The Cherry Orchard
Anton Chekhov, 1904
Anton Chekhov (Russia, 1860 – 1904)
"Medicine is my lawful wife", he once said, "and literature is my mistress."
• Son of a former serf (land-bound slave)
– His father, Pavel Chekhov, was devoutly
religious and physically abusive, a
possible model for the many hypocritical
characters in his works.
– His mother, Yevgeniya, was an
impressive and entertaining storyteller.
• Physician and writer
– best-known for short stories and drama
– considered one of the world’s great
masters of the short story
• Four of his plays are considered classics:
– The Seagull (1896)
– Uncle Vanya (1899)
– Three Sisters (1901)
– The Cherry Orchard (1904)
Chekhov’s style
• Chekhov began writing satirical portraits of Muscovite
street life, with a far harsher tone than his later work.
• He views his characters with “a mixture of ridicule and
affection” – most of them possess a rich combination
of virtues and flaws.
• His drama is known for its melding of comedy and
tragedy.
• Chekhov’s style is realism – in which his characters’
dialogue and actions are portrayed with a naturalism
that sometimes makes them seem disorganized or
trivial.
Biographical connections to TCO
• Chekhov’s own mother went bankrupt after being
cheated by some builders she’d contracted. A lodger
bought the house himself while pretending to help
her.
• Chekhov’s childhood home was sold off to pay its
mortgage.
• Chekhov was a devoted gardener and had his own
cherry orchard, which was cut down by the man to
whom he sold his home.
• Chekhov was a vocal opponent of industrial
deforestation.
• Chekhov’s own father was a liberated serf.
Setting: Turn-of-the-century Russia
• Serfs liberated, 1861
– a period of social
mobility for peasantry
and aristocrats
• Emergence of the
Russian bourgeoisie
(dachas)
• Provincial Russia’s
development for
recreation and
industry
• Trofimov: early
Bolshevikism?
The Emancipation of the Serfs
• Tzar Alexander II decreed that the serfs would be
liberated in 1861.
• Serfs were peasants living on the property of private
landowners, 37.7% of the Russian population in 1861.
• Serfs were essentially the property of the landowners,
to whom they owed payment and labor. They were
not permitted to leave the land on which they were
born.
• More than 23 million people received freedom, with
the full rights of free citizens. Previously, serfs had not
been able to marry without their masters’ consent, or
own property or businesses.
• The emancipation was considered disastrous by some.
Why? How is this related to The Cherry Orchard?
Major Literary Devices in TCO
• Characterization: Chekhov’s naturalistic characterization of
the complex personalities in his plays and stories is his claim
to fame. How does he achieve it?
• Symbolism: examples?
• Genre: we’ll discuss this in more depth on Thursday, but the
tragicomic elements of this Chekhovian comedy are
important to consider.
• Tone: how would you describe the tone Chekhov takes
toward his characters?
• Setting: the orchard itself, as well as the social climate in
turn of the century Russia, plays a major role in the drama.
Sources:
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anton_Chekhov
• http://www.shmoop.com/cherry-orchard/
• http://www.dailyinfo.co.uk/reviews/theatre/C
O2003.htm
• http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/8209081
3/Hulton-Archive
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emancipation_of
_the_serfs