The Cherry Orchard: the Past in the Present
The Cherry Orchard by Anton Chekhov is very much a play about the past. However, it is more specifically about breaking free from the past through change and acceptance. The consistent theme of memory in terms of both forgetting and remembering are evident throughout the play. The quote at the end of the play where Firs is forgotten and the cherry orchard is cut down is an important symbol of the past dying away and the characters moving on. Firs ends the play and he represents the past in both historical and personal terms in relation to Madame Ranevsky. The great cherry orchard is a symbol of the past, a past that carries different emotions for the various characters. However, each character is tied to the cherry orchard, and its representation of the past, either directly or indirectly and this is the string that they must cut and break free from.
Firs Nikolayevitch is Madame Ranevsky's servant who is eighty-seven years old. He might be a little bit senile but he is still the only link to the estate's happier past. Firs is always commenting on how life on the estate used to be much more pleasant. He explains how his master once went to Paris on a "post-chaise," which is a horse, instead of traveling on a train as they do presently. He also talks about how life was before the serfs were freed and even though he was born a slave on Madame Ranevsky's property and was freed, he stayed on the estate because he had no where else to go like many others. They had been given the freedom but they lacked the tools to be successful on their own. Firs questions the effectiveness of the Liberation: "And when the Liberation came I was already chief valet. But I wouldn't have any Liberation then; I stayed with the master. I remember how happy everyone else was, but why they were happy they didn't know themselves." He is living proof of this because society has changed and he is still locked in the past. Lopakhin, who comes from a background similar to Firs, has
Firs Nikolayevitch is Madame Ranevsky's servant who is eighty-seven years old. He might be a little bit senile but he is still the only link to the estate's happier past. Firs is always commenting on how life on the estate used to be much more pleasant. He explains how his master once went to Paris on a "post-chaise," which is a horse, instead of traveling on a train as they do presently. He also talks about how life was before the serfs were freed and even though he was born a slave on Madame Ranevsky's property and was freed, he stayed on the estate because he had no where else to go like many others. They had been given the freedom but they lacked the tools to be successful on their own. Firs questions the effectiveness of the Liberation: "And when the Liberation came I was already chief valet. But I wouldn't have any Liberation then; I stayed with the master. I remember how happy everyone else was, but why they were happy they didn't know themselves." He is living proof of this because society has changed and he is still locked in the past. Lopakhin, who comes from a background similar to Firs, has
Cited: 1. Chekhov, Anton. The Cherry Orchard. New York: Dover Publications Inc., 1991. 2. Dickson, Ben. SparkNote on The Cherry Orchard. 5 Dec. 2004. . 3. Kenny, Sarah. Classic Notes on The Cherry Orchard. 29 July 2000. 4. Russell, Yvan. The Anton Chekhov Page. 19 April 1998.