Capitalism And Socialism In Anton Chekhov's Cherry Orchard

I am delighted that the interactive oral on Anton Chekhov's Cherry Orchard furthered my understanding of certain cultural and political aspects of the novel. The following aspects that became clearer to me are; the importance of Memory for particular characters like Madame Ranevsky and Gayef, the way the transition of time is depicted in the play, and the portrayal of the conflict between capitalism and socialism.

Cherry Orchard explores the after-effects of the Emancipation reform, which altered the social, political and cultural norms of the Russian society, thereby leading to the formation of a new Feudal Russia. Due to this economic alteration, the past holds utmost importance in this novel. For some characters like Ranevsky and Gayef – the past is something to which they are chained to. Both these characters fail to accept the strident present and deceptively live in their very

Firs is introduced to the audience as an old servant who acts like a surviving link to the estate’s glorious past and is unable to adapt to the changing society. He believes that the emancipation reform had caused chaos in the structure of the Russian economy and instead of accepting the changing circumstances, he is often seen idealizing the past “in the old days… used to dry cherries, soak ‘em and pickle ‘em...”. The tone here is of admiration and nostalgia as Firs is seen romanticizing Feudal Russia by bringing out elements of the glorious past. Firs always talks about how things were in the past when the estate was flourishing, and how the masters travelled to Paris by carriage, instead of by train; above all, he frequently talks about how life was before the serfs were liberated, to remind the audience of the thriving past. However, at the end of the play, Firs is forgotten in the metaphorical sense and literal sense as he is ignored by rest of the