leaves back to Paris.
Anya, the daughter of Ranevskaya, is in love with Petya Trofimov and is under his influence. Carried away by the idea that the nobility is guilty before the Russian people and must atone for their guilt. Anya believes in future happiness, a new, better life ("We will plant a new garden, more luxurious than this", "Farewell, home! Farewell, old life!").
Varya is described by her foster mother Ranevskaya as “out of the ordinary, works all day”, “a good girl”.
Leonid Andreevich Gaev - Ranevskaya's brother, "a man of the eighties", a man confused in words, whose vocabulary consists mainly of "billiard words" ("I cut into the corner!" . ") And complete delirium (" Dear, dear closet! I welcome your existence, which for more than a hundred years has been directed towards the bright ideals of goodness and justice; your silent call for fruitful work has not weakened for a hundred years, supporting (through tears) in the generations of our kind, cheerfulness, faith in a better future and instilling in us the ideals of goodness and social self-awareness ”). One of the few who comes up with various plans to save the cherry orchard.
Ermolai Alekseevich Lopakhin is a merchant, “he is a good, interesting person”, he describes himself as “a man is a man”. Himself from a kind of serfs, and now - rich man who knows where and how to invest money. Lopakhin is a very controversial hero in which callousness and rudeness fight hard work and ingenuity.
Pyotr Trofimov - Chekhov describes him as an "eternal student" who has already grown old, but still has not graduated from the university. Ranevskaya, angry with him during a love dispute, shouts: "You are twenty-six or twenty-seven, and you are still a second grade high school student!" This hero belongs to the generation of the future, he believes in him, denies love and is in search of truth.
Epikhodov, the clerk of Ranevskaya and Gaev, is madly in love with their maid Dunyasha, who speaks of him a little ambiguously: “He is a meek man, but only sometimes he starts talking, you don’t understand anything. Both good and sensitive, only incomprehensible. I seem to like him. He loves me madly. He is an unhappy person, something every day. He is teased here: twenty-two misfortunes ... ". “You go from place to place, but you don’t do business. We keep the clerk, but we don't know why ”: in these words of Vary is the whole life of Epikhodov.
Portraits, as we have described earlier, are short - a non-independent element of the work.
The interior is an intrinsic element in the work (i.e. it is needed to describe it as such), because, among other things, it creates the image of time: in the first and third acts, it is an image of the past and the present (the comfort and warmth of a family home after a long separation (“My room, my windows, as if I didn’t leave”, “Living room separated by an arch from the hall The chandelier is on ”)), in the fourth, last act - this is a picture of the future, the realities of the new world, emptiness after the heroes' county (“ Decoration of the first act. Just for sale. You can feel emptiness. Near the exit door and in the back of the stage, suitcases, road junctions, etc. are stacked. To the left, the door is open ").
Thus, the interior fulfills a descriptive and characteristic function.
