The Duality Of The Cherry Orchard By Constantin Stanislavsky

The Duality of The Cherry Orchard:To Laugh or not to Laugh The Cherry Orchard's first performance took place in 1904. It was directed by a frequent collaborator of the author, Constantin Stanislavsky. Constantin Stanislavsky came from an aristocratic background, which I believe had a great influence on the play's spirit.. In order to cater to the audience of his peers, Stanislavsky chose create an emotionally evocative tragedy that plucked the heart strings of the diminishing aristocracy (Jackson & Gassner 176). This production of The Cherry Orchard could not be further from Anton Chekhov's true spirit and intention written into the actual script of the play. Throughout this essay I will show the humor that Chekhov has imparted into the play's
characters and themes. The Cherry Orchard is first and foremost a comedy because throughout the play nothing extremely tragic happens to any character. The script itself is filled with instances of irony, satire, and witty comments. In the majority of the tragic scenes that occur throughout the play, Chekhov surgically undercuts the emotion with comedic relief. There are several instances in the play where a character may be discussing a thought or an event that affects them only to be interrupted by another character's abstract thought. Before delving into the comedic nature of this play, I will provide some contextual background. The setting of the Cherry Orchard takes place on Ranevsky's ancestral estate. The time frame of the play overlaps with the emancipation of Russian serf's in 1861 and the events preceding the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917. The problems that plague the inhabitants of the Cherry Orchard root from the cultural shift that taking place during this time period. Lyubov Ranevsky has returned from Paris after a tumultuous affair with a gentleman who has drained her financially. She maintains a very whimsical attitude towards the state of her finances. However, Mrs. Ranevsky and her family are plagued by several debts and it appears that her only solution is to sell her cherry orchard. Lopakhin offers them a plan to climb out of debt. He suggest that Mrs. Ranevsky lease out portions of the estate as holiday homes. Mrs. Ranevsky curtly refuses the suggestion at the thought of cutting down the trees on her estate. The Mrs. Ranevsky and her family staunchly avoid dealing with their financial problem. This is the first instance of comedic value that is found in the script. The future owner of the orchard offers them advice on how to keep their own property. In act One, Mrs. Ranevsky arrives at her estate with her daughter Anya upon returning from France. The Cherry Orchard's inhabitants excitedly await for their arrival. Lopakhin, the Orchard's future owner, servant Dunyasha, and Yepikhodov, await for their arrival. Yepikhodov is trying to court Dunyasha, who ironically is in love with Mrs. Ranevsky's servant, Yasha. Yepikhodov is quite a clumsy and unlucky character who is known as “The Twenty-Two Calamities,”(Chekhov 191) He is the punchline of several humorous scenes throughout the play and is a great example of a comedic character in Chekhov's play. The majority of the scene takes place in the old nursery, where one must note that several characters began to act as if they were a child once again. Mrs. Ranevsky states her desire to hob about while flailing her arms like a young child (Chekhov 196). There are several instances where characters carry out conversations with each other without even talking about the same subject. Much as a child lives in their own personal world, Chekhov's characters are often consumed in their own worlds. From the beginning of the play, Mrs. Ranevsky constantly avoids dealing with her financial problems. Lopakhin constantly tries to discuss financial affairs with her, but Ranevsky steadily dodges them by recounting her past life in France. Another instance where Chekhov undercuts a serious matter with farce occurs when Anya and her sister Varya are having a discussion about their lack of financial stability and inability to repay their family's debts. Like Mrs. Ranevsky, the daughters have no sound ideas on how to deal with the hopeless issue. Their conversations is unexpectedly interrupted by Lopakhin who coyly peeps around the rooms entrance and makes a sheep's call. Lopakhin mocks the two girls as he equates their banter to sheep's conversation. Act Two commences on the estate near an old chapel. Yasha, Yepikhodov, Charlotte, and Dunyasha. Charlotte tells everyone her life history-- how she traveled from city to city with her mother and father in order to perform tricks in the circus. After her mother and father died she was taken in by "German lady", who educated her (Chekhov 207). Charlotte serves as a comic relief in the way she discounts and questions Yepikhodov's actions and words. She chides him for making the macho or piggish comment and undermines his sentiment. Shortly afterwards, the characters with the exception of Yasha exit the scene as Mrs. Ranevsky, Gayev, Lopahkin arrive. Lopakhin tries to support the idea of leasing out country cottages, but instead of supporting a sound idea Mrs.
Ranevsky calls it vulgar and discounts it. Gayev concurs with Mrs. Ranevsky's thought about leasing out parts of the cherry orchard. Lopakhin angrily rebukes them and calls him a silly woman (Chekhov 211). This is yet another example of how Chekhov creates elements of comedy in the play. Another element of comedy that this act presents is when Mrs. Ranevsky rants about her mismanagement of her finances and her failed relationships. After she reads the telegram handed to her, she mentions overhearing music. After Gayev tell her it is her Jewish band, she immediately thinks of throwing a party. Chekhov's irony in this short conversation is almost surgical. Chekhov's use of irony throughout The Cherry Orchard is unbelievably humorous and is one of the pillars of comedic value in his play. The act ends with Yepikhodov strumming his guitar while Varya looks for Anya, who has met with Trofimov
clandestinely. Act Three opens in the drawing room with the Jewish band playing in the background. The irony that Chekhov displays in the opening of this scene is remarkable. The Ranevsky family decides host a party the day before the Orchard will be auctioned off. This scene is truly an ode to the phrase “ignorance is bliss.” Several snide remarks are exchanged between the characters in this scene and there is a lot comical elements at play. The culmination of Chekhov's technique of undercutting serious situations with comedic relief can be seen in the conversation between Mrs. Ranevsky and Trofimov. Mrs. Ranevsky and Trofimov discuss her past with the man in Paris. Mrs. Ranevsky begins to become much more heated and she continues to take deeper cuts in Trofimov. Eventually the tension boils over the pot and Trofimov storms off after being insulted (p.226 Trofimov). All of the harsh emotion is completely erased by the sound of Trofimov tumbling down the stairs followed by Anya and Varya's laughter. Varya and Yepikhodov get into an argument due to the fact that Varya believe that Yepikhodov does not do anything around the estate. He then responds by belittling her judgment due to her age. Varya then becomes enraged and yells at him to leave. As he leaves, Varya reaches for Fir's cane and swings at the doorway. Just as she swings, Lopakhin walks through the door to receive a bump on his head (Chekhov 230). Again the tension between Varya and Yepikhodov is cut in half by a bump to Lopakhin head.
The tension starts to build as everyone wonders about who purchased the the cherry orchard. The speculation begins to grow wilder. Mrs. Ranevsky eventually asks Lopakhin who had purchased the cherry orchard. Lopakhin delivers the searing blow that sends Mrs. Ranevsky into an armchair. Lopakhin has purchased the orchard. The act ends with Mrs. Ranevsky being taken care of by her daughter Anya. The majority of the tragedy of this play occurs in the last act. This is the shortest act and traditionally is the quickest act to perform. However, productions of this play tend to emphasize the emotion associated with the loss of the orchard. I believe this scene is what most critics use to call this play a tragedy. However the most tragic part of this script is also the shortest, and this is a clear sign that Chekhov did not want this play to be scene as a tragedy. The act opens in the familiar setting of the nursery. However the room has become barer and everything has been packed into various bags and suitcases. The stage directions indicate that the play's pace has picked up considerably and different characters move in and out of scene very quickly. Trofimov acts as comic relief to the emotional departure of the Ranevsky family. His constant search for his galoshes takes away from the tension and melancholy of the act. Only Yepikhodov and Lopakhin will be staying on the estate. It is in the concluding act that Chekhov unleashes his ultimate irony and darkest humor. Pishchik, another estate owner and friend arrives at the cherry orchard in order to bid farewell to the Ranevsky family and pay Lopakhin the money that he is owed. Upon paying Lopakhin, Pishchik is questioned by Lopakhin about how he came about the money. Pishchik explain to Lopakhin that he has leased out part of his land to some English man for his white clay. Pishchik was able to keep his estate because he took Lopahkin's advice, unlike the Ranevsky family (Chekhov 240). It is at this very scene where the reader can laugh at both the outcome of the situation and at the Ranevsky family themselves. The old servant Firs is forgotten due to the fact that no one checked to see if he had went to the hospital. Fir caps the act and the play in his final speech. In his final speech he notes that his master has left without his overcoat and he also comes to the realization that his whole life had been wasted serving the Ranevsky family. In the Firs says, “ My life's gone just as if I'd never lived” (Chekhov 244). In Fir's ending speech Chekhov’s satires the fact that serfs were often forgotten by their owners after their emancipation. Firs himself acknowledged his own predicament; he had given him all that he had throughout his whole life, only to receive nothing in return. Further more, Chekhov undercuts the tragedy of the whole situation with Fir's ending speech. The humor can be found in Fir's contrasting words and thoughts. At one end he is worrying about the fact that his master had forgotten his coat, while also complaining about living a meaningless life. The hilarity of such an ending was in Firs’ divergent words, in that he complained that he never lived his own life, while at the same time worrying that his master presumably forgot his coat. The author has created light comedy throughout the play with some of the unrequited romantic relationships that occur.
The reader is under the influence that Varya will become romantically linked to Lopakhin, while Anya will become romantically linked with Trofimov. The humor and irony lie in the fact that both of the male characters are not capable of recognizing the potential relationships or even understanding the women themselves. Trofimov considers himself to be above love, while Lopakhin is engulfed in his own business dealings. The irony of this situation is truly hilarious. Many may not be able to understand Chekhov's sense of humor throughout The Cherry Orchard. However, if one decides to delve into and analyze the meaning behind the text and the quirks of the characters, one will arrive at a startling conclusion. Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard is a satire of aristocratic irresponsibility of his time. John Gassner noted that Chekhov has moments in his writing where tragedy and comedy meld (Jackson & Gassner 180) Labeling this play a tragedy would be much like labeling a Jackson Pollock painting, as a splattering of
paint.