The Cherry Orchard

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For the films, see The Cherry Orchard (1999 film), Sakura no Sono, and The Cherry Orchard (1974 film).
Scene from Act 3 of the first runMoscow Art Theatre production

The Cherry Orchard ( or Vishnevyi sad in Russian) is the last play by Russian
playwright Anton Chekhov. It opened at theMoscow Art Theatre on 17 January 1904 in a production directed
by Constantin Stanislavski. Although Chekhov intended it as a comedy, and it does contain some elements
of farce, Stanislavski insisted on directing the play as a tragedy. Since this initial production, directorshave
had to contend with the dual nature of the play. The play is often identified on the short list of the three or
four outstanding plays written by Chekhov along with The Seagull, Three Sisters, and Uncle Vanya.[1]
The play concerns an aristocratic Russian woman and her family as they return to their family estate (which
includes a large and well-known cherry orchard) just before it is auctioned to pay the mortgage. While
presented with options to save the estate, the family essentially does nothing and the play ends with the
sale of the estate to the son of a former serf; the family leaves to the sound of the cherry orchard being cut
down. The story presents themes of cultural futility both the futile attempts of the aristocracy to maintain its
status and of the bourgeoisie to find meaning in its newfound materialism. In reflecting the socio-economic
forces at work in Russia at the turn of the 20th century, including the rise of the middle class after
the abolition of serfdom in the mid-19th century and the sinking of the aristocracy, the play reflects forces at
work around the globe in that period.
Since the first production at the Moscow Art Theatre, this play has been translated and adapted into many
languages and produced around the world, becoming a classic work ofdramatic literature. Some of the
major directors of the world have directed it, each interpreting the work differently. Some of these directors
include Charles Laughton, Peter Brook, Andrei Serban, Eva Le Gallienne, Jean-Louis Barrault, Tyrone
Guthrie, Giorgio Strehler and Ajitesh Bandopadhyay.
The play has influenced the dramatic works of many, including Eugene O'Neill, George Bernard
Shaw, David Mamet and Arthur Miller.

Background[edit]
There were several experiences in Chekhov's own life that are said to have directly inspired his writing
of The Cherry Orchard. When Chekhov was sixteen, his mother went into debt after being cheated by some
builders she had hired to construct a small house. A former lodger, Gabriel Selivanov, offered to help her
financially, but secretly bought the house for himself. At approximately the same time, Chekov's childhood
home in Taganrog was sold to pay off its mortgage. These financial and domestic upheavals imprinted
themselves deeply on his memory and would reappear in the action of The Cherry Orchard.
Later in his life, living on a country estate outside Moscow, Chekhov developed an interest in gardening and
planted his own cherry orchard. After relocating to Yalta due to his poor health, Chekhov was devastated to
learn that the buyer of his former estate had cut down most of the orchard. Returning on one trip to his
childhood haunts in Taganrog, he was further horrified by the devastating effects of industrial deforestation.
It was in those woodlands and the forests of his holidays in Ukraine that he had first nurtured his ecological
passion (this passion is reflected in the character of Dr. Astrov, from his earlier play Uncle Vanya, whose
love of the forests is his only peace). A lovely and locally famous cherry orchard stood on the farm of family
friends where he spent childhood vacations, and in his early short story "Steppe", Chekhov depicts a young
boy crossing the Ukraine amidst fields of cherry blossoms. Finally, the first inklings of the genesis for the
play that would be his last came in a terse notebook entry of 1897: "cherry orchard". Today, Chekhov's Yalta
garden survives alongside The Cherry Orchard as a monument to a man whose feeling for trees equaled his
feeling for theatre. Indeed, trees are often unspoken, symbolic heroes and victims of his stories and plays;
so much so that Chekhov is often singled out as Europe's first ecological author.
Chekhov wrote The Cherry Orchard over the course of several years, alternating between periods of
lighthearted giddiness and despondent frustration which he considered as bordering upon sloth (in a letter,
he wrote, "Every sentence I write strikes me as good for nothing.") Throughout this time he was also further
inhibited by his chronic tuberculosis. Guarded by nature, Chekhov seemed overly secretive about all facets
of the work, including even the title. As late as the Summer of 1902 he still had not shared anything about
the play with anyone in his immediate family or the Art Theatre. It was only to comfort his wife Olga Knipper,
who was recovering from a miscarriage, that he finally let her in on the play's title, whispering it to her
despite the fact that the two were alone. Chekhov was apparently delighted with the very sound of the title,
and enjoyed the same sense of triumph months later when he finally revealed it to Stanislavski. By October
1903 the play was finished and sent to the Moscow Art Theater. Three weeks later Chekhov arrived at
rehearsals in what would be a futile attempt to curb all the "weepiness" from the play which Stanislavski had

developed. The author apparently also snickered when, during rehearsals, the word "orchard" was replaced
with the more practical "plantation", feeling that with that word he had perfectly and symbolically captured
the impracticality of an entire way of life.
Although critics at the time were divided in their response to the play, the debut of The Cherry Orchard by
the Moscow Art Theatre on 17 January 1904 (Chekhov's birthday) was a resounding theatrical success and
the play was almost immediately presented in many of the important provincial cities. This success was not
confined only to Russia, as the play was soon seen abroad with great acclaim as well. Shortly after the
play's debut, Chekhov departed for Germany due to his worsening health, and by July 1904 he was dead.

Synopsis[edit]
Act I[edit]
The play opens in the early morning hours of a cool day in May in the nursery of Lyubov Andreyevna
Ranevskaya's ancestral estate, somewhere in the provinces of Russia just after the turn of the 20th Century.
Ranevskaya has been living with an unnamed lover in France for five years, ever since her young son
drowned. After receiving news that she had tried to kill herself, Ranevskaya's 17-year-old daughter Anya
and Anya's governess Charlotta Ivanovna have gone to fetch her and bring her home to Russia. They are
accompanied by Yasha, Ranevskaya's valet who was with her in France. Upon returning, the group is met
by Lopakhin, Dunyasha, Varya (who has overseen the estate in Ranevskaya's absence), Leonid
Andreyevich Gayev, Boris Borisovich Simeonov-Pishchik, Semyon Yepikhodov, and Firs.
Lopakhin has come to remind Ranevskaya and Gayev that their estate, including the cherry orchard, is due
to go to auction in August to pay off the family's debts. He proposes to save the estate by allowing part of it
to be developed into summer cottages; however, this would require the destruction of their famous cherry
orchard, which is nationally known for its size.
Ranevskaya is enjoying the view of the orchard as day breaks when she is surprised by Peter Trofimov, a
young student and the former tutor of Ranevskaya's son, Grisha, whose death prompted Ranevskaya to
leave Russia five years ago. Much to the consternation of Varya, Trofimov had insisted on seeing
Ranevskaya upon her return, and she is grief-stricken at the reminder of this tragedy.
After Ranevskaya retires for the evening, Anya confesses to Varya that their mother is heavily in debt. They
all go to bed with renewed hope that the estate will be saved and the cherry orchard preserved. Trofimov
stares after the departing Anya and mutters "My sunshine, my spring" in adoration.

Act II[edit]
Act II takes place outdoors in mid-summer on the family estate, near the cherry orchard. The act opens with
Yepikhodov and Yasha vying for the affection of Dunyasha, while Charlotta soliloquizes about her life as she
cleans a rifle. In Act I it was revealed that Yepikhodov proposed to Dunyasha around Easter; however, she
has since become infatuated with the more "cultured" Yasha. Charlotta leaves so that Dunyasha and Yasha
might have some time alone, but that is interrupted when they hear their employer coming. Yasha shoos
Dunyasha away to avoid being caught, and Ranevskaya, Gayev, and Lopakhin appear, once more
discussing the uncertain fate of the cherry orchard. Shortly Anya, Varya, and Trofimov arrive as well.
Lopakhin teases Trofimov for being a perpetual student, and Trofimov espouses his philosophy of work and
useful purpose, to the delight and humour of everyone around. During their conversations, a drunken and
disheveled vagrant passes by and begs for money; Ranevskaya thoughtlessly gives him all of her money,
despite the protestations of Varya. Shaken by the disturbance, the family departs for dinner, with Lopakhin
futilely insisting that the cherry orchard be sold to pay down the debt. Anya stays behind to talk with
Trofimov, who disapproves of Varya's constant hawk-like eyes, reassuring Anya that they are "above love".
To impress Trofimov and win his affection, Anya vows to leave the past behind her and start a new life. The
two depart for the river as Varya calls scoldingly in the background.

Act III[edit]
It is the end of August, and the evening of Ranevskaya's party has come. Offstage the musicians play as the
family and their guests drink, carouse, and entertain themselves. It is also the day of the auction of the
estate and the cherry orchard; Gayev has received a paltry amount of money from his and Ranevskaya's
stingy aunt in Yaroslavl, and the family members, despite the general merriment around them, are both
anxious and distracted while they wait for word of their fates. Varya worries about paying the musicians and
scolds their neighbour Pishchik for drinking, Dunyasha for dancing, and Yepikhodov for playing billiards.
Charlotta entertains the group by performing several magic tricks. Ranevskaya scolds Trofimov for his
constant teasing of Varya, whom he refers to as "Madame Lopakhin". She then urges Varya to marry
Lopakhin, but Varya demurs, reminding her that it is Lopakhin's duty to ask for her hand in marriage, not the
other way around. She says that if she had money she would move as far away from him as possible. Left
alone with Ranevskaya, Trofimov insists that she finally face the truth that the house and the cherry orchard
will be sold at auction. Ranevskaya shows him a telegram she has received from Paris and reveals that her

former lover is ill again and has begged for her to return to aid him. She says that she is seriously
considering joining him, despite his cruel behaviour to her in the past. Trofimov is stunned at this news and
the two argue about the nature of love and their respective experiences. Trofimov leaves in a huff, but falls
down the stairs offstage and is carried in by the others. Ranevskaya laughs and forgives him for his folly and
the two quickly reconcile. Anya enters, declaring a rumour that the cherry orchard has been sold. Lopakhin
arrives with Gayev, both of whom are exhausted from the trip and the day's events. Gayev is distant,
virtually catatonic, and goes to bed without saying a word of the outcome of the auction. When Ranevskaya
asks who bought the estate, Lopakhin reveals that he himself is the purchaser and intends to chop down the
orchard with his axe. Ranevskaya, distraught, clings to Anya, who tries to calm her and reassure her that the
future will be better now that the cherry orchard has been sold.

Act IV[edit]
It is several weeks later, once again in the nursery (as in Act I), only this time the room is being packed and
taken apart as the family prepares to leave the estate forever. Trofimov enters in search of his galoshes, and
he and Lopakhin exchange opposing world views. Anya enters and reprimands Lopakhin for ordering his
workers to begin chopping down the cherry orchard even while the family is still in the house. Lopakhin
apologizes and rushes out to stop them for the time being, in the hopes that he will be somehow reconciled
with the leaving family. Charlotta enters, lost and in a daze, and insists that the family find her a new
position. Ranevskaya tearfully bids her old life goodbye and leaves as the house is shut up forever. In the
darkness, Firs wanders into the room and discovers that they have left without him and boarded him inside
the abandoned house to die. He lies down on the couch and resigns himself to this fate (apparently dying on
the spot). Offstage we hear the axes as they cut down the cherry orchard.

Themes[edit]
One of the main themes of the play is the effect social change has on people. The emancipation of the
serfs on 19 February 1861 by Alexander II allowed former serfs to gain wealth and status while some
aristocrats were becoming impoverished, unable to tend their estates without the cheap labor of slavery. The
effect of these reforms was still being felt when Chekhov was writing forty years after the mass
emancipation.[2]
Chekhov originally intended the play as a comedy (indeed, the title page of the work refers to it as such),
and in letters noted that it is, in places, almost farcical. [3] When he saw the original Moscow Art
Theatre production directed by Constantin Stanislavski, he was horrified to find that the director had
moulded the play into a tragedy. Ever since that time, productions have had to struggle with this dual nature
of the play (and of Chekhov's works in general).
Ranevskaya's failure to address problems facing her estate and family mean that she eventually loses
almost everything and her fate can be seen as a criticism of those people who are unwilling to adapt to the
new Russia. Her petulant refusal to accept the truth of her past, in both life and love, is her downfall
throughout the play. She ultimately runs between her life in Paris and in Russia (she arrives from Paris at
the start of the play and returns there afterwards). She is a woman who lives in an illusion of the past (often
reliving memories about her son's death, etc.). The speeches by the student Trofimov, attacking intellectuals
were later seen as early manifestations of Bolshevik ideas and his lines were often censored by
the Tsarist officials. Cherry trees themselves are often seen as symbols of sadness or regret at the passing
away of a certain situation or of the times in general.
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 lite; and both
the Ranevskayas and Pishchik running low on money while Lopakhin, born a peasant, is practically a
millionaire.
While the Marxist view of the play is more prevalent, an alternative view is that The Cherry Orchard was
Chekhov's tribute to himself. Many of the characters in the play hearken back to his earlier works and are
based on people he knew in his own life. It should also be noted that his boyhood house was bought and
torn down by a wealthy man that his mother had considered a friend. The breaking guitar string in acts 2 and
4 herald back to his earliest works. Finally the classic "loaded gun" that appears in many of Chekhov's plays
appears here, but this is his only play in which a gun is shown but not fired.

Characters[edit]
Konstantin Stanislavski as Leonid Gayev in a production ofThe Cherry Orchard at the Moscow Art Theatre, c. 1922

Madame Lyubov Andreievna Ranevskaya a landowner. Ranyevskaya is the linchpin around

Peter Trofimov a student and Anya's love interest. Trofimov is depicted as an "eternal" (in some
translations, "wandering") student. An impassioned left-wing political commentator, he represents the
rising tide of reformist political opinion in Russia, which struggled to find its place within the
authoritarian Czarist autocracy.

Boris Borisovich Simeonov-Pishchik a landowner and another old aristocrat whose estate has
hit hard times. He is constantly discussing new business ventures that may save him and badgering
Ranyevskaya for a loan. His character embodies the irony of the aristocracy's position: despite his
financial peril, he spends the play relaxing and socializing with the Gayevs.

Anya Lyubov's daughter, aged 17. She journeys to Paris to rescue her mother from her desperate
situation. She is a virtuous and strong young woman. She is in love with Trofimov and listens to his
revolutionary ideas, although she may or may not be taking them in.

Varya Lyubov's adopted daughter, aged 24. Varya is the one who manages the estate and keeps
everything in order. She is the rock that holds the family together. The reason why Ranekskaya adopted
her is never made clear, although she is mentioned to have come from "simple people" (most
likely serfs). Varya fantasizes about becoming a nun, though she lacks the financial means to do so.
She adores her mother and sister, and frets about money constantly. Her relationship to Lopakhin is a
mysterious one; everyone in the play assumes that they are about to be married but neither of them act
on it.

Leonid Andreieveitch Gayev the brother of Madame Ranevskaya. One of the more obviously
comic characters, Gayev is a talkative eccentric. His addiction to billiards (often manifesting itself at
times of discomfort) is symbolic of the aristocracy's decadent life of leisure, which renders them
impotent in the face of change. Gayev tries hard to save his family and estate, but ultimately, as an
aristocrat, lacks the drive.

Yermolai Alexeievitch Lopakhin a merchant. Lopakhin is by far the wealthiest character in the
play, but comes from the lowest social class. This contrast defines his character: he enjoys living the
high life, but at the same time is uncomfortably conscious of his low beginnings and obsession with
business. He is often portrayed on stage as an unpleasant character because of his greedy tendencies
and ultimate betrayal of the Gayev family, but there is nothing in the play to suggest this: he works
strenuously to help the Gayevs, but to no avail. Lopakhin represents the new middle class in Russia,
one of many threats to the old aristocratic way of doing things.

Charlotta Ivanovna a governess. By far the most eccentric character, Charlotta is the only
governess the Gayevs could afford and is a companion for Anya. She is a melancholy figure, raised by a
German woman without any real knowledge of who her circus entertainer parents were. She performs
card tricks and ventriloquism at the party in the third act and accepts the loss of her station, when the
family disbands, with pragmatism.

Yepikhodov a clerk. The Gayev's estate clerk is another source of comedy. He is unfortunate and
clumsy in the extreme, earning him the insulting nickname "Twenty-Two Calamities" (the nickname
varies between translations). He considers himself to be in love with Dunyasha, whom he has asked to
marry him.

Dunyasha a housemaid. Like Lopakhin, she is another example of social mobility in Russia at the
time. A peasant who is employed as the Gayev's chambermaid, Dunyasha is an attention seeker,
making big scenes and dressing as a lady to show herself off. She is in some respects representative of
the aristocracy's impotence, as a lowly chambermaid would not in the past have had the freedom to
dress like a lady and flirt with the manservants. She is in love with Yasha.

Firs a manservant, aged 87. An aging eccentric, Firs considers the emancipation of the Russian
serfs a disaster, and talks nostalgically of the old days when everybody admired their masters and

owners, such as Gayev's parents and grandparents. His senility is a source of much of the play's
poignancy, symbolizing the decay of the old order into muttering madness.

Yasha young manservant. He is strongly implied to be Lyubov's gigolo.[dubious discuss] The play's only
truly unpleasant character, Yasha represents the new, disaffected Russian generation, who dislike the
staid old ways and who will be the foot soldiers of the revolution. A rude, inconsiderate and predatory
young man who wears cheap cologne, Yasha, like Dunyasha and Charlotta, is the best the Gayevs can
afford. He toys with the girlish affections of Dunyasha, the maid.

A Stranger a passer-by who interrupts and insults the Gayevs as they laze around on the Gayevs'
estate during Act II. He is symbolic of the intrusion of new ideologies and social movements that
infringed on the aristocracy's peace in Russia at the turn of the 20th century.