Social Change
In 1861, Russian Tsar Alexander II emancipated the serfs. This act, called the Liberation, ended a form of servitude that emulated the feudal system of people belonging to the land that dated back to medieval times. In the aftermath of Liberation, some of the aristocracy continued to flourish while others perished and some of the hardest working serfs, in turn, rose through their hard work to the highest rungs of the social ladder. Although Chekhov wrote The Cherry Orchard forty years after this historic event, the fallout, so to speak, from this monumental shift was still being felt.
In 1861, Russian Tsar Alexander II emancipated the serfs. This act, called the Liberation, ended a form of servitude that emulated the feudal system of people belonging to the land that dated back to medieval times. In the aftermath of Liberation, some of the aristocracy continued to flourish while others perished and some of the hardest working serfs, in turn, rose through their hard work to the highest rungs of the social ladder. Although Chekhov wrote The Cherry Orchard forty years after this historic event, the fallout, so to speak, from this monumental shift was still being felt.
This new social paradigm can be observed in The Cherry Orchard. Madame Ranevsky, who has failed to manage her cherry orchard estate and squandered her money on an unfaithful Parisian lover, has fallen on hard times. Her mortgage payment is due and she does not have the funds to cover the payment. Her former serf Lopakhin, a shrewd businessman, tells her she must cut down the cherry orchard and build villas for the newly emerging middle class. However, unable to change her way of thinking, she continues to act the aristocrat to the end and thus loses her estate to her former serf Lopakhin.
Liberation
The liberation of Russia's serfs by Tsar Nicholas II serves as the historical background for The Cherry Orchard. The Liberation freed millions of people who otherwise would have lived out lives of servitude on Russian estates with no opportunity for freedom. Seemingly then it would seem that everyone in Russia, thirty years after Liberation, would have become accustomed to freedom or liberty with opportunities for mobility and social advancement. Yet, many of Chekhov's characters seem to be frozen or inert-in other words, not free at all. In regards to freedom, they fall into two groups: those who are free and positively approach the future and those who are imprisoned in the past.
The liberation of Russia's serfs by Tsar Nicholas II serves as the historical background for The Cherry Orchard. The Liberation freed millions of people who otherwise would have lived out lives of servitude on Russian estates with no opportunity for freedom. Seemingly then it would seem that everyone in Russia, thirty years after Liberation, would have become accustomed to freedom or liberty with opportunities for mobility and social advancement. Yet, many of Chekhov's characters seem to be frozen or inert-in other words, not free at all. In regards to freedom, they fall into two groups: those who are free and positively approach the future and those who are imprisoned in the past.
First, there is no doubt that Trophimof, the play's idealist, feels free. Indeed, he refuses Lopakhin's offer of money because after all he "a free man; nothing that you value . . . has the smallest power over me" (43). Similarly, although Anna has been brought up amidst aristocratic splendor, she has a mind of her own and can see how her spendthrift mother tosses away money. Anna desires an education and a new future and her act of leaving the estate ("goodbye old house, goodbye old life") with Trophimof casts her as a free spirit. There is no doubt about Lopakhin who has utilized the Liberation to move up rapidly through the social ranks. Even Dunyasha the young servant has moved socially upward by adopting lady-like mannerisms, and the aristocrat Gayef has become a banker and seems happier at the end of the play. Although a landowner, Pishtchik at first seems to be imprisoned by his mortgage but he changes after coming into money and actually pays back money to Madame Ranevsky.
On the other hand, Madame Ranevsky remains frozen, imprisoned in time and unable to move forward. She cannot accept that she has lost her money, her estate, indeed her way of life. Even at the end she gives her purse away to her departing peasants. She will return to Paris to an abusive lover sure to leave her penniless. Barbara also seems to be unable to move, forced to take a job she doesn't want, and resigned to hard work because she doesn't have money. Similarly, Charlotte will retain her role as governess because she is limited by financial restraint: "don't forget to get me a new place, please. I can't do without it" (44). More than anyone, Firs the elderly former serf has never been liberated and he will die forgotten and alone.
The theme of identity, and the subversion of expectations of such, is one that can be seen in The Cherry Orchard; indeed, the cast itself can be divided up into three distinct parts: the Gayev family (Ranevskaya, Gayev, Anya and Varya), family friends (Lopakhin, Pishchik and Trofimov), and the "servant class" (Firs, Yasha, Dunyasha, Charlotta and Yepikhodov), the irony being that some of them clearly act out of place – think of Varya, the adopted daughter of an aristocrat, effectively being a housekeeper; Trofimov, the thinking student, being thrown out of university; Yasha considering himself part of the Parisian cultural élite; and both the Ranevskayas and Pishchik running low on money while Lopakhin, born a peasant, is practically a millionaire.
Effects of Change
.......The main theme of the play is how changes in Russian social, economic, and cultural life affect Madame Ranevsky and her daughters as well as her friends, her acquaintances, and the servants on her estate. Madame Ranevsky refuses to accept change, preferring instead to hold onto the past—or at least the remnants and memories of it. She even spends as she did when she had money, driving herself deeper and deeper into debt.
.......Gaev shares his sister's fondness for the aristocratic past, but in the end he yields to the reality of the present and takes a job at a bank. His decision to accept a position that he believes is below his social station no doubt resonates with elite modern workers forced by economic hard times to accept menial labor.
.......The main theme of the play is how changes in Russian social, economic, and cultural life affect Madame Ranevsky and her daughters as well as her friends, her acquaintances, and the servants on her estate. Madame Ranevsky refuses to accept change, preferring instead to hold onto the past—or at least the remnants and memories of it. She even spends as she did when she had money, driving herself deeper and deeper into debt.
.......Gaev shares his sister's fondness for the aristocratic past, but in the end he yields to the reality of the present and takes a job at a bank. His decision to accept a position that he believes is below his social station no doubt resonates with elite modern workers forced by economic hard times to accept menial labor.
.......Lopakhin embraces change, for it has allowed him to rise from poverty to wealth and the social power that goes with it. But he tends to focus so much on material gain that he ignores Varya. She loves him, and he is fond of her. In Act 3, Varya tells Ranevsky,
I can't propose to him myself, little mother. People have been talking about him to me for two years now, but he either says nothing, or jokes about it. I understand. He's getting rich, he's busy, he can't bother about me. If I had some money, even a little, even only a hundred roubles, I'd throw up everything and go away. I'd go into a convent.
I can't propose to him myself, little mother. People have been talking about him to me for two years now, but he either says nothing, or jokes about it. I understand. He's getting rich, he's busy, he can't bother about me. If I had some money, even a little, even only a hundred roubles, I'd throw up everything and go away. I'd go into a convent.
.......Others do not know how to respond to change. Epikhodov, for example, says to Yasha, "I'm an educated man, I read various remarkable books, but I cannot understand the direction I myself want to go—whether to live or to shoot myself, as it were. So, in case, I always carry a revolver about with me." Charlotta exists in a vacuum: "I don't know who I am or why I live." Old Fiers freezes time, choosing to live and work exactly as he did when he was a serf bound to the land. Trofimov condemns the oppressive days of serfdom and welcomes what lies ahead of him.
He tells Anya,All Russia is our orchard. The land is great and beautiful, there are many marvellous places in it. [Pause] Think, Anya, your grandfather, your great-grandfather, and all your ancestors were serf-owners, they owned living souls; and now, doesn't something human look at you from every cherry in the orchard, every leaf and every stalk? . . . [W]e've left those two hundred years behind us. So far we've gained nothing at all—we don't yet know what the past is to be to us—we only philosophize, we complain that we are dull, or we drink vodka. For it's so clear that in order to begin to live in the present we must first redeem the past, and that can only be done by suffering, by strenuous, uninterrupted labour. Understand that, Anya. (Act 2)
Anya responds positively to his viewpoint. Then he says,
I'm not thirty yet, I'm young, I'm still a student, but I have undergone a great deal! I'm as hungry as the winter, I'm ill, I'm shaken. I'm as poor as a beggar, and where haven't I been—fate has tossed me everywhere! But my soul is always my own; every minute of the day and the night it is filled with unspeakable presentiments. I know that happiness is coming, Anya, I see it already. . . . (Act 2)
Anya responds positively to his viewpoint. Then he says,
I'm not thirty yet, I'm young, I'm still a student, but I have undergone a great deal! I'm as hungry as the winter, I'm ill, I'm shaken. I'm as poor as a beggar, and where haven't I been—fate has tossed me everywhere! But my soul is always my own; every minute of the day and the night it is filled with unspeakable presentiments. I know that happiness is coming, Anya, I see it already. . . . (Act 2)
Dunyasha's response to change is to try to look and act like a lady. Lopakhin, noticing this behavior in her, reminds her that she is maidservant, saying, "You dress just like a lady, and you do your hair like one too. You oughtn't. You should know your place" (Act 1). Then she tries to latch onto Yasha, viewing him as superior to the bumbling Epikhodov. But Yasha is a bad choice, for he is self-seeking and insensitive—perhaps not unlike the man waiting for Madame Ranevsky in Paris. When Ranevsky decides to return to Paris, Yasha chooses to go with her. Here is the parting conversation between Dunyasha and Yasha.
DUNYASHA. If you only looked at me once, Yasha. You're going away, leaving me behind. [Weeps and hugs him round the neck.]
YASHA. What's the use of crying ? [Drinks champagne] In six days I'll be again in Paris. To-morrow we get into the express and off we go. I can hardly believe it. Vive la France! It doesn't suit me here, I can't live here . . . it's no good. Well, I've seen the uncivilized world; I have had enough of it. [Drinks champagne] What do you want to cry for? You behave yourself properly, and then you won't cry.
DUNYASHA. [Looks in a small mirror and powders her face] Send me a letter from Paris. You know I loved you, Yasha, so much! I'm a sensitive creature, Yasha. (Act 4)
One may say that Dunyasha has achieved her goal of becoming like a lady—namely, Madame Ranevsky, who allows a scoundrel to misuse her.
YASHA. What's the use of crying ? [Drinks champagne] In six days I'll be again in Paris. To-morrow we get into the express and off we go. I can hardly believe it. Vive la France! It doesn't suit me here, I can't live here . . . it's no good. Well, I've seen the uncivilized world; I have had enough of it. [Drinks champagne] What do you want to cry for? You behave yourself properly, and then you won't cry.
DUNYASHA. [Looks in a small mirror and powders her face] Send me a letter from Paris. You know I loved you, Yasha, so much! I'm a sensitive creature, Yasha. (Act 4)
One may say that Dunyasha has achieved her goal of becoming like a lady—namely, Madame Ranevsky, who allows a scoundrel to misuse her.
Class Distinctions
.......The social gap between the upper and lower classes is beginning to close in the new Russia, as Fiers points. Once upon a time, he says, "The peasants kept their distance from the masters and the masters kept their distance from the peasants, but now everything's all anyhow and you can't understand anything" (Act 2).
.......The social gap between the upper and lower classes is beginning to close in the new Russia, as Fiers points. Once upon a time, he says, "The peasants kept their distance from the masters and the masters kept their distance from the peasants, but now everything's all anyhow and you can't understand anything" (Act 2).
.......However, the gap is still wide enough to create tension. For example, when Lopakhin broaches the idea of idea cutting down the cherry orchard to make room for money-making villas, Ranevsky calls the plan a vulgar, bourgeois concept. Class differences surface again when a discussion is under way about how to save the estate and Gaev says, "My aunt's very rich, but she doesn't like us. My sister, in the first place, married an advocate, not a noble. She not only married a man who was not a noble, but she behaved herself in a way which cannot be described as proper" (Act 1).
.......From time to time in the play, Lopakhin—though a wealthy businessman—acknowledges his humble origins, with regret. For example, he says, "My father was a peasant, an idiot, he understood nothing, he didn't teach me, he was always drunk, and always used a stick on me. In point of fact, I'm a fool and an idiot too. I've never learned anything, my handwriting is bad, I write so that I'm quite ashamed before people, like a pig!" (Act 2).
Failure to Grasp Reality
.......Madame Ranevsky fails to grasp the seriousness of her financial straits and the fact that the age of nobility and privilege is dying. It is as if she thinks a god will appear, deus ex machina, to lead her to a pot of gold and restore her to the happy days of her youth. When she imagines that she sees her mother in the cherry orchard, she reveals her tendency to dwell in the idyllic past and ignore the unsettling reality of the present.
.......Madame Ranevsky fails to grasp the seriousness of her financial straits and the fact that the age of nobility and privilege is dying. It is as if she thinks a god will appear, deus ex machina, to lead her to a pot of gold and restore her to the happy days of her youth. When she imagines that she sees her mother in the cherry orchard, she reveals her tendency to dwell in the idyllic past and ignore the unsettling reality of the present.
Self-Destruction
.......Madame Ranevsky makes choices that sabotage her well-being—emotional, financial, and otherwise. For example, she marries a man who turns out to be a good-for-nothing drunk. Then, after her husband dies and her seven-year-old son drowns, she takes up with a scoundrel, a man whom she nurses during an illness. After he depletes her finances in Paris, he leaves her for another woman. Later, he begs her to return. Meanwhile, she and her brother have an opportunity to liquidate their debts by signing on to Lopakhin's scheme to build and rent villas. But both she and Gaev refuse to take part in it because it will mean the destruction of the beloved cherry orchard. However, she does nothing to save her property. In the end, after Lopakhin buys the property, she returns to the man who ruined her. Anya goes with her.
.......Madame Ranevsky makes choices that sabotage her well-being—emotional, financial, and otherwise. For example, she marries a man who turns out to be a good-for-nothing drunk. Then, after her husband dies and her seven-year-old son drowns, she takes up with a scoundrel, a man whom she nurses during an illness. After he depletes her finances in Paris, he leaves her for another woman. Later, he begs her to return. Meanwhile, she and her brother have an opportunity to liquidate their debts by signing on to Lopakhin's scheme to build and rent villas. But both she and Gaev refuse to take part in it because it will mean the destruction of the beloved cherry orchard. However, she does nothing to save her property. In the end, after Lopakhin buys the property, she returns to the man who ruined her. Anya goes with her.
.......Other characters—Charlotta, for example—also sabotage their welfare by doing nothing to improve their lot. Trofimov attends a university, but one wonders whether he will ever graduate. Epikhodov does not know whether to go on living or commit suicide.
.......
.......
Generosity
.......Despite all her failings, Ranevsky has a redeeming quality: generosity. She gives freely of her love—perhaps too freely at times—and of what little money she has left, as the incident involving the tramp demonstrates. Lopakhin also exhibits generosity when he offers Trofimov money (Trofimov does not accept it) and hires Epikhodov to watch over the estate after Madame Ranevsky returns to Paris.
.......Despite all her failings, Ranevsky has a redeeming quality: generosity. She gives freely of her love—perhaps too freely at times—and of what little money she has left, as the incident involving the tramp demonstrates. Lopakhin also exhibits generosity when he offers Trofimov money (Trofimov does not accept it) and hires Epikhodov to watch over the estate after Madame Ranevsky returns to Paris.
Theme-Change and Importance of Time
The change was knocking at the door but all of the major characters remained deaf to the heralds of time. To quote Lopakhin "Time flies". Therefore, the time set for change was due in a short while but the characters remained unable to adapt to the new requirements of the time. Their certain deeds remain laughable and the undercurrents of irony may also be felt. But to be honest, there is deep pathos and irony in the play which leads the play as well as its characters to a tragic end though the author never intended it because he claims to have written a comedy at best. We, therefore; are forced to admit the tragic plight of the characters. This is, perhaps, due to certain flaws in the characters.
The change was knocking at the door but all of the major characters remained deaf to the heralds of time. To quote Lopakhin "Time flies". Therefore, the time set for change was due in a short while but the characters remained unable to adapt to the new requirements of the time. Their certain deeds remain laughable and the undercurrents of irony may also be felt. But to be honest, there is deep pathos and irony in the play which leads the play as well as its characters to a tragic end though the author never intended it because he claims to have written a comedy at best. We, therefore; are forced to admit the tragic plight of the characters. This is, perhaps, due to certain flaws in the characters.
Theme-Tragic Fall of Characters:
The prime characters of the play remain unsuccessful in achieving what they could have done vey easily. The tragedy of Lyubov is that she is extravaggant and wants to seeks physical and emotional love of a young man leaving her daughters at the hands of this cruel world. She is probably a bit too much preoccupied with herself. Her daughter, on the other hand, remain unable to take control of the matters in theri own hands and cannot save their estate from auction. We find all the characters below human standards. Anya is stupid and foolish while Varya is a bit too rigid in her self woven beliefs that Lopakhin is least interested in her; infact, she herself does not try.
The prime characters of the play remain unsuccessful in achieving what they could have done vey easily. The tragedy of Lyubov is that she is extravaggant and wants to seeks physical and emotional love of a young man leaving her daughters at the hands of this cruel world. She is probably a bit too much preoccupied with herself. Her daughter, on the other hand, remain unable to take control of the matters in theri own hands and cannot save their estate from auction. We find all the characters below human standards. Anya is stupid and foolish while Varya is a bit too rigid in her self woven beliefs that Lopakhin is least interested in her; infact, she herself does not try.
Theme-Importance of Love
Love has been played down upon by the author; he depicts a society wherein love has no place over practicality. There is an expectation that Varya is to be married to Lopakhin while Anya is in deep and emotional love of Trofimov, the intellectual. But the humor and irony lie in the fact that both of the male characters show no intelligence of practicality in understanding them and the prospects at all. Lopakhin remains busy in his professional responsibilities while Trofimov deems" love" a "petty illusion". He complains to Anya about Varya: "can't she understand that we're above all that? We must be free of the small, the pointless...". With the departure of Lopakhin,"it's all over" for Varya . Anya utters "GoodyBye! Old life". A change has been thrust upon the characters of the play. None of the relationships appear successful. Even the most intelligent philosophic Trofimov and the most practical Lopakhin leave their love. This is stupid but pathetic.
Love has been played down upon by the author; he depicts a society wherein love has no place over practicality. There is an expectation that Varya is to be married to Lopakhin while Anya is in deep and emotional love of Trofimov, the intellectual. But the humor and irony lie in the fact that both of the male characters show no intelligence of practicality in understanding them and the prospects at all. Lopakhin remains busy in his professional responsibilities while Trofimov deems" love" a "petty illusion". He complains to Anya about Varya: "can't she understand that we're above all that? We must be free of the small, the pointless...". With the departure of Lopakhin,"it's all over" for Varya . Anya utters "GoodyBye! Old life". A change has been thrust upon the characters of the play. None of the relationships appear successful. Even the most intelligent philosophic Trofimov and the most practical Lopakhin leave their love. This is stupid but pathetic.
Symbolism in The Cherry Orchard
The play is rich with various symbols, images to intensify the meanings the play is conveying. The Cherry Orchard is a microcosm which represents entire Russian society. The orchard is very beautiful because each tree represents the soul of a serf.
Cherry orchard is a symbol of something that belongs to the past. It means it is the symbol of mobility, feudal society, aesthetic sensibility, sublime beauty, but is tragically ends with the change in the society. The cherry orchard is something that is interpreted by the various characters and reacted to in a ways that indicate how these characters feel about what the orchard represents: which is some aspect of memory. Ranevskaya thinks she sees her dead mother walking through the orchard. For her, the orchard is a personal symbol of her peaceful childhood. Trofimov, on the other hand, sees in the orchard the faces of the serfs who lived and died in slavery on Ranevskaya's estate; for him, the orchard stands for the memory of their suffering. For Lopakhin, the orchard is intimately tied to his personal memories of a brutal childhood, as well as presenting an obstacle to the prosperity of both himself and Ranevskaya.
Cherry orchard is a symbol of something that belongs to the past. It means it is the symbol of mobility, feudal society, aesthetic sensibility, sublime beauty, but is tragically ends with the change in the society. The cherry orchard is something that is interpreted by the various characters and reacted to in a ways that indicate how these characters feel about what the orchard represents: which is some aspect of memory. Ranevskaya thinks she sees her dead mother walking through the orchard. For her, the orchard is a personal symbol of her peaceful childhood. Trofimov, on the other hand, sees in the orchard the faces of the serfs who lived and died in slavery on Ranevskaya's estate; for him, the orchard stands for the memory of their suffering. For Lopakhin, the orchard is intimately tied to his personal memories of a brutal childhood, as well as presenting an obstacle to the prosperity of both himself and Ranevskaya.
Symbolically, the selling of cherry orchard shows that the old order must give the way to the new. Students like Trofimov logically supports to the slave. Here, Trofimov symbolizes the utopian world where as Ranevskaya and Lopakhin represent, respectively aristocrats (past) and bourgeois (present).
There are other minor symbols that support the theme of the play. The setting sun, tombstone, long abandoned little chapel and sad sound of the guitar symbolize the decadence of aristocracy, change of Russian class system. The furnished room/ house of 1st act changes into an empty room, having no curtain in the window and no painting on the wall in the last act (IV), cutting down cherry orchard in the final act are also symbols of decline of aristocracy.
The play has symbolic ending. The family has left for Paris. Firs, 84 years old man is lying on the sofa. His motionless symbolizes the death of the aristocracy. The stage is empty. The sound of a door while being locked is heard. The sound of cutting of trees is overheard. Similarly, we see the crying of snap strings mournfully dying. All these sad notes symbolically stand for the phasing out of aristocracy.
2. The Nursery
The nursery room in the Ranevsky estate may be for an outstanding person without any implicit significance, but for Lopakhin and Ranvesky it is a symbol for their childhood, background and past. It reminds Lopakhin of his origins. It makes him aware that he is "just a peasant"; no matter how rich he has become or how elegant he might be dressed, his social background still remains visible for other people. After all, one "can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear", and his origins will be for good a part of his identity. For Ranvesky the nursery room symbolizes her "innocent childhood". Being in this room, in which "she used to sleep when she was little" seems to bring back to feel a part of that secure, carefree life and makes her feel "little again".
The nursery room in the Ranevsky estate may be for an outstanding person without any implicit significance, but for Lopakhin and Ranvesky it is a symbol for their childhood, background and past. It reminds Lopakhin of his origins. It makes him aware that he is "just a peasant"; no matter how rich he has become or how elegant he might be dressed, his social background still remains visible for other people. After all, one "can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear", and his origins will be for good a part of his identity. For Ranvesky the nursery room symbolizes her "innocent childhood". Being in this room, in which "she used to sleep when she was little" seems to bring back to feel a part of that secure, carefree life and makes her feel "little again".
3. The Bookcase
Generally, a bookcase symbolizes the various levels of mind where ideas, concepts, and memories are kept. However, in this play, Gayev's 'relationship' to the bookcase does not associate a particular personal memory with it. He considers it an object which has its own personality. The way he sees it is reminiscent of a hero, as it has for already hundred years "devoted itself to the highest ideals of goodness and justice" and has never deceived anyone. Being true to its "principles", it was a source, from which "several generations of their family" have drawn courage and hope "in a better future". In the course of time a lot of things have changed: some people are dead, Gayev and Ranvesky got adolescent, and the state is going to be sold. However, the bookcase not being subject to any rules or changes thus becomes for Gayev a symbol of consistency and security.
Generally, a bookcase symbolizes the various levels of mind where ideas, concepts, and memories are kept. However, in this play, Gayev's 'relationship' to the bookcase does not associate a particular personal memory with it. He considers it an object which has its own personality. The way he sees it is reminiscent of a hero, as it has for already hundred years "devoted itself to the highest ideals of goodness and justice" and has never deceived anyone. Being true to its "principles", it was a source, from which "several generations of their family" have drawn courage and hope "in a better future". In the course of time a lot of things have changed: some people are dead, Gayev and Ranvesky got adolescent, and the state is going to be sold. However, the bookcase not being subject to any rules or changes thus becomes for Gayev a symbol of consistency and security.
4. Dropped Purse
The dropped purse is a symbol of Madam Ranevsky's spendthrift ways, drop in social status and irresponsible behaviour. In Act 2, while Ranevsky is outside with her brother Gayev and the wealthy merchant Lopakhin, she drops her purse. Gold coins scatter about. Yasha, a young servant, picks up the coins. The frivolous Madam Ranevsky remarks about how she has spent too much money on lunch in town. Her dropped purse clearly symbolizes her drop in social status through her loss of money and also posits her servant Yasha who picks up the money as a thief, or at least parasite, who takes advantage of her for his own financial gain. The scene also serves to bring home the idea of how Ranevsky cannot hold her money, is utterly scattered-brained and irresponsible.
The dropped purse is a symbol of Madam Ranevsky's spendthrift ways, drop in social status and irresponsible behaviour. In Act 2, while Ranevsky is outside with her brother Gayev and the wealthy merchant Lopakhin, she drops her purse. Gold coins scatter about. Yasha, a young servant, picks up the coins. The frivolous Madam Ranevsky remarks about how she has spent too much money on lunch in town. Her dropped purse clearly symbolizes her drop in social status through her loss of money and also posits her servant Yasha who picks up the money as a thief, or at least parasite, who takes advantage of her for his own financial gain. The scene also serves to bring home the idea of how Ranevsky cannot hold her money, is utterly scattered-brained and irresponsible.
5. Breaking String
The sound of breaking string is an auditory symbol of forgetting, and a reminder of the family's dependence on slavery. It first is heard in the play after Gayev gives a soliloquy on the eternity of nature. Fiers tells us it was heard before, around the time the serfs were freed - a seminal event in Russian history. It is last heard just as Fiers, the old manservant who functions as the play's human connection to the past, passes away, and is juxtaposed against the sound of an axe striking a cherry tree. With its simple image of breaking line, the sound serves to unify the play's social allegory with its examination of memory, providing more graphic counterpart to the Cherry's Orchard's hovering, off-stage presence.
The sound of breaking string is an auditory symbol of forgetting, and a reminder of the family's dependence on slavery. It first is heard in the play after Gayev gives a soliloquy on the eternity of nature. Fiers tells us it was heard before, around the time the serfs were freed - a seminal event in Russian history. It is last heard just as Fiers, the old manservant who functions as the play's human connection to the past, passes away, and is juxtaposed against the sound of an axe striking a cherry tree. With its simple image of breaking line, the sound serves to unify the play's social allegory with its examination of memory, providing more graphic counterpart to the Cherry's Orchard's hovering, off-stage presence.
6. Varya's Keys
Literary, a key is a device used to open or close a lock such as in a door. Thus keys are symbols of control, opening and closing. Varya is Madame Ranevsky's adopted daughter who manages the household of the estate, the Cherry Orchard. She always keeps a bunch of keys on her belt. Varya's keys symbolize the control and order typifying her management of the estate, qualities lacking Ranevsky and Gayev. When Lopakhin announces that he has bought the estate, Varya takes her keys off her belt, throws them on the floor, into the middle of the room and goes out. Her act of throwing down the keys symbolizes that she is no longer the mistress here. The play ends with the sound of keys being turned in the locks of the Cheery Orchard.
Literary, a key is a device used to open or close a lock such as in a door. Thus keys are symbols of control, opening and closing. Varya is Madame Ranevsky's adopted daughter who manages the household of the estate, the Cherry Orchard. She always keeps a bunch of keys on her belt. Varya's keys symbolize the control and order typifying her management of the estate, qualities lacking Ranevsky and Gayev. When Lopakhin announces that he has bought the estate, Varya takes her keys off her belt, throws them on the floor, into the middle of the room and goes out. Her act of throwing down the keys symbolizes that she is no longer the mistress here. The play ends with the sound of keys being turned in the locks of the Cheery Orchard.
7. Fiers' Death
Death is an inevitable part of life. There's a good amount of death in the play. It is mentioned over and over. The memory of a dead son and husband haunt Ranevsky. The clown threatens to kill himself. Departing family describes the house as "at the end of its life". And though Chekhov is not explicit about it, we are pretty sure we witness the death of the loyal old servant Fiers; he is locked inside the house as it is boarded up and, in the freezing cold, he has no chance of surviving. Fiers' death at the end of the play symbolizes the passing of the old class system, the passing of the aristocracy's reign on the cherry orchard, and the passing of a phase in Russian history. In short, his death symbolizes the death of the old Russia.
Death is an inevitable part of life. There's a good amount of death in the play. It is mentioned over and over. The memory of a dead son and husband haunt Ranevsky. The clown threatens to kill himself. Departing family describes the house as "at the end of its life". And though Chekhov is not explicit about it, we are pretty sure we witness the death of the loyal old servant Fiers; he is locked inside the house as it is boarded up and, in the freezing cold, he has no chance of surviving. Fiers' death at the end of the play symbolizes the passing of the old class system, the passing of the aristocracy's reign on the cherry orchard, and the passing of a phase in Russian history. In short, his death symbolizes the death of the old Russia.
8. Other Symbols
There are many other symbols in the play. The line of telegraph poles symbolizes the modern world that Ranevsky and Gayev reject. Gayev's imaginary billiards game symbolizes his desire to escape. Ranevsky's flights throughout the play symbolize her inability to come to terms with reality. The setting sun, tombstone, long abandoned little chapel and the sad sound of the guitar symbolize the decadence of aristocracy, change of Russian class system. The conversion of the furnished room of 1st act into an empty room, having no curtain in the window and no painting on the wall in the last act, and cutting down of cherry orchard in the final act are also symbols of decline of aristocracy.
There are many other symbols in the play. The line of telegraph poles symbolizes the modern world that Ranevsky and Gayev reject. Gayev's imaginary billiards game symbolizes his desire to escape. Ranevsky's flights throughout the play symbolize her inability to come to terms with reality. The setting sun, tombstone, long abandoned little chapel and the sad sound of the guitar symbolize the decadence of aristocracy, change of Russian class system. The conversion of the furnished room of 1st act into an empty room, having no curtain in the window and no painting on the wall in the last act, and cutting down of cherry orchard in the final act are also symbols of decline of aristocracy.
Conclusion
The symbols in the play are too numerous to count, but many of them hinge on the idea of the changing social order or the specific circumstances of a given character. These symbols are strictly adhered to the conventions of realism. These are mere incidental appendages to an to an essentially realistic body. Moreover, there is a union of naturalism and symbolism. No matter, what types of symbols are used, Chekhov, through these symbols, clearly conveys the willful neglect and subsequent ruinous decay that within a few short years would soon bring revolution to the bourgeois of Russia. In short, the whole play is symbolic of an olden age that was on its way out.
The symbols in the play are too numerous to count, but many of them hinge on the idea of the changing social order or the specific circumstances of a given character. These symbols are strictly adhered to the conventions of realism. These are mere incidental appendages to an to an essentially realistic body. Moreover, there is a union of naturalism and symbolism. No matter, what types of symbols are used, Chekhov, through these symbols, clearly conveys the willful neglect and subsequent ruinous decay that within a few short years would soon bring revolution to the bourgeois of Russia. In short, the whole play is symbolic of an olden age that was on its way out.
mam ap k bht acha notes h,mra pas ap k tareef k lia word nhi.thanku so muh,jazakallah
ReplyDelete