Perception_in_Chekhov's_the_Cherry_Orchard

Perception of Reality in The Cherry Orchard and The New Villa “Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away.” – Philip K. Dick Perception of reality is a major motif in a multitude of Chekhov’s works. Many of Chekhov’s works feature characters that both compare and contrast with one another. Through characters like Lyubov Ranevskaya and Lopakhin of The Cherry Orchard, and the engineer, Kutcherov, and the villagers of “The New Villa”, Chekhov pokes fun at Russia’s inability to forget the past and adhere to the obstacles of the present.   Lyubov Ranevskaya, a woman of the old aristocracy, finally returns to her homeland of Russia after five years of living in France.  However, her joyous return is marred by her family’s financial problems. Lyubov does not realize nor does she adapt to her current dilemma.  During Act I, Lyubov whimsically gives her money to a passerby, despite her daughter’s protests.  “Oh Mamochka”, Varya cries out, “the servants at home have nothing to eat, and you gave him [the passerby] a gold piece” (Chekhov 242). Additionally, Ranevskaya’s family goes as far as throwing a party at the end of the play even with so little money in their hands. Through these examples, the reader can easily see how out disconnected Lyubov is with reality.   Contrasted with Lyubov’s nonsensical nature is Lopakhin’s practical one. With the Ranevskaya family in disarray and unable to do anything productive to help their predicament, Lopakhin offers the family solutions that may help solve their economic problems. He proposes to chop down the cherry orchard, giving Lyubov and her family a valuable amount of land.  If this land were put up for auction (His idea was actually to build daschas (sp.) or cottages on the cleared land to rent out to vacationers), the family would be able to make enough money to pay off their debts and move out of Russia. Lyubov however, immediately rejects this idea. To her, the cherry orchard is the embodiment of her childhood, a time when life was carefree and money was plentiful, and she refuses to let it be destroyed. She ignores Lopakhin’s voice of reason. “In all my life I never met anyone so frivolous as you two, so crazy and un-businesslike. I tell you in plain Russian your property is going to be sold and you don't seem to understand what I say" (Chekhov 236). In this quote, Lopakhin reprimands Lyubov and Gayev for their lack of understanding of their serious economic predicament. Lyubov finds out that their aunt from Yaroslavl will send them ten thousand or fifteen thousand, and is thankful, but Lopahkin is angry, saying that they need at least one hundred to two hundred thousand to stand a chance of hanging on to the estate.  This re-enforces the fact that the former Russian aristocracy was composed of people like Lyubov who had no practical knowledge such as the ability to budget money. In addition, Lopakhin can be compared to the(get rid of this the) Kutcherov and his wife from “The New Villa”. Lopakhin sees what is best for the family when he proposes that the estate be sold and put up for auction.  Similarly, the Kutcherov’s believe they see what is best for the villagers and try to help them.  The villagers are in poverty, and cannot afford any luxuries. In fact, in Chapter I, when the Kutcherov’s wife gives Rodion a couple of roubles, Rodion goes on his knees and bawls in joy. Kutcherov is always kind to the villagers and even tries to build a bridge for them. His wife does likewise, even proposing to do such acts(to do things like) as building an entire school for the children of the village. However, when the villagers refuse these acts of good will and begin to let loose their cattle to trash the Kutcherov’s land, he becomes infuriated with the villagers’ ungratefulness. Kutcherov cannot understand why the villagers would not receive his and his wife’s aid. This ultimately results in the Kutcherov’s moving out of the village. Even later, the villagers stubbornly cling onto their distorted perception of reality, ignoring the fact they are living in destitution. Consequently, Chekhov uses the narrow-mindedness of the villagers to compare with Russian society’s old way of thinking, and demonstrate that it will only end up in missed opportunities and poverty, as reflected in The Cherry Orchard with Lyubov and her family. Lyubov’s attitude to change and accept the current reality parallels with(this with is unnecessary) that of the villagers’ mind-set. She does not realize what is best for her and her family, and does not recognize that they are drifting into poverty. Also, Ranevskaya does not see the need of selling the estate, though the money could put them out of debt.  In this same way, the villagers are unable to see what is beneficial for them.  The engineer and his wife see the destitute villagers and attempt to aid their town’s well-being. However, when the engineer’s wife offers acts of charity such as building schools and mending roads, the villagers refuse vehemently. Through this, the reader can see how deluded the villagers are about their poverty. They refused to change and thus missed out on the growth and prosperity they could have received from improved schools and roads. “And not knowing what answer to make to these questions they were all silent except Volodka, who muttered something. ‘We lived without a bridge . . .’ said Volodka gloomily. ‘We lived without a bridge, and did not ask for one . . . and we don't want it. . . ’ No one answered him and they walked on in silence with drooping heads” (Chekhov 4). The “drooped heads” shows that the villagers finally realize that the bridge and the school all would have improved their lives for the better and that their society should have accepted the reality of their penury and accepted the Kutcherov’s help. Finally, the cherry orchard and the new villa can be compared directly to each other. Each had a use in the past, with the orchard being used to sell dried cherries, and the villa being built on old land used for grazing and farming. However, now, both are obsolete. Lopakhin wants to sell the cherry orchard because he knows that the money generated from selling the estate would save the family from debt. However, Lyubov has great trouble letting go of her past and the memories of prosperity from the cherry orchard. Similarly, the villagers in The New Villa are angry because they believe that they could put the land to better use, saying that if they owned the land, they would utilize it for farming and grazing, instead of building a luxurious villa without use. Thus, The Cherry Orchard and “The New Villa” are two similarly themed stories. Through them, Chekhov uses the contrast of the characters of Lopakhin and Kutcherov with Lyubov Ranevskaya and the villagers, and the latter’s inability to accept reality to represent Russian society and how it should change to accept and improve it.