Flashcards for The Cherry Orchard

Anya

Anya is Madame Ranevskaya's seventeen-year-old daughter and one of the play's most quietly transformative figures.

character

Charlotte Ivanovna

Charlotte Ivanovna is the quirky governess of the Ranevskaya household in Anton Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard (1904).

character

Firs

Firs is an elderly serf-turned-manservant in Anton Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard, serving the Ranevskaya household for decades with unwavering, almost incomprehensible devotion.

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Leonid Gayev

Leonid Andreyevich Gayev is the brother of Madame Ranevskaya and a co-owner of the cherry orchard estate, representing both the comedic and tragic aspects of the Russian landed gentry's decline.

character

Madame Lyubov Ranevskaya

Madame Lyubov Andreyevna Ranevskaya is the emotional and moral heart of Anton Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard (1904).

character

Pyotr Trofimov

Pyotr Trofimov is the idealistic "eternal student" in Anton Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard, a perpetual academic who has never completed his degree and wanders through life spouting passionate rhetoric instead of engaging in practical action.

character

Simeonov-Pishchik

Boris Simeonov-Pishchik is a neighboring landowner who acts as a comic foil and a minor yet significant presence throughout Anton Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard.

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Varya

Varya is the adopted daughter of Madame Ranevskaya and effectively manages the estate during her mother's extended absence.

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Yasha

Yasha is Madame Ranevskaya's young manservant, a minor yet vividly portrayed comic-satirical character in Anton Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard (1904).

character

Yermolai Lopakhin

Yermolai Lopakhin stands out as the most dynamic character in the play—a self-made merchant whose grandfather and father were once serfs on the very estate he ends up buying.

character

“Human beings are going from bad to worse... I can see it in your eyes. You don't look at me.”

This line is spoken by Firs, the elderly and devoted manservant, in Anton Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard (1904).

Firs

“To begin to live in the present we must first atone for our past, we must break with it; and we can only atone for it by suffering, by extraordinary unceasing labor.”

This line is delivered by Trofimov (Petya), the idealistic student, to Anya in Act II of Anton Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard (1904).

Trofimov (Petya)

“I feel as though I'd never seen these walls, these windows before, and now I look at them hungrily, with such tender love.”

This line is spoken by Madame Ranevskaya (Lyubov Andreyevna) in Anton Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard (1904), right after she returns to her family estate in Act I following five years in France.

Madame Ranevskaya (Lyubov Andreyevna) · Act I

“Oh, you must work, you must work. The reason you look at everything so strangely, so out of focus, is that you have never worked.”

This line is delivered by Lopakhin to Madame Ranevskaya's household, particularly aimed at the idle gentry represented by characters like Gayev and Ranevskaya herself, in Anton Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard (1904).

Lopakhin

“They've gone... they've forgotten me... Never mind... I'll sit here a bit... And Leonid Andreyevich hasn't put his fur coat on; he's gone off in his overcoat. [Sighs anxiously.] I didn't see to it... When they're young, they're green! [Mumbles something indistinguishable.] Life has slipped by as though I hadn't lived. [Lies down.] I'll lie down a bit... There's no strength in you, nothing left, nothing... Ach! You're good for nothing!”

This poignant monologue is delivered by Firs, the elderly servant of the Ranevskaya family, in the final moments of Act IV — the very last lines of the play.

Firs · Act IV

“All Russia is our orchard.”

This line is delivered by Trofimov, the idealistic student, in Anton Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard (1904), particularly in Act II during one of his visionary speeches to Anya, the young daughter of the estate's owner, Madame Ranevskaya.

Trofimov

“Oh, my childhood, my innocent childhood! I used to sleep in this nursery; I used to look out from here into the orchard. Happiness woke with me every morning.”

This line is spoken by Lyubov Andreyevna Ranevskaya in Act I of Anton Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard (1904), when she returns to her family estate in Russia after years away.

Lyubov Andreyevna Ranevskaya · Act I

“Before a cherry orchard or an oak grove is cut down, trees are felled one by one; nothing happens all at once.”

This line is spoken by Lopakhin in Anton Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard (1904) to the Ranevskaya household as he urges them to confront their financial ruin.

Lopakhin

“The cherry orchard is now mine! Mine! ... I've bought the estate where my father and grandfather were slaves, where they weren't even allowed into the kitchen.”

This powerful and conflicted statement comes from Lopakhin, the self-made merchant, right after the auction in Act III of Anton Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard (1904).

Lopakhin · Act III

“Oh, nature, wonderful nature, you shine with eternal radiance, beautiful and indifferent; you, whom we call mother, unite within yourself both life and death.”

This lyrical address to nature is delivered by Lopakhin — or more accurately, by Gayev, the sentimental and impractical brother of Madame Ranevskaya — in Act II of Anton Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard (1904).

Gayev · Act II

Firs as Symbol of the Old Order

In Anton Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard, the elderly serf Firs represents the fading world of pre-Emancipation Russia and the aristocracy that upheld it.

Paris

In Anton Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard (1904), Paris symbolizes escapism, self-deception, and the alluring escape into a life free from responsibilities.

The Axe

In Anton Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard (1904), the axe represents the inevitable force of historical and social change, particularly the rise of the mercantile class as the Russian aristocracy declines.

The Cherry Orchard

In Anton Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard (1904), the orchard serves as the play's main symbol of a fading aristocratic world, the heaviness of memory, and the struggle to embrace change.

The Nursery

In Anton Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard, the nursery symbolizes the strong pull of the past and the characters' struggles to move beyond it.

The Sound of the Breaking String

In Anton Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard (1904), the haunting sound of a breaking string — heard twice throughout the play — symbolizes disruption, loss, and the relentless flow of time.

Symbolism

The cherry orchard is the central symbol of the play, representing different things for each character who reflects on it.

Irony

Chekhov fills the play with both situational and dramatic irony.

Pathetic Fallacy

Chekhov employs the natural world to reflect and amplify the characters' inner emotions throughout the play.

Motif

Sound serves as a recurring motif that shapes the emotional rhythm of the play.

Dramatic Monologue

Several extended speeches serve as dramatic monologues where a character's self-revelation goes beyond their conscious intentions.

Apostrophe

Gaev's address to the old bookcase in Act One — "Dear, most respected bookcase!

Parataxis

Chekhov's dialogue relies on parataxis — where statements are placed next to each other without causal links, leaving the logical connections to be inferred or intentionally vague.

Juxtaposition

Chekhov skillfully contrasts conflicting tones and social realities throughout his work.

Elegy

Though it reads like a play, The Cherry Orchard serves as a reflection on a fading social landscape.

Repetition

Repetition is a key theme throughout the play.

Free Verse

Chekhov's dialogue often takes on a rhythmic quality reminiscent of free verse, especially in the lyrical passages of Act Two.

Extended Metaphor

Trofimov uses an extended metaphor in Acts Two and Three, where the cherry orchard represents all of Russia, and the failure to take action reflects the educated class's inability to confront the realities of their country.

nursery

A room in a large house set aside for young children to sleep and play in; here it is the childhood bedroom where Ranevskaya grew up, now revisited by her as an adult.

noun · Chapter 1

mortgaged

Used as security for a loan, meaning the property can be seized and sold by the lender if the debt is not repaid on time.

adjective · Chapter 1

fixed

Officially set and decided upon, so that a date or arrangement cannot easily be changed or moved.

adjective · Chapter 1

innocent

Free from the troubles, guilt, and complications of adult life; here it describes the pure, carefree quality of early childhood before the world's burdens set in.

adjective · Chapter 1

serf

A peasant farmer in pre-reform Russia who was legally bound to a landowner's estate and could be bought and sold along with the land, essentially a form of slavery.

noun · Chapter 1

estate

A large piece of privately owned land in the countryside, including the main house and all its surrounding grounds, orchards, and outbuildings.

noun · Chapter 1

lease

To rent out land or property to someone else in exchange for regular payments, allowing the owner to raise money without permanently selling the land.

verb · Chapter 1

distasteful

Unpleasant and offensive to one's feelings or sense of dignity; something one finds morally or emotionally repugnant and does not want to consider.

adjective · Chapter 1

merchant

A person who makes a living by buying and selling goods or property, belonging to the commercial trading class rather than the old landed aristocracy.

noun · Chapter 1

flap

To wave or swing about loosely and awkwardly, without purpose or control, the way a loose piece of cloth moves in the wind.

verb · Chapter 2

humanity

All human beings considered together as a single group, viewed here in terms of their shared progress and collective journey toward a better future.

noun · Chapter 2

front ranks

The leading position at the very forefront of a movement or cause; to be in the front ranks is to be among those driving progress forward, not following behind.

phrase · Chapter 2

mournfully

In a way that expresses deep sadness and grief, like the sound of something lamenting a loss as it slowly fades away.

adverb · Chapter 2

harp-string

One of the taut wire or gut strings stretched across a harp that vibrates to produce musical sound; here a single snapping string creates a strange, haunting, melancholy note.

noun · Chapter 2

auction

A public sale in which a property or goods are sold to the highest bidder, the person who offers the most money at the time of sale.

noun · Chapter 3

bear with me

A request for the listener to be patient and wait a moment while the speaker gathers themselves or finishes what they are doing.

phrase · Chapter 3

head is going round

Feeling dizzy and overwhelmed, as though one's thoughts are spinning out of control due to shock, excitement, or strong emotion.

phrase · Chapter 3

schoolboy

Used here not literally but as an insult meaning someone who is immature and naive, still thinking like a child despite being a grown adult.

noun · Chapter 3

slaves

People who were owned as property and forced to work without freedom or pay; used here to describe serfs whose condition Lopakhin equates with slavery.

noun · Chapter 3

do me a favour

A polite appeal asking the listeners to indulge the speaker and give him a moment, similar to 'please bear with me' or 'just let me speak.'

phrase · Chapter 4

strokes

Individual blows of an axe or tool striking something; each stroke is the sound and impact of one swing of the blade cutting into wood.

noun · Chapter 4

handle

The lever or knob attached to a door that is pressed or turned to release the latch and open the door.

noun · Chapter 4

footman

A male domestic servant in a wealthy household whose duties included waiting at table, answering the door, and attending to the family's personal needs.

noun · Chapter 4

manservant

A male personal servant employed in a private household to attend to his employer's daily needs; an old-fashioned term for a male domestic worker.

noun · Chapter 4

dying away

Gradually becoming quieter and quieter until a sound fades into complete silence, like a note of music or an echo slowly disappearing.

phrase · Chapter 2