2. Anton Chekhov was born on 17th of January, 1860,
in Taganrog, Russia. His grandfather was Egor
Chekhov, a serf. Serfs were the legal property of the
landowners who owned the property on which they
resided; it was thus a form of slavery. In 1841, Egor
bought freedom for himself and his family at the
price of 875 rubles. Taganrog was not a typical
provincial town . Italians, Greeks, and Turks were
living in the wealthier parts of town and Russians
such as the Chekhovs were living in poor suburbs.
At the age of nineteen , Chekhov moved to
Moscow and began to write comic stories in order to
pay his medical school tuition. In 1898, he had been
diagnosed with tuberculosis. , finally he died on the
1st July in 1904.
3. Madame Ranevsky - The owner
of the cherry orchard
Anya - Madame Ranevsky’s
daughter.
Varya - Madame Ranevsky’s
adopted daughter
Gayev - Madame Ranevsky’s
brother
Trofimov - A perpetual student
Pishchik - A local landowner
Lopakhin - A wealthy merchant
Carlotta - Anya’s governess
EpiKhodov - A clerk
Dunyasha - Madame Ranevsky’s
maid,
Firs - An elderly servant of the
family
Yasha - A servant who traveled
abroad with Madame
Ranevsky
Character list
4. The play opens in May, inside the cherry
orchard estate . Madame Ranevsky
returned home after being away for
five years , she left after the deaths of
her husband and young son.
Lopakhin begins by telling the story of
his own success: born a serf, he has
managed to make himself a fortune.
5. Finally, Madame Ranevsky returns. Her friends and family are
overjoyed to see her. The main intrigue of the play,
however, hinges on Madame Ranevsky's debt. Neither she
nor her brother Gayef have money to pay the mortgage on
the cherry orchard estate, and unless they find a solution,
the state will be auctioned off in August.
6. Lopakhin suggests that Madame Ranevsky build villas on the
estate. She can lease them and use the money to pay the
mortgage. Madame Ranevsky and Gayef object to the idea, and
prefer to work something out on their own. However, Madame
Ranevsky only finds herself more in debt, with no solution in
sight.
7. On the night of the auction, no solution has arrived. Madame
Ranevsky is nervous about the outcome of the auction; she is still
hoping for a miracle.
Finally Gayef and Lopakhin return: Lopakhin has bought the cherry
orchard. Lopakhin, cannot hide his happiness: he has bought the
estate where his family lived as serfs.
8. Act IV shows Madame Ranevsky leaving
the cherry orchard for the last time.
In the last moment, we hear axes
cutting down the orchard, and Firs
stumbles on to stage, forgotten,
locked in the house. He lies down to
rest and presumably dies.