“The
Cherry Orchard” by Anton Chekhov
Richard Eyre’s 1981 version of “The Cherry Orchard” starring Judi Dench is a very good depiction of Anton Chekhov’s written play. Eyre does a wonderful job of matching Chekhov’s story line, character’s and their personalities, setting and time frame. The movie, very much matched and even enhanced my reading of the play. The expectation of this play is that there are people who are very pompous and stuck up, not even realizing the hard work that others have put into something that they take credit for.
“The Cherry Orchard” is about a woman (Madame Ranevsky/ Lyubov Andreyevna) who is very materialistic and naïve with her money. Her beloved Cherry Orchard is threatened to be sold during a time of a revolution. She returns back from Paris, with her daughter (Anya), after a five year time frame. She left the orchard and estate five years before, due to losing both her husband and her son in such a close amount of time. When she returned with her youngest daughter she came back her servants, serfs and to a debt that she could not repay.
Madame Ranevsky is the main character of this play. The antagonists of the play would be Lopahin (a former merchant to the cherry orchard) and Trofimov (a student who is Madame Ranevsky’s daughter’s age). Lopahin surprises Madame Ranevsky by informing her that he has bought the land and estate. He and Trofimov resemble the start of the revolution, which in turn, can make them also the heroine/protagonist for the future of the serfs, servants and merchants in that era. Trofimov is constantly trying to relay a message to Madame Ranevsky throughout the entire play. The message he tries to convey is that she is stuck up with money, she sees nothing but her selfishness in the orchard. Trofimov tries to explain to her that just because her parents and grandparents owned the Cherry orchard before her, does not mean that she is guaranteed to own this property, it takes a lot of hard work to keep the property afloat. She does not seem to want to put forth that extra work, she just expects it (with the work of her servants). She never seems to understand the sincerity that her beloved orchard will actually be selling.
Lopahin proposed an idea to Madame Ranevsky in the beginning of the play about turning the land into an estate for summer villas to rent out. She refuses the idea of ever giving up her beloved orchard, which in turn she loses because she is so stubborn to changing from what she remembers as a young girl, growing up in the orchard. She is flabbergasted that one of her former merchants purchases the land. Lopahin even states “I have bought the estate where my father and grandfather were slaves and see all that has happened!” (3.1. pg. 1655).
The theme of this play would be freedom and revolution. The servants in this play were able to finally step up and take control for once. Trofimov, the student, saw it coming and supported that effort and tried to explain that to Madame Ranevsky and her family. They were so naïve and bullheaded to believe that their precious property could ever leave their name. Lopahin and Trofimov, both, proved her wrong, yet she still never seemed to grasp the reality of the situation. She never seemed to understand how her reality was going to be changing as well, times were changing and tides were turning and she still seemed oblivious.
In the end of the play, one of the older valet’s (Firs) goes to the hospital due to appearing ill and senile. When he returns, he comes back to an empty house, where he is able to die in peace and as a free man, finally. Chekhov really portrayed a silent revolution in this play. The servants in this play were truly meant to do just that, serve, that is all they have ever known, and they are pleased to just be able to work and provide for their families. Lopahin really brings an opportunity to the servants. He was never cruel about the purchase of Madame Ranevsky’s property, but he was very excited to finally be able to make a change. He was able to even change some people’s thinking along the way as well.
Works Cited
Chekhov, Anton. “The Cherry Orchard.” The Norton Introduction to Literature. 11th Edition. 2013. 1626-1664.
The Cherry Orchard. Richard Eyre. Perf. Judi Dench, Bill Paterson, Anton Lesser. British Broadcasting Corporation. 1981. Film
Richard Eyre’s 1981 version of “The Cherry Orchard” starring Judi Dench is a very good depiction of Anton Chekhov’s written play. Eyre does a wonderful job of matching Chekhov’s story line, character’s and their personalities, setting and time frame. The movie, very much matched and even enhanced my reading of the play. The expectation of this play is that there are people who are very pompous and stuck up, not even realizing the hard work that others have put into something that they take credit for.
“The Cherry Orchard” is about a woman (Madame Ranevsky/ Lyubov Andreyevna) who is very materialistic and naïve with her money. Her beloved Cherry Orchard is threatened to be sold during a time of a revolution. She returns back from Paris, with her daughter (Anya), after a five year time frame. She left the orchard and estate five years before, due to losing both her husband and her son in such a close amount of time. When she returned with her youngest daughter she came back her servants, serfs and to a debt that she could not repay.
Madame Ranevsky is the main character of this play. The antagonists of the play would be Lopahin (a former merchant to the cherry orchard) and Trofimov (a student who is Madame Ranevsky’s daughter’s age). Lopahin surprises Madame Ranevsky by informing her that he has bought the land and estate. He and Trofimov resemble the start of the revolution, which in turn, can make them also the heroine/protagonist for the future of the serfs, servants and merchants in that era. Trofimov is constantly trying to relay a message to Madame Ranevsky throughout the entire play. The message he tries to convey is that she is stuck up with money, she sees nothing but her selfishness in the orchard. Trofimov tries to explain to her that just because her parents and grandparents owned the Cherry orchard before her, does not mean that she is guaranteed to own this property, it takes a lot of hard work to keep the property afloat. She does not seem to want to put forth that extra work, she just expects it (with the work of her servants). She never seems to understand the sincerity that her beloved orchard will actually be selling.
Lopahin proposed an idea to Madame Ranevsky in the beginning of the play about turning the land into an estate for summer villas to rent out. She refuses the idea of ever giving up her beloved orchard, which in turn she loses because she is so stubborn to changing from what she remembers as a young girl, growing up in the orchard. She is flabbergasted that one of her former merchants purchases the land. Lopahin even states “I have bought the estate where my father and grandfather were slaves and see all that has happened!” (3.1. pg. 1655).
The theme of this play would be freedom and revolution. The servants in this play were able to finally step up and take control for once. Trofimov, the student, saw it coming and supported that effort and tried to explain that to Madame Ranevsky and her family. They were so naïve and bullheaded to believe that their precious property could ever leave their name. Lopahin and Trofimov, both, proved her wrong, yet she still never seemed to grasp the reality of the situation. She never seemed to understand how her reality was going to be changing as well, times were changing and tides were turning and she still seemed oblivious.
In the end of the play, one of the older valet’s (Firs) goes to the hospital due to appearing ill and senile. When he returns, he comes back to an empty house, where he is able to die in peace and as a free man, finally. Chekhov really portrayed a silent revolution in this play. The servants in this play were truly meant to do just that, serve, that is all they have ever known, and they are pleased to just be able to work and provide for their families. Lopahin really brings an opportunity to the servants. He was never cruel about the purchase of Madame Ranevsky’s property, but he was very excited to finally be able to make a change. He was able to even change some people’s thinking along the way as well.
Works Cited
Chekhov, Anton. “The Cherry Orchard.” The Norton Introduction to Literature. 11th Edition. 2013. 1626-1664.
The Cherry Orchard. Richard Eyre. Perf. Judi Dench, Bill Paterson, Anton Lesser. British Broadcasting Corporation. 1981. Film