Classical Russian literature has always eagerly raised human themes. This is understandable: the reader is most interested and easiest to empathize with precisely those heroes who are somewhat similar to them. The strongest feelings in people are awakened by those characters who live the same way they do. Anton Pavlovich Chekhov in his short play “The Cherry Orchard” raises several topics: social inequality, greed, family ups and downs.
Philosophical arguments, the problem of happiness and questions of will
But the most important theme, which runs through the entire work with a red line and “glues” its parts, is precisely the theme of happiness. The problem of human happiness, oddly enough, does not arise so often in literary works. It would seem that could be more important? After all, if a person is unhappy, he does not value life, and this is the most serious problem that can only come to a person. The fact is that the problem of human happiness is not an unresolved issue, because everyone interprets the very concept of happiness in different ways. For some, this is an abundance of money; for someone, it is the joyful faces of relatives at the holiday table. In Chekhov, this is a cherry orchard.
Internal conflict against external
But why do literary scholars believe that The Cherry Orchard is a work of happiness? What are their arguments? The problem of happiness in the play is associated with almost every character. For example, Ranevskaya believes that she will lose the last joy in life if she cuts down her favorite cherry orchard, in which almost her entire life has passed. Her daughter Anya wants to get married - in this she sees happiness for herself. Old Firs is glad that he can take care of his masters, and this brings sincere joy to him. Lopakhin is an excellent example of a man who is in search of mercantile happiness. So, the problem of happiness in the "Cherry Orchard" is not only an internal conflict of each character. This is also the main idea, which at the same time remains quite elusive. It is widely believed among literary critics that the cherry garden itself symbolizes the unattainable dream of every character, but in the end this unattainable dream leaves them. She leaves because few have put in enough effort to keep her. These are the main arguments. The problem of happiness is a very broad topic, and Chekhov was able to masterfully reveal it by putting only a few successful remarks into the mouths of the heroes.
Humanity Above All
Interestingly, each character behaves very humanly. In the "Cherry Orchard" there is not a single hero who could be called too picturesque or stereotyped. For example, an old Firs is found in every third family - an elderly compassionate man who is ready to give his last shirt, even if he himself has nothing. The author shows it as if briefly, but it is this character that causes the most compassion. The reader does not know what Firsu wants, and he sees only the boundless care and love that he shows to his masters. But Lopakhin is irritating. The person who initially tried to support the family, ultimately stabs them in the back. It is evident that he is a little repentant, but most of his remorse is nevertheless pretentious. Lopakhin is an ideal businessman, so he has such petty arguments. The problem of happiness seems absurd to him, because in his first place is material wealth, but do you compare them with ephemeral happiness?
The tragedy of Ranevskaya
Everyone wants to grab their little piece in life, but not everyone can do it smoothly. The problem of happiness in the works of Russian literature is raised with the help of images of ordinary Russian people who live a simple life. Unlucky Ranevskaya is trying to find her happiness in another country, where she runs after the tragic death of her son. But she cannot find the long-awaited peace there, because after all, she carried her prejudices and a naive character there too. She still returns to Russia, having remained practically without a livelihood. Amazingly, her cherry orchard existed without her for five whole years, and she did not remember him abroad. However, when there was a real threat of the destruction of this garden, a symbol of her former happy life, she panicked. Man is weak because he is attached not only to other people, but also to territory and things, and Ranevskaya cannot imagine that the symbol of her past happiness will suddenly disappear somewhere.
Love that saves the world
Many Russian writers raise the topic of finding their own place in life and satisfaction with this very life. Poets accentuate much more attention on unrequited love. For example, the problem of happiness in Anna Akhmatova’s “A Poem Without a Hero” and in a poem entitled “You made me up” grows out of a lyrical hero’s awareness of his misfortune in the field of love.
In The Cherry Orchard, the theme of love is also raised, and it is just as connected with happiness. Anya Ranevskaya’s daughter dreams of getting married and creating her own family, so she experiences the loss of the cherry garden much more easily than her mother. She does not understand how expensive and symbolic for Ranevskaya this piece of land planted with trees is, because at her age, the priorities are completely different. She is young and looks to the future, and Ranevskaya has already outlived her best years, so the past means so much to her. Perhaps this is what Chekhov is trying to hint to the reader that the good is only ahead of us, and it’s silly to grieve about the past years.
