Character in The Cherry Orchard :: Anton Chekhov Cherry Orchard Essays

The Cherry Orchard by Anton Chekhov is a dramatic play set at a cherry orchard in Russia. Some of the characters that help set the dramatic setting of the play are Lyuboff, Lopahin, and Pishtchik. These characters find life difficult because they fail to understand each other and because they passively submit to their environmental situations without making an effort to rise above them. Lyuboff is the owner of the cherry orchard, and has lived there her whole life. The estate has been handed down through the generations, and Lyuboff has been left to take care of it. Since Lyuboff has grown up wealthy, she has not learned to manage her money wisely. She wastefully spends and hands out money: "I haven’t any money, my dove†¦oh, very well†¦give it to him, Leonid." She does not know how to work in order to regain the money she has spent. She finds herself going into debt and not being able to pay the mortgage. These problems grow so severe that she is forced to sell the orchard. Lopahin offers to help Lyuboff and her family to get them out of debt. He suggests several ideas such as tearing down buildings and the house, and renting homes on the land that the cherry orchard now grows. He cares not about the sentimental value the orchard holds, but the money that could be made selling it. When told the personal value of the orchard, Lopahin replies: "The only remarkable thing about this cherry orchard is that it’s very big." He also says: "There’s a crop of cherries once every two years†¦that’s hard to get rid of†¦nobody buys them." Though this does not make Lopahin a greedy or uncaring person, one might think this is quite awkward. Pishtchik on the other hand is only out for himself. He too was once wealthy, but had problems spending his money. He begs for money instead of working or earning it, creating even larger debts. When he asks Lyuboff for 240 roubles to pay for his mortgage, she agrees, but is turned away by Gayeff. Pishtchik then relies on luck and a lottery ticket his wife gave him. Throughout the story, he refers to gimmicks in order to make money: "Well—a horse is a fine animal—You can sell a horse." He also talks about counterfeiting money in order to repay his debts. It is not until the end of the story when his luck pays off by finding a large sum of money, which he is able to pay all his debts.