The Cherry Orchard is pessimistic in its analysis of social transition.

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AZX300

20th Century Literature: Texts & Debates

TMA 01

 


The Cherry Orchard is pessimistic in its analysis of social transition.’ Debate this statement in relation to the performance of the servants’ roles in at least TWO scenes from the play.

Anton Chekhov wrote The Cherry Orchard as a comedy, yet it has a duality with tragic elements as well. The Cherry Orchard is pessimistic in its analysis of social transition. This can be seen in the performance of the servants’ roles.

During the time Chekhov wrote the play, Russia itself was undergoing a social and political change. This change set in motion the rise of the middle class after the abolition of serfdom in the mid-nineteenth century which was a threat to the old aristocracy. Therefore, Chekhov’s play, The Cherry Orchard, symbolises this change and how it views social transition in a pessimistic perspective.

Act I of The Cherry Orchard, which is set in Russia, opens in the early hours on a cold May morning. The setting is in an old nursery but the audience also is aware that the cherry trees are in bloom with their white flowers. Lopakhin, a local merchant, and Dunyasha, a maidservant, are waiting the return of Madame Ranevsky and her seventeen-year-old daughter, Anya. The audience learns later on that Madame Ranevsky’s adopted daughter, Varya, has been overseeing the estate.

In the early scenes of Act I, both Lopakhin and Dunyasha are excited that Madame Ranevsky has returned. Lopakhin begins to reminisce, but beneath his memories lies his self-consciousness: “My father was a peasant… but here I am in a white waistcoat and yellow shoes… I’m rich now, with lots of money, but just think about it and examine me, and you’ll find I’m still a peasant down to the marrow of my bones” (Chekhov, 2). Lopakhin reveals almost immediately his insecurities about his peasant background despite being a wealthy man. He also puts Dunyasha in her place as maidservant: “You dress like a lady and you do your hair like one. You oughtn’t. You should know your place” (Chekhov, 2). His memory reveals that Madame Ranevsky cleaned him up after his father had beaten him, yet she calls him “little peasant” to differentiate that she is aristocracy and he is nothing more than a peasant and what he takes as a term of endearment is actually an underlying condescension (Chekhov, 2). Her kindness is only that of a noblewoman to a peasant; nothing more.

Dunyasha and Yasha both act above their status. Dunyasha constantly speaks of her delicateness, and despite being reminded by Lopakhin to “remember your place” (Chekhov, 2), she still mingles with the upper class, i.e. she even kisses Anya when she returns from France (Chekhov, 4). This act of affection shows her desire to be an equal with the superior class. Yet when she attempts to tell Anya about Epikhodov’s proposal, she is ignored. To the upper class, Dunyasha is unimportant and insignificant, qualities which are evident in the way she is disregarded. Dunyasha attempts to combat this by trying to imitate the actions and behaviour of the upper class. This is a defensive act in the hopes that she will to blend in, but it also shows her insecurity. Dunyasha still considers herself a lady, by constantly insinuating this: “my hands are white, white as a lady’s. I’m so tender, and so delicate now; respectable” (Chekhov, 19). Dunyasha associates this type of behaviour with the upper class and, thus acting accordingly. Yasha, is very similar to Dunyasha, but is extremely arrogant. Yasha acts above his status by smoking cigars and drinking champagne, behaviour that he associates with the upper class. Being treated as a servant, Yasha has experienced inferiority but strongly refuses to accept it as part of his life. His desire to blend in with the family is expressed in actions that reflect the worst of the upper class. This insecurity makes him arrogant and disrespectful. His constant dismissal of his mother saying, “She makes me lose patience with her” (Chekhov, 43) suggests his loss of respect for the most important person in his life out of haughtiness. When asked by Anya to check on Fiers, not only did Yasha ask someone else to run the errand for him, but he was also offended, asking “what’s the use of asking ten times” (Chekhov, 42). He fails to understand that, as a servant, it is his duty to do what he is told without question – he reacts to Anya in a way that is not expected of a servant. Yasha is unashamed to approach Madame Ranevsky for a favour to take him to Paris if she returns, which is definitely not what a servant would ask of his employer (Chekhov, 36).

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Lopakhin is a “self-made man, a harbinger of death to the old regime” (Brown and Gupta, 36) and perhaps Madame Ranevsky realises this subconsciously. Lopakhin has worked hard to make his wealth; however, he is quite an unimportant character at the beginning of the play. He is left behind by the others and apparently forgotten about. By buying the estate in Act III effectively turns the tables on the Ranevskys. The Ranevskys no longer hold the wealth or the power; Lopakhin does (Chekhov, 48).

When Madame Ranevsky first arrives, everyone is too excited to sleep. Lopakhin ...

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