Konstantin Stanislavsky as Gaev. Production of "The Cherry Orchard" at the Moscow Art Theater. 1904 year
Leonid Leonidov as Lopakhin. Production of "The Cherry Orchard" at the Moscow Art Theater. 1904 year© Album "Plays of A. Chekhov". Supplement to the magazine "Solntse Rossii", No. 7, 1914
Alexander Artyom as Firs. Production of "The Cherry Orchard" at the Moscow Art Theater. 1904 year© Album "Plays of A. Chekhov". Supplement to the magazine "Solntse Rossii", No. 7, 1914
Vasily Katchalov as Petit Trofimov and Maria Lilina as Ani. Production of "The Cherry Orchard" at the Moscow Art Theater, Act II. 1904 year © Album "Plays of A. Chekhov". Supplement to the magazine "Solntse Rossii", No. 7, 1914
Firs: "They left ... They forgot about me." Production of "The Cherry Orchard" at the Moscow Art Theater, Act IV. 1904 year© Album "Plays of A. Chekhov". Supplement to the magazine "Solntse Rossii", No. 7, 1914
Cotillion. Staging of The Cherry Orchard at the Moscow Art Theater, Act III. 1904 year© Album "Plays of A. Chekhov". Supplement to the magazine "Solntse Rossii", No. 7, 1914
In this very first production of The Cherry Orchard, Chekhov did not like a lot. The author's disagreements with Konstantin Stanislavsky, who staged a play written specifically for the Moscow Art Theater, concerned the distribution of roles between performers, mood and genre (Stanislavsky was convinced that he was staging a tragedy), even staging means reflecting the naturalistic aesthetics of the early Moscow Art Theater. “I will write a new play, and it will begin like this: 'How wonderful, how quiet! There are no birds, no dogs, no cuckoos, no owls, no nightingales, no clocks, no bells and not a single cricket, ”Stanislavsky quoted Chekhov's malicious joke about the sound score that recreates the life of the estate. Today not a single Chekhov biography or history of the Moscow Art Theater bypasses this conflict between the writer and the theater. But the oppressive atmosphere, streams of tears and everything that frightened Chekhov is at odds with the few surviving fragments of later versions of The Cherry Orchard - a performance that remained in the theater's repertoire until the second half of the 1930s and was constantly changing, including thanks to Stanislavsky. For example, with a short final scene with Firs recorded on film: the voice of a footman performed by Mikhail Tarkhanov sounds in it - in spite of the situation of a forgotten servant in the house, how hard every movement is given to this decrepit old man, in spite of everything - suddenly unusually young. Just now, Ranevskaya, sobbing, said goodbye to her youth on stage, and she miraculously returned to Firs in these very last minutes.
1954 year. "Company Renault - Barro", Paris. Director - Jean Louis Barrot
Scene from Jean Louis Barrot's production of The Cherry Orchard. Paris, 1954© Manuel Litran / Paris Match Archive / Getty Images
Scene from Jean Louis Barrot's production of The Cherry Orchard. Paris, 1954© Manuel Litran / Paris Match Archive / Getty Images
Scene from Jean Louis Barrot's production of The Cherry Orchard. Paris, 1954© Manuel Litran / Paris Match Archive / Getty Images
Outstanding European productions of The Cherry Orchard began to appear only after the war. Historians of the theater explain this by the extremely strong impression of Western directors from the Moscow Art Theater performance, which more than once took Chekhov's play on tour. The Cherry Orchard staged by Jean Louis Barrot did not become a breakthrough, but it is a very interesting example of how the European theater, in search of its Chekhov, was slowly getting out of the influence of the Moscow Art Theater. From the director Barrot, who during these years discovered for himself and the audience his theater Camus and Kafka, who continued to stage his main author, Claudel, one could expect Chekhov to be read through the prism of the latest theater. But there is nothing of this in Barro's Cherry Orchard: listening to the surviving recording of his radio broadcast, you remember about absurdism only when Gaev, in response to Lopakhin's business proposal to arrange dachas on the site of the estate, is outraged: "Absurde!" The Cherry Orchard staged by the Renault Barrot Company is primarily (and strictly according to Chekhov) a comedy, in which a huge place was given to music. Pierre Boulez, with whom the theater collaborated during these years, was responsible for her in the play. The role of Ranevskaya was played by Barrot's wife, the co-founder of the theater, who earned her fame precisely as a comic actress "Comedie Francaise", Madeleine Reno. And Barro himself unexpectedly chose the role of Petya Trofimov for himself: perhaps, the hero turned out to be close to the great mime, who deciphered the character of the merchant Lopakhin by his hands - "gentle fingers, like an artist."
1974 year. Teatro Piccolo, Milan. Director - Giorgio Strehler
Rehearsal of Giorgio Strehler's play The Cherry Orchard. Milan, 1974© Mondadori Portfolio / Getty Images
Tino Carraro directed by Giorgio Strehler "The Cherry Orchard"
Tino Carraro and Enzo Tarasho, directed by Giorgio Strehler "The Cherry Orchard"© Mario De Biasi / Mondadori Portfolio / Getty Images
“Craig wants the set to be as fluid as the music and help to perfect certain places in the piece, just as with music it is possible to follow and emphasize the turns of the action. He wants the scenery to change following the play, ”wrote artist Rene Pio in 1910 after meeting with English director and set designer Gordon Craig. Luciano Damiani's set in The Cherry Orchard directed by Giorgio Strehler, thanks to its striking simplicity, has become perhaps the best example of this way of working with space in modern theater. Above the snow-white stage, a wide, in the entire depth of the stage, a translucent curtain was stretched, which at different moments quietly swayed over the heroes, then dropped dangerously low over them, then sprinkled them with dry leaves. The scenery turned into a partner for the actors, and they themselves were reflected in their own way in very few objects on the stage, like children's toys taken from a century-old closet. The plastic score of Ranevskaya, played by the actress Valentina Cortese for Strehler, was based on rotation, and the top launched by Gayev rhymed with this movement, spinning for a minute and then suddenly flying off its axis.
1981 year. Theater "Buff-du-Nord", Paris. Director - Peter Brook
"The Cherry Orchard" by Peter Brook at the Theater "Buff du Nord". 1981 year© Nicolas Treatt / archivesnicolastreatt.net
In his lectures on the history of literature, Naum Berkovsky called the subtext the language of enemies, and his appearance in the drama he associated with the changing relationships of people at the beginning of the 19th century. In The Cherry Orchard by Peter Brook, the characters have no enemies among each other. Nor did the director have them in the play. And the subtext in Chekhov's work suddenly radically changed its quality, ceased to be a method of concealment, but, on the contrary, turned into a means of revealing to each other that which cannot be conveyed through words. Played with little or no decorations (the walls and floors of the old Parisian theater "Buff-du-Nord" were covered with carpets), this performance was closely associated with post-war literature: “Chekhov writes extremely succinctly, using a minimum of words, and his writing style resembles Pinter or Beckett - said Brooke in an interview. "In Chekhov, as in them, composition, rhythm, purely theatrical poetry of the only exact word, pronounced then and in the right way, plays a role." Among the countless, still emerging interpretations of The Cherry Orchard as a drama of absurdity, perhaps the most unusual thing about Brook's performance was precisely the fact that, read through Beckett and Pinter, his Chekhov sounded in a new way, but remained himself.
2003 year. Stanislavsky International Foundation and Meno Fortas Theater, Vilnius. Director - Eimuntas Nyakrosius
The play "The Cherry Orchard" by Eimuntas Nyakrosius. Festival "Golden Mask". Moscow, 2004
Evgeny Mironov as Lopakhin in the play "The Cherry Orchard" by Eimuntas Nyakrosius. Festival "Golden Mask". Moscow, 2004 © Dmitry Korobeinikov / RIA Novosti
The first thing that the audience saw on the stage was the garments of the inhabitants of the house thrown on top of each other, standing behind low columns, two hoops coming from nowhere: a seemingly manor house, but as if reassembled from almost random objects. In this "Cherry Orchard" there were references to Strehler, but there was not even a trace of the poetry of the Italian Chekhovian performance. However, the performance of Nyakrosius itself was built rather according to the laws of a poetic text. The six hours he walked, connections between things, gestures (as always in Nyakrosius, an unusually rich plastic score), sounds (like the unbearably loud cry of swallows) and music, unexpected animal parallels of heroes - these connections multiplied at an extraordinary speed, permeating all levels ... "A gloomy and splendid mass," wrote the theater expert Pavel Markov about Meyerhold's "The Inspector General", and this is exactly what the impression of the Lithuanian director's performance staged together with Moscow artists for the centenary of Chekhov's
plays.
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 sells their family estate at an auction. 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 absence of a division of heroes into positive and negative, major and minor. They all fall into three categories:
- people of the past - aristocratic nobles (Ranevskaya, Gaev and their lackey Firs);
- people of the present - their bright representative is 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 own version of the solution to the problem - to divide the land plot into shares and give them to summer residents for a certain fee. The lady is burdened by this proposal, because for this she will have to say goodbye to her beloved cherry orchard, which is associated with many warm 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 second part takes place on the street, in the yard 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 Peter 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 the fact that Ranevskaya invites the orchestra with her last money and arranges a dance evening. Gaev and Lopakhin are absent at the same time - 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 sound 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 much 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, "peasant" principle. In the finale of the play, Lopakhin does not share Ranevskaya's feelings, he is happy that, despite his peasant origin, he was able to afford to buy the estate of his late father's owners.
Like his sister, he is very sensitive and sentimental. Being an idealist and romantic, to console Ranevskaya, he comes up with fantastic plans to save the family estate. He is emotional, verbose, but at the same time completely inactive.
Petya Trofimov
An eternal student, a nihilist, an eloquent representative of the Russian intelligentsia, 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 a 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. A characteristic feature of the play is the absence of a genuine external conflict, dynamism, and unpredictable twists in the plot line. The author's remarks, monologues, pauses and some understatement give the play a unique atmosphere of exquisite lyricism. The artistic realism of the play is achieved through the alternation of dramatic and comic scenes.
(Scene from a modern production)
The 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 the arched form to the play.
Final conclusion
Chekhov's last play can be said to be 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 of Russian society of his time, this sad factor is often present in scenes where the characters hear only themselves, creating only the appearance of interaction.
Still from the movie "Garden" (2008)
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 has 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 Yermolai 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."
Finally, 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 is impatient 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, he 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 Andreyevna 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 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. So, without convincing the "frivolous, non-business, strange" people, 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 increasingly 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 they all leave. Left alone, Anya and Trofimov are glad to have the opportunity to talk together, without Varya. Trofimov convinces Anya that one must be “above love”, that the main thing is freedom: “all 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 definitely see it.
The twenty-second of August arrives, the trading day. 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 complains, both the postal official and the head of the station "do not go hunting." Charlotte Ivanovna entertains the guests with her tricks. Ranevskaya is anxiously awaiting her brother's return. Yaroslavl's aunt still sent fifteen thousand, but they are not enough to redeem the estate.
Petya Trofimov "calms" 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 regret: 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", "clean": "You must love yourself ... you must fall in love!" Petya, in horror, tries to leave, but then stays, dances with Ranevskaya, who asked his 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, leave. Lopakhin is going to Kharkov for the winter, Trofimov is returning to Moscow, to the university. Lopakhin and Petya exchange barbs. Although Trofimov calls Lopakhin a "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: over the "free man", "in the forefront of going" to "the highest happiness", no one should have power.
Ranevskaya and Gaev even cheered up after the sale of the cherry orchard. They used to worry and suffer, 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 is beginning - 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, 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 take place between Varya and Lopakhin. For a long time Varya has been teased by "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 their meeting, Lopakhin, never daring, 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 Andreevich 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. "There is a silence, and you can only hear how far away in the garden they are knocking on a tree with an ax."
Retold
We present a summary of the work of Chekhov Cherry Orchard by Action.
The play " The Cherry Orchard"contains 4 acts that unfold in the estate of L.A. Ranevskaya.
Cherry Orchard Action Summary
Brief retelling of actions:
The first action of the play "The Cherry Orchard" unfolds in the early May dawn in the room "which is still called the nursery."
The second action of the "Cherry Orchard" takes place in nature, not far from the old church, from where a beautiful view of the cherry orchard and the city visible on the horizon opens up.
The third act of the play begins in the evening in the living room. Music plays in the house, couples dance. It is there that the dispute arises that for the sake of love you can lose your head.
The fourth act of Chekhov's play takes place in an empty nursery, where in the corner there are luggage and other things awaiting removal. The sounds of trees being cut down are heard from the street.
At the end of the play, the house is closed. Then the footman Firs appears, who was simply forgotten in the turmoil. He understands that the house is already closed, but he was simply forgotten. True, he is not angry with the owners, but simply lies down on the sofa and soon dies.
There is the sound of a broken string and an ax hitting a tree. The curtain.
Cherry Orchard - summary read
The work of A.P. Chekhov - "The Cherry Orchard" begins with scenes of everyone waiting for the mistress of the estate. The hostess is Ranevskaya Lyubov Andreevna, a landowner. She went abroad five years ago, after the death of her husband and the tragic death of her beloved little son.
A lyrical play in four acts by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov describes such a time of year as spring, a time when cherry trees bloom and with all their beauty please the eyes of those around them. All the characters who are waiting for the hostess's arrival at home are very worried and worried, because very soon this beautiful garden should be sold to pay off all those debts that accumulated during the hostess's absence and during the time that she lived in Paris and spent money for herself to please. In addition to her husband and son, Ranevskaya has a seventeen-year-old daughter, Anya, with whom the owner of the estate has been living with her abroad for the last five years. In the estate itself, after Lyubov Andreevna's departure, her native Leonid Andreevich Gaev and her adopted daughter, a twenty-four-year-old girl, whom everyone simply called Varya, remained. Over the past five years, Ranevskaya has turned from a wealthy society lady into a poor woman with a lot of debt behind her back. All this happened because Lyubov Andreevna always and everywhere littered with money and never saved on anything. Six years ago, Ranevskaya's husband died from drunkenness. However, the wife is not very upset by this fact and soon falls in love with another person and converges with him. To all the misfortunes that have already happened to Lyubov Andreevna, her little son Grisha tragically dies after drowning in the river. Ranevskaya simply cannot bear such a terrible grief and does not see any other way out how to quickly escape abroad. Her lover, unable to live without her, followed after her. However, Lyubov Andreevna's troubles do not end there. Soon her lover became very ill, and Ranevskaya simply had no choice but to settle him in her dacha near Menton and for three years almost never leave his bed and constantly look after him. However, all the lover's love was just a hoax, because as soon as the dacha had to be sold for debts and moved to Paris, he simply took, robbed and threw Ranevskaya.
Leonid Andreevich Gaev and Ranevskaya's adopted daughter Varya meet Lyubov Andreevna and Anya at the station. The hostess and her daughter are looking forward to the maid Dunyasha and the family friend, merchant Ermolai Alekseevich Lopakhin. The father of this same Lopakhin was in previous years a serf of the Ranevsky family. Ermolai Alekseevich himself became rich, but nevertheless believes that wealth did not in any way affect his character and life prerogatives. The merchant considers himself an ordinary, simple peasant without special requirements. The clerk Epikhodov also comes to the landowner's estate on the occasion of the hostess's arrival. The clerk is the very person with whom something constantly happens and who, as a joke, with a grain of truth, was nicknamed "twenty-two misfortunes."
Carriages are approaching the estate. The Ranevsky estate is filled with people who are all in pleasant excitement. Each of those in the house talks about his own, while paying little to the problems and desires of others. Lyubov Andreevna walks all over the estate, looks at all the rooms and through tears of joy recalls the past, the very moments that gave her so much joy and warmth. Some love stories are also described in the play. For example, the maid Dunyasha, upon the arrival of the young lady, just can't wait to tell that Epikhodov himself made a marriage proposal to her. Ranevskaya's daughter Anya advises her sister Varya to marry Lopakhin, and Varya, in turn, dreams of marrying Anya off to a very rich man. The governess Charlotte Ivanovna, being a very strange and eccentric person, boasts before everyone about her wonderful dog. Neighbor landowner Boris Borisovich Simeonov-Pishchik asks for a loan from Ranevskaya. The very old and most loyal servant, Firs, hears almost nothing, and all the time mutters something quietly under his breath.
The merchant Ermolai Alekseevich Lopakhin reminds Lyubov Ranevskaya that her estate should be sold at auction in the near future. The merchant sees the only way out of this situation in dividing the land into small plots, which can then be leased to summer residents. Lopakhin's proposal of this kind is very surprising to Ranevskaya. She cannot understand in any way how it is possible to cut down her so beloved and wonderful cherry orchard. Lopakhin, in turn, really wants to stay longer with Ranevskaya. The merchant turns out to be madly in love with Lyubov Andreyevna. Gayev addresses a hundred-year-old "respected" wardrobe with a welcoming speech, but then, embarrassed, he starts talking again, while using all sorts of his favorite billiard words.
Ranevskaya does not immediately recognize the former teacher of her drowned seven-year-old son Petya Trofimov. In her eyes, the teacher has changed a lot, became less beautiful, became one of those people who study all his life, but at the same time most often does not apply the knowledge gained. The meeting with Petya awakens in the landowner the memories of her little drowned son Grisha, whose teacher was Trofimov.
Leonid Andreevich Gaev, left alone with Varya, and using this opportunity, is trying to talk about all the important matters that have piled on them lately. Gaev also recalls a very rich aunt who lives in Yaroslavl, who, however, does not like them. All her dislike is due to the fact that Lyubov Andreevna did not marry a nobleman, and on top of that, she did not behave modestly in financial matters and in social life. Leonid Andreevich loves his sister very much, but still calls her a woman of easy virtue, which in turn causes Ani's strong discontent. Gaev makes certain plans for the further life path of all his family members. He really wants his sister to ask Lopakhin for money so that Anya can go to Yaroslavl. Simply put, he wants to do everything possible to ensure that the estate is not sold. Gaev even swears in all this. Grumpy, but the most devoted servant Firs, finally, takes his master, like a child, to his chambers and puts him to bed. Anya wholeheartedly believes that her uncle will be able to solve all the problems they have, she is happy and calm.
Lopakhin, in turn, does not deviate a step from his magnificent plan and continues to persuade Ranevskaya and Gaev to accept his magnificent plan for further action. Ranevskaya, Gaev and Lopakhin all had breakfast together in the city and on the way home they decided to stop in a field near the chapel. At the same time, a little earlier, on the same bench near the chapel, Epikhodov tried to explain himself to Dunyasha. But to his disappointment, Dunyasha had already preferred a cynical and young footman named Yasha over him. The owners of the estate, namely Ranevskaya and Gaev, in a conversation with Lopakhin do not seem to hear him at all and talk about completely different things. All persuasion and entreaties do not lead to anything, Lopakhin wants to leave, since it does not make sense to continue this conversation with such non-businesslike, strange and frivolous people. However, Lyubov Andreevna asks him to stay, because she really likes Lopakhin's company.
After that, Anya, Varya and Petya Trofimov come to Ranevskaya, Gaev and Lopakhin. Ranevskaya starts a conversation about such a human quality as pride, about the peculiarities of this quality and the types of people who have this quality of a human character. Trofimov is sure that there is no point in pride. He believes that it is better for an unhappy and rude person to start working than to continue to admire himself. Petya simply condemns the very intelligentsia who are completely incapable of work. He condemns those people who only know how to philosophize importantly, and ordinary men are simply treated like animals. Lopakhin also participates in this conversation. Because of the uniqueness of his life, he is at work day and night. In his work, he encounters a large number of people, but among this mass there are very few decent people. There are small disputes and certain demagoguery about this topic between the participants in the conversation. Lopakhin does not finish, Ranevskaya interrupts him. It can be concluded that most of the participants in the conversation do not want or do not know how to listen to each other. After all the disputes, a dull silence ensues, in which a rather distant sad sound of a broken string is heard.
Soon after such a lively conversation, everyone starts to disperse. Left alone with each other, Anya and Trofimov were very happy to have the opportunity to talk together, without Varya. Trofimov tells Anya that it is simply necessary to extinguish in oneself all those feelings that people call love. He tells her about such a human condition as freedom, that it is simply necessary to live in the present. But in order to learn all the delights of life, one must first redeem by suffering and labor everything that was not good that was done in the past. Happiness is already very close, and if they do not see it and do not experience it, then others will surely see that very happiness and freedom.
The most important and crucial day is coming - the day of trading - August 22nd. On this day, in the evening, a special evening was planned at the estate - a ball. Even a Jewish orchestra was invited to this event. There were times when only generals and barons danced at balls on the estate. And now, as Firs notes, postal officials and station chiefs are barely going to the event. All those present at this event are entertained in every possible way by Charlotte Ivanovna with her tricks. The very same owner of the estate, Lyubov Andreevna Ranevskaya, anxiously awaits the return of her brother. Yaroslavl's aunt, despite all the hatred for the landowner, still sent fifteen thousand. However, this amount was not enough to buy out the entire estate.
The former teacher of the deceased son of Ranevskaya, Petya Trofimov, calmed Ranevskaya with all his might. He tried to persuade her not to think about the garden, that it was over long ago, she just needed to face the truth. Lyubov Andreevna found herself in a very difficult situation, both financial and mental. The hostess asks not to condemn her, but on the contrary - to regret. Without a cherry orchard, her life loses all meaning. All the time while Ranevskaya is at the estate, she receives telegrams from Paris every day. At first, she just tore them up right away, and then the next ones began to read and then to tear them up. The same runaway lover, whom she still loved to this day, in each of his letters begged her to come back to Paris. Petya, although he does not want to inflict more pain on Ranevskaya, still condemns her for her love for such a petty scoundrel, insignificance. Insulted and very angry Ranevskaya, for all her upbringing, could not restrain herself, takes revenge on Trofimov. She calls him an eccentric, an ugly person and a pathetic neat. Ranevskaya will be relieved that people just need to love and fall in love. Petya, having heard this in his address, wants to leave, but soon decides to stay, dances with Ranevskaya, who asked him for forgiveness.
A tired Gaev and a joyful Lopakhin appear on the threshold of the ballroom. Gaev immediately goes to his room without telling anything. The Cherry Orchard nevertheless turns out to be sold, and it was bought by the same Lopakhin. The new owner of the estate is very happy, because at the auction he managed to surpass the rich man Deriganov, giving ninety thousand in excess of the debt. Lopakhin proudly picks up the keys that were thrown on the floor by the proud Varya. Now his main desire is for the music to continue playing and for everyone to see how Yermolai Lopakhin is happy that he is now the owner of this beautiful cherry orchard.
After the news that the garden was sold, Anya had no choice but to comfort her crying mother. The daughter assured her mother that although the garden was sold, life did not end there and they still had a whole life ahead of them. Anya was sure that in their life there would still be a new garden, more luxurious than the one that had been sold, and that a calm, temperate life awaited them, in which there would still be many reasons for joy.
The house, which recently belonged to Ranevskaya, gradually emptied. All those who lived there, having said goodbye to each other, began to leave. Lopakhin Yermolai Alekseevich is going to Kharkov for the winter, Petya Trofimov returns to Moscow, to his university and continues to live life as a bosom student. Lopakhin and Petya, at parting, exchange several barbs with each other. Although Trofimov calls Lopakhin a predatory person, he still sees in him a person who is capable of tender feelings that can enter into the position of others and who delicately feels those around him. Lopakhin, out of the kindness of his soul, even offers Trofimov money for the trip. He, of course, refuses. He believes that this kind of handouts are like a powerful hand, which, for the sake of its subsequent profit, is now ready to assist an ordinary person. Trofimov is simply sure that a person should always be free and independent of someone or something, no one and nothing should interfere with him on the path to achieving his life goals.
After the sale of the cherry orchard, Ranevskaya and Gaev even cheered up, it was as if a load had dropped from their shoulders, they stopped carrying this heavy burden. If before they were agitated, experienced constant suffering, now they have completely calmed down. Ms. Ranevskaya's further plans include life in Paris on the very funds that were sent by her aunt. Ranevskaya's daughter Anya is inspired. She believes that right now she begins a completely new life, in which she must graduate from high school, find a job, work, read books, in general, she is simply sure that a new wonderful world will open up for her. Boris Borisovich Simeonov-Pishchik, on the contrary, instead of asking for money, on the contrary, distributes debts. It turned out that the British had found white clay on his land.
All the heroes of the lyric play settled down in different ways. Gaev was now a bank clerk. Lopakhin promises with all his might to find a new place for Charlotte. Varya got a job as a housekeeper for the Ragulin family. Epikhodov, in turn, was hired by Lopakhin and remains on the estate to serve the new owner. The elderly Firs should be sent to the hospital for follow-up care and treatment. However, Gaev thinks, and he has reason, that all people, one way or another, leave us, we just suddenly become unnecessary to each other.
Between the lovers Varya and Lopakhin, finally, such a long-awaited explanation should occur. For a long time already, Varya has been teased by everyone around and is called Madame Lopakhin, while laughing at the fact that she still is not. Varya, as a timid girl, cannot propose, even though she really likes Ermolai Alekseevich. Lopakhin, too, was no longer satisfied with the current situation, he wanted to end it as soon as possible and explain to Varya already. He spoke excellently of Varya, completely agreed to end this case once and for all. Ranevskaya, who was also aware of the situation, decides to arrange a meeting for them. However, upon meeting, Lopakhin, still not daring to explain himself, leaves Varya, using the first pretext for this.
The play "The Cherry Orchard"ends on a sad note when all the people who meet in the estate leave it, while locking all the doors to the lock. It would seem that all the inhabitants of the estate took care and helped the old Firs, but still, he remains completely alone. No one even remembered that he needed treatment, rest and care. And even after that, old Firs remains a man and sincerely worries, because Leonid Andreevich went into such a cold in a thin coat, and not in a warm fur coat. By virtue of his age and condition, he lies down to rest and lies motionless, as if accepting and understanding his future fate without a fight. The sound of a broken string will be heard. There comes a dull, utter silence, which is interrupted only by the blows of an ax knocking on a tree, barely audible somewhere in the distance, in the very center of the cherry orchard.
⚿ Cherry Orchard Action Summary.
⚿ The Cherry Orchard as a play about the past, present and future of Russia.
Anton Pavlovich Chekhov
"The Cherry Orchard"
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 has 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 Yermolai 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."
Finally, 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 is impatient 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, he 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". Gayev loves his sister, but still calls her "vicious", which annoys 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 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. So, without convincing the "frivolous, non-business, strange" people, 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 increasingly 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 they all leave. Left alone, Anya and Trofimov are glad to have the opportunity to talk together, without Varya. Trofimov convinces Anya that one must be “above love”, that the main thing is freedom: “all 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 definitely see it.
The twenty-second of August arrives, the trading day. 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 complains, both the postal official and the head of the station "do not go hunting." Charlotte Ivanovna entertains the guests with her tricks. Ranevskaya is anxiously awaiting her brother's return. Yaroslavl's aunt still sent fifteen thousand, but they are not enough to redeem the estate.
Petya Trofimov "calms" 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 regret: after all, without the cherry orchard, her life loses its meaning. Every day Ranevskaya receives telegrams from Paris. The first time she tore them right away, 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 his 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, leave. Lopakhin is going to Kharkov for the winter, Trofimov is returning to Moscow, to the university. Lopakhin and Petya exchange barbs. Although Trofimov calls Lopakhin a "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: over the "free man", "in the forefront of going" to "the highest happiness", no one should have power.
Ranevskaya and Gaev even cheered up after the sale of the cherry orchard. They used to worry and suffer, but now they have calmed down. Ranevskaya is going to live in Paris for the time being on the money sent by her aunt. Anya is inspired: a new life is beginning - 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 take place between Varya and Lopakhin. For a long time Varya has been teased by "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 their meeting, Lopakhin, never daring, 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 Andreevich 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. "There is a silence, and you can only hear how far away in the garden they are knocking on a tree with an ax."
Lyubov Andreevna Ranevskaya always littered with money. While she lived abroad with her daughter Anna, her brother, Leonid Andreevich Gaev, and the landowner's adopted daughter, Varya, lived on the estate. Now the cherry orchard must be sold for debts.
Lyubov Andreyevna's brother and Varya, the merchant Lopakhin, the clerk Epikhodov, the maid Dunyasha, the governess Charlotte Ivanovna, the neighbor Simeonov-Pischik, and the old servant Firs, meet Lyubov Andreyevna. Petya Trofimov, the former teacher of the drowned son of Lyubov Andreevna, Grishenka, from a sweet young man turned into an aging eternal student.
Lopakhin proposes to divide the garden into plots to rent out to summer residents. Lyubov Andreevna is against cutting down trees. She cannot imagine her life without a cherry orchard. Gaev comes up with rescue plans: Lyubov Andreevna will borrow money from an aunt who does not communicate with them. He swears he won't let the garden be cut down. Mutters incoherently as they lead him to bed.
Dunyasha likes Yasha, a lackey, and therefore refuses Epikhodov's attempts to improve relations with her. Lopakhin interprets Gaeva and Ranevskaya about the benefits of his plan to pay off debts. Brother and sister do not hear him. The merchant wants to leave, but Lyubov Andreevna stops him. They are joined by Petya, Varya and Anya. They're talking about pride. The teacher says that pride becomes a hindrance to a poor person. Lopakhin works all day, notes that you rarely meet a decent person. The dispute is interrupted by Ranevskaya with a reproach that people do not hear each other. The sound of a broken string is heard somewhere in the distance. Trofimov and Anya are left alone. He assures her that it is necessary to redeem the past with work and suffering in order to live in the present.
The day of trading has come, Ranevskaya is arranging a ball, invites a Jewish orchestra. The guests are having fun. An aunt from Yaroslavl sent money, but this is not enough to pay off debts. Trofimov says that the garden is long gone. He condemns Lyubov Andreyevna for her love for the villain who robbed her, and now he is sending telegrams from Paris with requests to return. Ranevskaya calls Petya names in response, then asks for forgiveness.
Lopakhin bought a cherry orchard at the auction. Gaev doesn't want to talk to anyone. Varya threw the keys at the merchant's feet. He is pleased. Now he will cut down the trees and carry out his plan. The inhabitants of the estate are going to leave.
Ranevskaya wants to go to Paris, to live on her aunt's money with her beloved villain. Anya will go to school. Will work and read books - a new life begins. Simeonov-Pischik, who appeared unexpectedly, unexpectedly for everyone, distributes his debts. Gaev got a job at a bank, Varya was hired to work as a housekeeper, and they are going to send old Firs to the hospital. Lopakhin left the clerk Epikhodov on the estate, Charlotte promised to arrange her in a good place.
Varya and Lopakhin sympathize with each other, but cannot explain themselves in any way. Left alone, the merchant is embarrassed. Instead of offering to Vara, he came up with the first excuse he came across and left her.
Everyone is leaving the estate, they have forgotten old Firs. He sighs that the master went lightly dressed. He goes to rest and lies motionless. Again the sound of a broken string. The clatter of axes is heard in the garden.