For Let’s Read Plays – other author theme of July, I have picked Anton Chekhov.
Chekhov is actually more famous with his short stories; he is actually the
father of short story writing in Europe. I have once read one of his short
stories, and have caught his clear, sharp, and deep method of writing. And I
thought it would be interesting to see whether his play was written in the same
style. I picked The Cherry Orchard, in particular, as it is listed on my WEM
self project. I have worked on the Act summaries, as well as the stage
inquiries: the first and the second level.
The Cherry
Orchard tells the story within the Ranevskys’ household. The famous cherry
orchard itself located within the Ranevskys estate; and said to be one of the
most beautiful places on earth. It might be exaggerated—as a cherry orchard
should looks just as other cherry orchards—but it certainly kept the secrets
and history of the family for many generations, which creates a special bound
between the orchard and the residents; the cherry orchard looks beautiful
because it bears many memorable events of the past. And now the Ravenskys must
let their estate go, as it would be sold in an auction to pay their debts.
This play’s
main conflicts lay on the cherry orchard’s sale, as each of the characters’
future would be depended on the sale. There are people who detest the idea;
Lubov Andreyevna—the present owner—a widowed mother, who has been abroad for
five years before finally returns to Russia. Lubov cannot think of leaving, as
she would be like being cut off from her history by that. On the other hand,
Lopakhin—a businessman, son of the estate’s old slave but later on was raised
by the family—insists that the cherry orchard must be cut down, so that a villa
can be built on it. Trofimov—a family teacher—is pleased with the idea of moving
from the estate, and is excited to welcome the future together with Anya, Lubov’s
daughter. While for Varya—Lubov’s adopted daughter—it would be a total ruin, as
she would loose her job besides her home.
To read this
play as only portraying what it performs, would be very deceiving. At first,
you would think that the whole play is only the fuss around losing a family
estate and moving away. But if you read between the lines, you would find
Chekhov’s idea or critics on how Russians see the upcoming waves of change. At
the time Chekhov wrote this, modernism was entering Russia, and the old values
are struggling to survive (this play was first performed on 1904). Each character here stands for certain idea which
reflects the contrast between people who are with modernism versus people who keep
holding on the Old Russian values.
In the play,
you’d see many incoherent dialogs or scenes within the Acts which makes the
plot seems won’t go anywhere. Actually the first four Acts feels flat and
overstretched, you would be asking yourself, what does Chekhov wanted to say, really? Just keep reading, because
in Act Five Chekhov would change the gear, and the acceleration is suddenly
increasing towards a climax. And lo! The ending would be very surprising, if
not shocking. After the curtain has been down, you would sit still, struck, and
couldn’t believe that the play has ended, and that ‘that’ would be the end! And
then, you would reflect the whole play, of the pieces of incoherent dialogs and
scenes, and suddenly, every piece would makes sense, as if the play is a huge
puzzle game. By reflecting it, you would also see what Chekhov has wanted to
tell you beneath the flat story. And finally, you would see the genius brain of
the author who could present his ideas in this play!
Four and a
half stars for The Cherry Orchard, as although I sometimes feel uncomfortable
with the sudden changes in scenes or immediate incoherent interruption, the
language is beautiful, and I love Chekhov’s detailed description of the
background settings.
~~~~~~~~
*I read ebook version from Gutenberg Project*
*This book is counted
as:*
Let’s Read Plays (July) theme: Other Author
49th book for The Classics Club Project
