Ranevskaya in the system of images of Chekhov's heroines
The play "The Cherry Orchard" became the swan song of A.P. Chekhov, occupying the stage of world theaters for many years. The success of this work was due not only to its subject matter, which is controversial to this day, but also to the images that Chekhov created. For him, the presence of women in the works was very important: “Without a woman, a story is like a machine without steam,” he wrote to one of his acquaintances. At the beginning of the 20th century, the role of women in society began to change. The image of Ranevskaya in the play "The Cherry Orchard" became a vivid caricature of the emancipated contemporaries of Anton Pavlovich, whom he observed in large numbers in Monte Carlo.
Chekhov carefully worked out each female image: facial expressions, gestures, mannerisms, speech, because through them he conveyed an idea of the character and feelings that possess the heroines. Appearance and name also contributed to this.
The image of Ranevskaya Lyubov Andreevna has become one of the most controversial, and this is largely due to the actresses playing this role. Chekhov himself wrote that: “It is not difficult to play Ranevskaya, you just need to take the right tone from the very beginning ...”. Her image is complex, but there are no contradictions in it, since she is true to her internal logic of behavior.
Ranevskaya's life story
The description and characterization of Ranevskaya in the play "The Cherry Orchard" is given through her story about herself, from the words of other characters and the author's remarks. Acquaintance with the central female character begins literally from the first lines, and the story of Ranevskaya's life is revealed in the very first act. Lyubov Andreevna returned from Paris, where she had lived for five years, and this return was caused by the urgent need to resolve the issue of the fate of the estate put up for auction for debts.
Lyubov Andreevna married "a barrister, a non-nobleman ...", "who made only debts", and also "drank terribly" and "died from champagne." Was she happy in this marriage? Unlikely. After the death of her husband, Ranevskaya "unfortunately" fell in love with another. But her passionate romance did not last long. Her young son died tragically, and feeling guilty, Lyubov Andreevna leaves forever abroad. However, her lover went after her "ruthlessly, rudely", and after several years of painful passions "he robbed ... abandoned, got together with another", and she, in turn, tries to poison herself. Seventeen-year-old daughter Anya comes to Paris for her mother. Oddly enough, but this young girl partly understands her mother and pities her. Throughout the play, the sincere love and affection of the daughter are visible. Having stayed in Russia for only five months, Ranevskaya immediately after the sale of the estate, taking the money intended for Anya, returns to Paris to her lover.
Characteristics of Ranevskaya
On the one hand, Ranevskaya is a beautiful woman, educated, with a subtle sense of beauty, kind and generous, who is loved by others, but her shortcomings border on vice and therefore are so noticeable. “She is a good person. Light, simple,” says Lopakhin. He sincerely loves her, but his love is so unobtrusive that no one knows about it. Almost the same thing is said by her brother: “She is good, kind, glorious ...” but she is “vicious. It is felt in her slightest movement.
Absolutely all the characters speak of her inability to manage money, and she herself understands this very well: “I have always overspent money without restraint, like crazy ...”; “... she has nothing left. And my mother doesn’t understand! ”says Anya,“ My sister has not yet lost the habit of overspending money, ”Gaev echoes her. Ranevskaya is used to living without denying herself pleasures, and if her relatives try to cut down on their expenses, then Lyubov Andreevna simply does not succeed, she is ready to give her last money to a random passerby, although Varya has nothing to feed her household.
At first glance, Ranevskaya's feelings are very deep, but if you pay attention to the author's remarks, it becomes clear that this is only an appearance. For example, while waiting in excitement for her brother from the auction, she sings a lezginka. And this is a vivid example of her whole being. She, as it were, distances herself from unpleasant moments, trying to fill them with actions that can bring positive emotions. The phrase that characterizes Ranevskaya from The Cherry Orchard: “You don’t have to deceive yourself, you need to look the truth straight in the eye at least once in your life,” says that Lyubov Andreevna is out of touch with reality, stuck in her world.
“Oh, my garden! After a dark, rainy autumn and a cold winter, you are young again, full of happiness, the angels of heaven have not left you ... ”- with these words, Ranevskaya welcomes the garden after a long separation, a garden without which she“ does not understand her life ”, with which linked her childhood and youth. And it seems that Lyubov Andreevna loves her estate, and cannot live without it, but she does not try to make any attempts to save it, thereby betraying it. For most of the play, Ranevskaya hopes that the issue of the estate will be resolved by itself, without her participation, although it is her decision that is the main one. Although Lopakhin's proposal is the most realistic way to save him. The merchant foresees the future, saying that it is quite possible that "the summer resident ... will take care of the household, and then your cherry orchard will become happy, rich, luxurious", because at the moment the garden is in a state of disrepair, and does not bring any benefit, nor nailed to its owners .
For Ranevskaya, the cherry orchard meant her inseparable connection with the past and her ancestral attachment to the Motherland. She is part of him, just as he is part of her. She realizes that the sale of the garden is an inevitable payment for a past life, and this can be seen in her monologue about sins, in which she realizes them and takes them upon herself, asking the Lord not to send big trials, and the sale of the estate becomes their kind of atonement: “My nerves better… I sleep well.”
Ranevskaya is an echo of the cultural past, thinning literally before our eyes and disappearing from the present. Perfectly aware of the perniciousness of her passion, realizing that this love is pulling her to the bottom, she returns to Paris, knowing that "this money will not last long."
Against this background, love for daughters looks very strange. The adopted daughter, who dreams of going to a monastery, gets a job as a housekeeper to her neighbors, since she does not have at least a hundred rubles to donate, and her mother simply does not attach any importance to this. The native daughter Anya, left at the age of twelve in the care of a careless uncle, in the old estate is very worried about the future of her mother, and is saddened by the imminent parting. "... I will work, help you..." - says a young girl who is not yet familiar with life.
The further fate of Ranevskaya is very unclear, although Chekhov himself said that: "Only death can calm down such a woman."
Characteristics of the image and description of the life of the heroine of the play will be useful for students of grade 10 when preparing an essay on the topic “The Image of Ranevskaya in the play “The Cherry Orchard” by Chekhov”.
Artwork test
Ranevskaya Lyubov Andreevna is the main character of the play "The Cherry Orchard" written by Chekhov. The basis of the plot is the fate of the family estate due to debts. The play clearly shows the alignment of social strata inherent in that time. Nobles are represented by Gaev and Ranevskaya, entrepreneurs by Lopakhin, and the future and young Russia by Anya and Petya.
All characters are involved in the most important business - the sale of the Cherry Orchard. Ranevskaya is a landowner and owner of an estate with a garden; after the death of her husband and son, she moved to Paris. The heroine got used to a luxurious life, she spent money on herself and her lover, dined in restaurants without restrictions, and as a result was left without money and housing.
Characteristics of the heroine
(Actress Olga Knipper as Ranevskaya L.A.)
Ranevskaya's nature is kind, sentimentality is inherent in her, but in everyday life this turns into helplessness. She looks longingly at the former nursery, but remembers the cherry orchard most vividly, his fate upsets the lady, she understands that she does not live according to her conscience, but she does not find the strength to change. From childhood, she was accustomed to luxury.
The main qualities include:
- sentimentality. He loves his homeland, misses the past, cries when he sees the nursery;
- helpless and thoughtless. The heroine cannot behave correctly, spends a lot, sins;
- generous;
- responsive. Can give the last;
- frivolous. The estate is dear to her, but she does not want to understand the importance of her behavior.
Due to her fault, Varenka ate poorly, and the estate was overgrown with debts. She does not agree to the idea of building dachas on the site of the garden, Ranevskaya hopes that everything will normalize by itself.
(Maria Ignatova as Ranevskaya L.A., Bolshoi Drama Theater)
Psychological features of Ranevskaya
The heroine cannot move away from luxury, her way of life does not change even for the sake of saving the Cherry Orchard. She refuses to organize dachas for rent, considering it vulgar, she does not want to cut down the garden. He is dear to her as a symbol of the motherland, childhood and even nobility. Contrary to common sense, Ranevskaya hopes that her relatives will help her, that everything will pass and smooth out. She wants to live brightly and richly, she is attached to the one with whom she lived in France, and is ready to return, although she knows for sure that she will not be happy. They have features inherent in the Russian nobles of that era.
The image of the heroine in the play
(Renata Litvinova in the image of Ranevskaya L.A., Moscow Art Theater. Chekhov)
Lyubov Andreevna went abroad after the death of her husband and the drowning of her son Grisha, and lived there for 5 years. They speak of her as a simple and easy person, she openly lived in Paris, receiving guests and wasting her budget. She is sensitive, affectionate to the butler and daughters. She is the main character, since it was her spending and inaction that led to the sale of the mansion for debts, and its purchase by Lopakhin during the bidding process. The hopes of the lady did not come true, she lost both her garden and her estate, and returned to Paris heartbroken. Ranevskaya is a true noblewoman, and behaves accordingly. Even when she leaves, she appropriates the money sent to her daughter.
(Galina Nizova— Ranevskaya L.A., Studio of theater and cinema)
What does the image of Ranevskaya show
Each character in the play shows a certain moment of Russian reality. Ranevskaya is a symbol of the country in the past, she remembers how the garden gave abundant harvests, and regrets that now it is no longer so. At the same time, she tries to maintain the previous level, revel and arrange balls. In symbolic forms, Chekhov predicted future events in Russia.
Lyubov Andreevna Ranevskaya.
| Quotes. | A comment. |
| Lyubov Andreevna Ranevskaya, landowner. | |
| “She is a good person. Easy, simple man. | About her Lopakhin. |
| “Six years ago my father died, a month later my brother Grisha, a pretty seven-year-old boy, drowned in the river. Mom couldn’t bear it, she left, left, without looking back ... (Starts.) How I understand her, if she knew!” | Anya about the tragedy in the family. |
| “God knows, I love my homeland, I love dearly, I could not look from the car, I kept crying. (Through tears.) However, you need to drink coffee. | High-flown words about love for the motherland Ranevskaya immediately interrupts with ordinary phrases about coffee. There is a lot of artistry, ostentation in her speech and behavior. |
| “... I won’t survive this joy ... Laugh at me, I’m stupid ... My closet is dear ... (Kisses the closet.) My table.” Gaev. And without you here the nanny died. Lyubov Andreevna (sits down and drinks coffee). Yes, the kingdom of heaven. They wrote to me. | Glad to be home. But again, everything is ostentatious: love for things and indifference to the fate of people. Too calmly perceived the death of the nanny. |
| “Oh, my garden! After a dark, rainy autumn and cold winter, you are young again, full of happiness, the angels of heaven have not abandoned you ... If only a heavy stone could be removed from my chest and shoulders, if I could forget my past! | The past weighs on the soul of the heroine. |
| Gaev. Yes, and the garden will be sold for debts, oddly enough ... | Ranevskaya does not seem to hear these words of her brother about the fate of the garden, she is not trying to do anything to save the estate. |
| “She married a non-nobleman and behaved, one cannot say, very virtuously. She is good, kind, nice, I love her very much, but no matter how you think of extenuating circumstances, nevertheless, I must admit she is vicious. It is felt in her slightest movement. | Gaev speaks about his sister in a very contradictory way. |
| Lyubov Andreevna (looks in his wallet). Yesterday there was a lot of money, and today there is very little. My poor Varya, out of economy, feeds everyone with milk soup, in the kitchen they give old people one pea, and I spend like a meaningless. | Ranevskaya just squanders money. At a time when the family has no money even for a normal meal. |
| « I've always been throwing money away without restraint, like a madwoman, and married a man who did nothing but debt. | Critical of himself. |
| « You boldly look ahead, and is it not because you do not see and do not expect anything terrible, since life is still hidden from your young eyes? You are bolder, more honest, deeper than us, but think about it, be generous at the tip of your finger, spare me. After all, I was born here, my father and mother lived here, my grandfather, I love this house, without a cherry orchard I don't understand my life, and if you really need to sell it, then sell me along with the garden ... (Hugs Trofimov, kisses him on the forehead.) After all, my son drowned here ... " | Trofimov. Ranevskaya asks to spare her feelings, because the garden is so dear to her. At the same time, she understands that young people are more honest, bolder than the older generation. |
| Lyubov Andreevna. This is a telegram from Paris. I receive every day. Both yesterday and today. This wild man fell ill again, it’s not good with him again ... He asks for forgiveness, begs to come, and really I should have gone to Paris to be near him. ... he is sick, he is lonely, unhappy, and who will look after him there, who will keep him from making mistakes, who will give him medicine in time? And what is there to hide or be silent, I love him, that's clear. Love love…" | Trofimov. Ranevskaya admits that she loves the person who is now there, in Paris, who needs her help. And if at first she did not read his telegrams, then after a while she already wants to go to him. |
| Trofimov. After all he is a scoundrel only you don't know this! He's a petty scoundrel, a nonentity... | About her lover Ranevskaya, when she said that she wanted to go to Paris with him, because he needed him. |
| "You have to be a man, at your age need to understand those who love. And you need to love yourself ... you need to fall in love! | He accuses Trofimov of not understanding her feelings, says that he needs to fall in love, then he will be able to understand her. |
| “I am leaving for Paris, I will live there with the money that your Yaroslavl grandmother sent to buy an estate - long live grandmother! “But that money won’t last long.” | Anya before leaving. Ranevskaya does not think about the future, about where she will take the money. As long as she has them, and she is ready to go to her beloved again. |
| “I am leaving with two concerns. The first is sick Firs. My second sadness is Varya. She was used to getting up early and working, and now without difficulty she is like a fish without water. She lost weight, turned pale and cries, poor thing ... ". | Ranevskaya leaves, not caring about the fate of people close and devoted to her. She never made sure that Firs a was taken to the hospital. She leaves Anya, Varya, and her brother to the mercy of fate. So many unfinished business, and she's leaving. This is indifference, love is only ostentatious, external, in the foreground are her interests and feelings. |
General conclusion.
- Lyubov Andreevna Ranevskaya- landowner, one of the mistresses of the family estate. Once she was rich, littered with money. Generals and barons danced at her evenings. A blooming cherry orchard for her is a symbol of a beautiful past life.
- However, that time has long passed. Her husband drank, dying from this, she went abroad for her lover, but he robbed her. At the beginning of the play, the author showed how she and her daughter Anya return to their native estate. But he is about to be sold for debts.
- The heroine has two daughters - Anya, she is 17 years old, and Varya, her adopted daughter, her 24 years old.
- She is very happy to return, everything in the house is dear to her, because it reminds her of her childhood, her parents, her dead son Grisha. It seems to her that she is able to start a new life.
- There are many attractive features in Ranevskaya: kindness, charm, enthusiasm, love for nature, music, emotionality.
- However, Ranevskaya is not capable of decisive action. So, she doesn’t want to hear about Lopakhin’s proposal to sell the estate to summer residents. He continues to waste money: he eats in an expensive restaurant, orders musicians, distributes money to a passer-by and peasants. Ranevskaya, like her brother Gaev, it seems that everything will somehow be decided by itself, that something will happen and the estate will again belong to them.
- She is very frivolous, even helpless in solving everyday problems. Someone has to decide for her.
- By nature, she is a kind, considerate woman. It is no coincidence that Lopakhin recalls all his life how she reassured him as a child after his father's beatings. Peasants, servants love her, everyone regrets when she goes abroad again.
- However, she does not undertake anything serious in the fate of her loved ones. Ranevskaya leaves the children (Anya will study, work, Varya entered the service of the landowners), did not complete the deal with Firs, because he was never admitted to the hospital. So many unfinished business, and she's leaving. This is indifference, love is only ostentatious, external, in the foreground is her interests and feelings.
- Ranevskaya is selfish, she lives with feelings. It is no coincidence that her brother calls her "vicious."
- Attitude towards the heroine is ambiguous. She evokes sympathy, because fate was sometimes so cruel to her. At the same time, she herself is largely to blame for her situation: inability to work, idle life, inability to live, some indifference to the fate of people, although kindness to them - all this cannot cause sympathy. The author showed that the time of the nobility, as an estate that is not able to keep up with the times, has already gone. You have to change, otherwise you just end up with nothing. Namely, this is what awaits Ranevskaya after a certain time, when the money runs out.
The material was prepared by: Melnikova Vera Alexandrovna.
"The Cherry Orchard". The landowner who squandered her fortune and was left without money. A kind and trusting, but unrestrained woman in spending, who cannot get rid of the habit of overspending. Mother of two daughters. The heroine's estate is put up for auction for debts.
History of creation
The author of the play "The Cherry Orchard" Anton Pavlovich ChekhovThe Cherry Orchard is the last of Anton Chekhov's plays, on which the writer finished a year before his death. The first sketches belong to the beginning of 1901, and in September 1903 the work was already completed. The play was first staged at the Moscow Art Theater under direction in January 1904. The role of Ranevskaya in this first production was played by Chekhov's wife, actress Olga Leonardovna Knipper. The role of the brother of the main character was played by Stanislavsky himself.
The play "The Cherry Orchard"
The full name of the heroine is Lyubov Andreevna Ranevskaya, nee Gaeva. The age of the heroine is not indicated in the play, but it can be assumed that Ranevskaya is about forty years old. The heroine has two daughters - adopted, Varya, 24 years old; dear, Anya, 17 years old. The years have not spoiled the heroine, those around Ranevskaya say that she looks just as great as before, and even prettier. The heroine has "touching" eyes, and she dresses "in Parisian style".
In the past, Ranevskaya was a wealthy landowner, but she squandered her fortune and was left without money. The heroine has a light and sympathetic character, others consider Ranevskaya a kind and glorious woman. The heroine is generous to the point of foolishness and easily parted with money even in a situation where there is practically no money. Daughters say about the heroin that she has not changed at all, despite the circumstances, and is still ready to give away the last money when "people at home have nothing to eat."
Ranevskaya really got used to overspend money without restraint, "like crazy", and had not yet realized her new position. The heroine does not understand how bad the financial affairs of the family are, and continues to order expensive dishes in restaurants and leave generous tips for lackeys.
Illustration for the book "The Cherry Orchard" Varya, the eldest daughter of the heroine, tries to save on everything, including food, while Ranevskaya herself spends money "somehow senselessly" and does not think about the future fate of the family. The heroine understands that she is acting unreasonably, calls herself stupid, but cannot or does not want to do anything with her own habits.
Ranevskaya treats others with love and affection. He loves his daughters and behaves kindly towards them, treats the old lackey with tenderness. The heroine lived abroad for some time, but at the same time she loves Russia. Ranevskaya claims that she cried on the train when she returned home.
The estate with a cherry orchard, which belongs to Ranevskaya and her brother, is put up for auction and will be sold for debts. The auction date has already been set. The merchant tries to help the heroine and advises him to cut down the old garden, demolish the old buildings that are worthless, break the vacant land into plots and give it to summer cottages in order to earn money on rent.
According to Lopakhin's calculations, in this way it is possible to gain at least twenty-five thousand a year, pay off debts and leave the estate to Ranevskaya. However, the heroine does not seem to understand that her estate is up for sale, that the situation requires urgent and decisive action. Ranevskaya remains indifferent to Lopakhin's arguments and refuses to cut down the garden. The heroine believes that "dachas and summer residents - it's gone." Lopakhin considers the heroine an unbusinesslike and frivolous woman.
Ranevskaya associates the Cherry Orchard with happy times of youth, and cutting it down for the heroine means betraying herself. As a result, neither the heroine herself nor her brother take any action to rectify the situation, and only wait for everything to somehow resolve itself. Ultimately, the estate is bought at auction by the merchant Lopakhin himself and orders the old cherry orchard to be cut down, as advised by Ranevskaya. The further biography of the heroine is unknown.
Screen adaptations
In 1981, a film adaptation of Chekhov's play called "The Cherry Orchard" was released in the UK. This is a drama film directed by Richard Eyre, with an actress in the role of Ranevskaya. The role of the merchant Lopakhin was played by actor Bill Paterson.
In 1999, another dramatic film adaptation of The Cherry Orchard was released, this time a co-production between France and Greece. The film was directed by Greek director Michalis Kakoyanis, who also wrote the script. The film has music. Filming took place in Bulgaria. The role of Ranevskaya was played by a British actress, and the brother of the heroine Leonid Gaev is played by actor Alan Bates.
Charlotte Rampling in The Cherry Orchard The Russian adaptation of Chekhov's play was released in 2008 under the name "Garden" - and this is a comedy. Director and scriptwriter - Sergey Ovcharov. The role of Ranevskaya in the film is played by actress Anna Vartanyan. While working on the script, Ovcharov included only part of the material of the play, but at the same time he used sketches of some of Chekhov's unwritten works, which were preserved in the writer's notebooks. The film contains elements of farce and commedia dell'arte. For example, the images of servants who have gotten away with it in the film are based on the classic characters of the Italian square theater - Harlequin, and.
Quotes
“If there is anything interesting, even remarkable, in the whole province, it is only our cherry orchard.”
“Oh my dear, my gentle, beautiful garden! .. My life, my youth, my happiness, goodbye! ..”
"Am I sitting here? (Laughs.) I want to jump, wave my arms. (He covers his face with his hands.) What if I'm sleeping! God knows, I love my homeland, I love dearly, I could not look out of the car, I kept crying. (Through tears.) However, you must drink coffee. Thank you, Firs, thank you, my old man. I'm so glad you're still alive."
Anya is one of the truly sincere and open characters in A.P. Chekhov's play, which has become a classic of Russian fiction.
The image and characterization of Anya Trofimova in the play "The Cherry Orchard" is a hope for the spiritual rebirth of Russia.
The role of the heroine in the play
Anya Ranevskaya is not the main character of the work. She is assigned a role of secondary importance, she complements the plot of the play, helps to understand the problem raised by the author of the play. A.P. Chekhov himself tries to characterize the role of the character in his letters. In one of the letters, he says that Anya's role is "short and uninteresting." This young and thin girl is an example of childishness, naivety and burning hopes for a better life. For actors, the author simplifies the task. In his opinion, it can be "played by anyone." The main thing is external similarity. Youth, a sonorous voice, the ability to hold back tears and be cheerful and carefree. But if you do not think about the significance of literature, you can deny the importance of many insignificant characters. Anna cannot be removed from the text. It helps to understand the character of many heroes:
- loss and fear of Vari's life;
- isolation from the real perception of the mother's life;
- laziness and parasitism of representatives of the nobility;
- love for the chatter of the learned Peter;
- the insincerity of Gaev's words;
- vanity of Lopakhin.
Girl character
Anya is 17 years old, she has not yet matured and feels like a naive child in her soul. Anya's mother is an impoverished noblewoman who does not understand the complexity of her position. She is in the air, making plans that are not destined to come true. Part of her demeanor passed on to her daughter. Anya flew in a balloon in Paris, she admires ordinary things, enjoys life and does not understand people. Anya spent most of her life abroad. She was educated by a governess of French origin with an unknown past. Governess Charlotte is a circus performer. It cannot be assumed that her knowledge is sufficient for a girl. Anya independently searched for what helped her become interesting and educated. She read a lot, looking for correct life principles in books. The books did their job: the girl grew up enthusiastic and emotional. She easily succumbs to the ideas of Peter, believes his every word. The young man was the teacher of the deceased brother, but it is likely that his lessons were also interesting for Anya.The daughter loves her mother very much, she chooses the most tender words for her: beautiful, kind, good. Anya loves her half-sister Varya, she treats her as affectionately as her mother: beautiful, darling.
Anya and eternal student Petya
Ranevskaya is friends with Peter Trofimov. Young people talk, looking for the meaning of happiness and freedom. They do not accept the possibility of feelings of love between them, trying to deny love in existence. Their goal is a bright star that shines in the distance and beckons them with its light. The author does not give the exact content of their conversations. The reader is forced to guess what the heroes of the play dream about. There is only fragmentary data of their hopes:- new cherry orchard;
- quiet cozy house;
- reading books in the evenings;
- happy people around.
