Speech characteristics of Ranevskaya Lyubov Andreevna. Characteristics of Ranevskaya from “The Cherry Orchard”: the heroine’s controversial character
« The Cherry Orchard" - one of the most popular and famous works, written by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov. It reflects many negative socio-historical phenomena political system of that time, such as the moral impoverishment and degradation of the nobility, the emergence of capitalism, and with this the emergence of a new class - the bourgeoisie. And no matter how sad it sounds, but main theme The work became the fate of all of Russia, which is associated with the cherry orchard. From the pages, the reader emerges from the pages of the life story of the people of Tsarist Rus', which invariably walked towards rebirth.
Characteristic: Lyubov Ranevskaya (“The Cherry Orchard”)
In this play, Ranevskaya and her brother Gaev are representatives of the past, Lopakhin - of the present, Anya and Trofim - of the future.
All the events of the work take place on the estate of Lyubov Andreevna Ranevskaya, where a cherry orchard occupies large areas of land. Everything is being sold due to the owner's numerous debts. She returned home from abroad just in time for spring, when the whole garden is in white, starlings sing playfully, and the sky is blue. Nature is being renewed, and with it Ranevskaya is enveloped in hopes for a new and happy life. She admiringly admires: “All, all white! Oh, my garden!
For the future owner, merchant Lopakhin, this cherry orchard is not only an object good deal, but also something more. He says that he has never seen anything more beautiful than this estate, because his grandfather was a serf here.
Portrait description of Ranevskaya from “The Cherry Orchard”
If we take the description artistic portrait the main character, then we are faced with an image that at first glance seems very sweet and attractive. Ranevskaya really rejoices very sincerely and touchingly, has fun, and sometimes even bursts into tears when remembering her childhood or her son who died.
What was Ranevskaya really like? “The Cherry Orchard” (including the characterization of the heroine) literally immediately, in just a few strokes, makes it clear all the frivolity of her nature. She behaves too artificially, so one can immediately doubt the sincerity of her experiences.
She constantly jumps up and walks around, very excited, says that she cannot survive this joy, while kissing the closet and saying: “Laugh at me, I’m stupid...”.
The characterization of Ranevskaya (“The Cherry Orchard”) suggests that she is self-critical and quite smart, but accustomed to living at other people’s expense. She is no longer able to change anything about herself, so she has become a slave to circumstances, whims and the worthless person who robbed her.
Ranevskaya herself understands that she is a spendthrift who quickly and senselessly wastes money, while her adopted daughter Varya feeds her household with milk soup, and the old people in the kitchen are given only peas.
Love
Further examining the topic we touched upon, namely “Ranevskaya (“The Cherry Orchard”): characteristics of the heroine,” we note that Lyubov Andreevna at first does not pay any attention to telegrams from Paris from her boyfriend and even tears them up until she finds out the name of the buyer of her estate . And then she leaves everyone to the mercy of fate (including her girls, Anya and Varya too) and leaves for Paris with her last money. She planned to live in this city using the funds that Anya’s grandmother sent to purchase the estate. Everyone understands that they won’t last long for her.
This behavior supposedly justifies the fact that her love for a dishonest person is to blame for everything. But this is hardly a lofty feeling; on the contrary, there is something base, repulsive, and even funny in some places.
Lopakhin
Further, the characterization of Ranevskaya (“The Cherry Orchard”) indicates that she is selfish and very impractical, and she even says about herself that she is beneath love. However, there is something very feminine, light and attractive about her, she is sweet, kind and sympathetic. But gradually all this, along with the feeling of beauty, fades away.
Lopakhin sincerely treats Ranevskaya, he sympathizes with her and shares her passion extraordinary beauty cherry orchard, and all because he is a very sensitive and soft person.
Irreparable loss
However, Ranevskaya is not destined to save the garden dear to her heart, since she does not have that commercial streak and she will not be able to make it profitable again, as it was almost half a century ago. This fact is emphasized by her remark: “...It used to be that dried cherries were transported by carts and sent to Moscow and Kharkov. There was money!”
As a result, Ranevskaya sells the cherry orchard and that beauty that cannot protect itself. And therefore everything must disappear, and at the same time something very important and intimate disappears irrevocably.
Her brother Gaev looks just as helpless, who only in his own eyes remained in highest degree an aristocrat. He practically does not notice Lopakhin and considers him a boor who needs to be put in his place.
Conclusion
However, whatever the characterization of Ranevskaya, Chekhov conceived The Cherry Orchard precisely as a comedy, and perhaps it was the theatrical and director’s production that exaggerated the colors too much. Who knows?! Or maybe you need to approach life as carefree, easy and fun as the main character did?
/ / / The image of Ranevskaya in Chekhov’s play “The Cherry Orchard”
Ranevskaya appears before the reader as a woman no longer young, but who has managed to maintain a rather attractive appearance. Having buried her son many years ago, she was left with her own daughter and her adopted daughter Varya.
The woman leaves for Paris in order to escape from the grief that hangs over her like a stigma. However, Love does not find happiness in another country either. Her chosen one first becomes very ill, and later ruins Ranevskaya and finds himself a “new” love. This forces her to return to her native estate, which has already been put up for auction for a large debt.
Chekhov also shows Ranevskaya’s character. The woman is kind, generous, sublime, very educated. There is real affection between her and her daughter Anna. All the characters in the play speak positively about her.
However, a woman also has a number of positive negative qualities. She is wasteful and inattentive to money. Her “lightness and airiness” is just the outer shell of spinelessness, stupidity and affectation. The woman is used to spending all her time for her own pleasure. She is not worried about what her children eat, how she will pay for the musicians, and in general how to help her family in difficult times. Passive participation in deciding the fate of the cherry orchard entails corresponding consequences. But she doesn't even think about it. The woman firmly believes in miracles, and does not understand the seriousness of the situation.
All her thoughts are directed to memories of the past. She flutters around the rooms like a butterfly, hugs old furniture and admires the cherry blossoms.
Ranevskaya is absolutely empty inside. Accustomed to always having a lot of money, living in luxury, wearing expensive jewelry, giving balls, a woman is absolutely not adapted to real life. Perhaps because of this, she subconsciously selects men who just as carefree “exist” at her expense.
Several times Love catches herself thinking that she is saving on everything and denying herself everything. And that now is not the time when you can “waste” money, but this is only temporary enlightenment. She feels a little sorry for her daughter, but she is not going to change her life. After all, Ranevskaya does not know how hard it is to get “chervonets”.
Many people are used to using Ranevskaya’s wallet, even her devoted lackey Yasha. She doesn’t think that such a life leads her to poverty, where no one will help her, not even.
In the meantime, there is money sent by her aunt to buy out the estate, but which was catastrophically not enough, there is the lackey Yasha, there is Paris, again opening its arms... Ahead is a comfortable life abroad, a repentant lover, what else can Ranevskaya dream of?! What about the daughters? Well, God be with them, the adults will somehow live on their own...
Love is so discouraged by the loss of the cherry orchard that she lets Varya’s matchmaking take its course. She again believes that without her this “problem” will somehow be solved by itself. But in the end, Lopakhin still does not dare to propose marriage to the girl. Varya leaves to work for “strangers” as a housekeeper, and this does not bother the carefree Ranevskaya at all. The main thing is that she is doing well.
The prototypes of Ranevskaya, according to the author, were Russian ladies who lived idly in Monte Carlo, whom Chekhov observed abroad in 1900 and early 1901: “And what insignificant women... [about a certain lady. - V.K.] “she lives here with nothing to do, just eats and drinks...” How many Russian women die here” (from a letter from O.L. Knipper).
At first, Ranevskaya’s image seems sweet and attractive to us. But then it acquires stereoscopicity and complexity: the lightness of her stormy experiences is revealed, exaggeration in the expression of feelings: “I can’t sit still, I’m not able to. (Jumps up and walks around in great excitement.) I won’t survive this joy... Laugh at me, I’m stupid... The closet is my dear. (Kisses the closet.) My table...” At one time, the literary critic D. N. Ovsyaniko-Kulikovsky even asserted, referring to the behavior of Ranevskaya and Gaev: “The terms “frivolity” and “emptiness” are no longer used here in a common and general way , and in a closer - psychopathological - sense, the behavior of these characters in the play “is incompatible with the concept of a normal, healthy psyche.” But the fact of the matter is that all the characters in Chekhov’s play are normal, ordinary people, only them usual life, everyday life is viewed by the author as if through a magnifying glass.
Ranevskaya, despite the fact that her brother (Leonid Andreevich Gaev) calls her a “vicious woman,” oddly enough, evokes respect and love from all the characters in the play. Even the footman Yasha, as a witness to her Parisian secrets and quite capable of familiar treatment, does not occur to him to be cheeky with her. Culture and intelligence gave Ranevskaya the charm of harmony, sobriety of mind, and subtlety of feelings. She is smart, capable of telling the bitter truth about herself and about others, for example, about Pete Trofimov, to whom she says: “You have to be a man, at your age you have to understand those who love. And you have to love yourself... “I am above love!” You are not above love, but simply, as our Firs says, you are a klutz.”
And yet, there is much that evokes sympathy in Ranevskaya. Despite all her lack of will and sentimentality, she is characterized by a breadth of nature and a capacity for selfless kindness. This attracts Petya Trofimov. And Lopakhin says about her: “She is a good person. An easy, simple person."
Ranevskaya’s double, but a less significant personality, is Gaev in the play; it is no coincidence that he is on the list characters he is represented by his sister’s affiliation: “Ranevskaya’s brother.” And he is sometimes able to say smart things, sometimes be sincere, self-critical. But the sister’s shortcomings - frivolity, impracticality, lack of will - become caricatures in Gaev. Lyubov Andreevna only kisses the closet in a fit of emotion, while Gaev makes a speech in front of him in “high style.” In his own eyes, he is an aristocrat of the highest circle, Lopakhina does not seem to notice and tries to put “this boor” in his place. But his contempt—the contempt of an aristocrat who ate his fortune “on candy”—is ridiculous.
Gaev is infantile and absurd, for example, in the following scene:
“Firs. Leonid Andreevich, you are not afraid of God! When should you sleep?
Gaev (swatting away Firs). So be it, I’ll undress myself.”
Gaev is another version of spiritual degradation, emptiness and vulgarity.
It has been noted more than once in the history of literature, the unwritten “history” of the reader’s perception of Chekhov’s works, that he allegedly experienced a special prejudice towards the high society - towards noble, aristocratic Russia. These characters - landowners, princes, generals - appear in Chekhov's stories and plays not only empty, colorless, but sometimes stupid and poorly mannered. (A.A. Akhmatova, for example, reproached Chekhov: “And how he described representatives of the upper classes... He didn’t know these people! He didn’t know anyone higher than the assistant station manager... Everything is wrong, wrong!”)
However, it is hardly worth seeing in this fact a certain tendentiousness of Chekhov or his incompetence; the writer had a lot of knowledge of life. It’s not about this, it’s not about social “registration” Chekhov's characters. Chekhov did not idealize representatives of any class, no social group, he was, as you know, outside of politics and ideology, outside of social preferences. All classes “got it” from the writer, and the intelligentsia too: “I don’t believe in our intelligentsia, hypocritical, false, hysterical, ill-mannered, lazy, I don’t believe even when it suffers and complains, because its oppressors come from its own depths.” .
With that high cultural, moral, ethical and aesthetic exactingness, with that wise humor with which Chekhov approached man in general and his era in particular, social differences lost their meaning. This is the peculiarity of his “funny” and “sad” talent. In The Cherry Orchard itself there are not only no idealized characters, but also certainly goodies(this applies to Lopakhin (“modern” Chekhov’s Russia), and to Anya and Petya Trofimov (Russia of the future).
Ranevskaya Lyubov Andreevna is the main character 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. The nobles are represented by Gaev and Ranevskaya, the entrepreneurs by Lopakhin, and the future and young Russia by Anya and Petya.
All characters are involved in the most important matter - the sale of The Cherry Orchard. Ranevskaya is a landowner and mistress of an estate with a garden; after the death of her husband and son, she moved to Paris. The heroine was accustomed to a luxurious life, she spent money on herself and her lover, dined in restaurants without restrictions, and in the end was left without money and housing.
Characteristics of the heroine
(Actress Olga Knipper as Ranevskaya L.A.)
Ranevskaya’s nature is kind, she is characterized by sentimentality, but in everyday life this turns into helplessness. She looks longingly at the former nursery, but most vividly she remembers the cherry orchard, its fate upsets the lady, it is clear to her that she is not living according to her conscience, but she does not find the strength to change. Since childhood, she has been accustomed to luxury.
The main qualities include:
- sentimentality. He loves his homeland, misses the past, cries when he sees the nursery;
- helpless and frivolous. The heroine cannot behave correctly, spends a lot, sins;
- generous;
- responsive. Can give away the last;
- not serious. The estate is dear to her, but she does not want to understand the importance of her behavior.
It was her fault that Varenka ate poorly, and the estate became overgrown with debts. She does not agree with the idea of building dachas on the site of the garden; Ranevskaya hopes that everything will return to normal on its own.
(Maria Ignatova as L.A. Ranevskaya, Bolshoi Drama Theater)
Psychological characteristics of Ranevskaya
The heroine cannot move away from luxury; her way of life does not change even to save the Cherry Orchard. She refuses to organize dachas for rent, considering it vulgar, and does not want to cut down the garden. He is dear to her as a symbol of her homeland, 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 Russian nobles of that era.
The image of the heroine in the play
(Renata Litvinova in the image of L.A. Ranevskaya, 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 talk about it as simple and easy person, she lived openly in Paris, receiving guests and wasting her budget. She is sensitive and affectionate towards 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 lady's hopes were not justified; she lost both her garden and her estate, and returned to Paris heartbroken. Ranevskaya is a true noblewoman, and behaves accordingly. Even when leaving, she appropriates the money sent to her daughter.
(Galina Nizova— Ranevskaya L.A., Theater and Cinema Studio)
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 this is no longer the case. At the same time, she tries to maintain the previous level, party and organize balls. In symbolic forms, Chekhov predicted future events in Russia.
"The Cherry Orchard" - last piece A.P. Chekhov, which completed it creative biography, his ideological and artistic quests. This play embodied the new stylistic principles developed by the writer, new techniques for plotting and composition.
Having started work on the play in March 1903, Chekhov sent it to Art Theater, on whose stage the first performance of “The Cherry Orchard” took place on January 17, 1904. The premiere of the play coincided with the writer’s stay in Moscow, his name day and birthday, and the theater actors staged a solemn celebration of their favorite playwright.
Let's consider one of the main images of the play - the image of Ranevskaya.
The action of the play, as the author reports in the very first remark, takes place on the estate of the landowner Lyubov Andreevna Ranevskaya. This is real" Noble Nest“, with a cherry orchard surrounded by poplars, with a long alley that “goes straight, like a stretched belt” and “glitters on moonlit nights.”
The Cherry Orchard appears in the play symbolically. It unites very different heroes, each of which has their own idea of it. But the cherry garden will separate all the characters at the end of the play.
The Cherry Orchard as a wonderful home for Ranevskaya exists only in her wonderful past. The memory of childhood and youth is associated with it.
Ranevskaya appears in her house, where she has not been for five years. And this is her last, farewell visit to her homeland. The heroine comes from abroad, from a man who robbed her, but whom she still loves very much. At home, Ranevskaya thought to find peace. Nature itself in the play seems to remind her of the need for spiritual renewal, of beauty, of the happiness of human life.
Ranevskaya, devastated by love, returns to her estate in the spring. In the cherry orchard there are “white masses of flowers”, starlings are singing, glittering above the garden blue sky. Nature is preparing for renewal - and hopes for a new, clean, bright life awaken in Ranevskaya’s soul: “All, all white! O my garden! After the dark, unhappy autumn and cold winter again you are young, full of happiness, the angels of heaven have not abandoned you. If only I could take the heavy stone off my chest and shoulders, if only I could forget my past!”
But the past does not allow itself to be forgotten, since Ranevskaya herself lives with a sense of the past. She's a creature noble culture, which disappears before our eyes from the present, remains only in memories. Takes her place new class, new people are the emerging bourgeois, businessmen who are ready to do anything for money. Both Ranevskaya and the garden are defenseless against the threat of death and ruin. When Lopakhin offers her the only real way to save the house, Ranevskaya replies: “Dachas and summer residents - it’s so vulgar, I’m sorry.”
It turns out that, on the one hand, Ranevskaya does not want to cut down the garden, since it is a symbol of her happy youth, her aspirations and hopes. Yes, besides, the garden in the spring is simply magnificent in its bloom - it would be a pity to cut down such beauty because of some dachas. But, on the other hand, the author shows us Ranevskaya’s indifference both to the fate of the cherry orchard and to the fate of loved ones. All of her mental strength, absorbed energy love passion, which gradually enslaved the will of this woman, drowned out her natural responsiveness to the joys and troubles of the people around her.
Emphasizing Ranevskaya's feeling of indifference, Chekhov shows us the heroine's attitude towards telegrams from Paris. This attitude is directly dependent on the degree of threat hanging over the garden. In the first act, while they are only talking about the possibility of a sale, Ranevskaya “tears up the telegram without reading it.” In the second act, the buyer is already known - Ranevskaya reads and tears up the telegram. In the third act, an auction took place - she admits that she decided to go to Paris to the man who robbed her and abandoned her. In Paris, Ranevskaya is going to live on the money that her grandmother sent to buy the estate.
The heroine completely forgot all the insults caused to her ex-lover. In Russia, she leaves everyone to their fate. Varya, Ranevskaya's adopted daughter, is forced to become a housekeeper for the Ragulins. Lyubov Andreevna does not care at all about her fate, although she made an attempt to marry Varya to Lopakhin. But this attempt was unsuccessful.
Ranevskaya is impractical, selfish, careless. She forgets about Firs, the servant who worked for them all his life. She does not suit the life of her daughters - neither Anya nor Varya, forgetting about them in the heat of her passion. It is unknown on what whim Ranevskaya is throwing a ball while auctions are going on in the city, although she herself understands the inappropriateness of what is happening: “And the musicians came at the wrong time, and we started the ball at the wrong time... Well, nothing... (Sits down and quietly cries) "
But, at the same time, the heroine is kind, responsive, and her sense of beauty does not fade. She is ready to help everyone, ready to give her last money. So, Ranevskaya gives the last gold piece to the drunkard. But this also shows its impracticality. She knows that at home Varya feeds everyone with milk soup and the servants with peas. But this is the nature of this heroine.
The image of Ranevskaya is very contradictory; it is impossible to say whether she is good or bad. In the play, this image is not assessed unambiguously, since it is alive, complex and controversial nature.
