Speech characteristics of Gaev and Ranevskaya with quotes. Why are Gaev and Ranevskaya called people of Russia’s “past”? (based on the play by A.P.

The image of Gaev in the play " The Cherry Orchard“It is very important to understand correctly. This is necessary to understand how Chekhov treated representatives of the nobility. Our article describes in detail the image of Gaev in the play “The Cherry Orchard.”

Gaev is a brother main character works by Ranevskaya are practically her double. His image, however, is less significant than the image of this woman. That is why the hero we are interested in is presented as “Ranevskaya’s brother” in the list characters, although he is older than his sister and has the same rights to the estate.

Gaev's social status

The photo above shows Stanislavsky in the role of Gaev. Leonid Andreevich Gaev is a landowner who ate his fortune “on candy.” He leads a rather idle lifestyle. Nevertheless, he is surprised that the garden needs to be sold for debts. This man is already 51 years old, but he does not have his own family. Gaev lives in an old estate that is being destroyed right before his eyes. He is under the care of Firs, an old footman. Gaev’s characterization should also be supplemented by the fact that he is constantly trying to borrow money from someone in order to at least cover the interest on his debts and the debts of his sister. for him is to repay all loans. This landowner hopes to receive an inheritance from someone, marry Anna off to a wealthy person, and go to Yaroslavl, where he can try his luck with the Countess Aunt.

Caricature of the nobility

The image of Gaev in the play "The Cherry Orchard" is a caricature of the nobility. Negative qualities the landowner Ranevskaya is even more uglier in the character of her brother, which emphasizes the comedy of everything that happens. Gaev's description, unlike Ranevskaya's, is placed mainly in stage directions. His character is revealed mainly through actions, and the other characters in the play say very little about him.

The attitude of others towards Gaev

The author tells us very little about Gaev's past. However, we understand that this person is educated, that he knows how to clothe his thoughts in beautiful speeches, although empty. The hero we are interested in lived his entire life on the estate. He was a regular at men's clubs, where he indulged in playing billiards, his favorite pastime. It was from there that Gaev brought all the news. Here he was offered the position of an employee in a bank with a good annual salary of 6 thousand. Those around him were very surprised by this proposal. Sister Gaeva directly says to Leonid Andreevich: “Where are you! Sit down.” Lopakhin also expresses his doubts about this, believing that Gaev will not be able to hold on to the proposed position, since he is “very lazy.” Only Anya, the hero’s niece, believes in him.

What caused this distrust towards Gaev? Those around him even show some disdain for this hero. Even the lackey Yasha treats him with disrespect. Let's resolve this issue, which will help us better understand the image of Gaev in the play "The Cherry Orchard".

Leonid Andreevich

Gaev is a man who can be called an empty talker. He sometimes starts ranting at the most inopportune moments. Because of this, his interlocutors are confused and often ask him to shut up. Gaev Leonid Andreevich himself realizes this, but cannot cope with the unpleasant trait of his character. In addition, the characterization of Gaev’s image should be supplemented by the fact that he is very infantile. Leonid Andreevich cannot defend his opinion, he is not even able to properly formulate his point of view. This hero often cannot say anything of substance. Instead he says his favorite word"whom". Inappropriate billiard terms also constantly appear in the speech of the hero we are interested in.

Relationships with Firs, sister and nieces

The servant Firs still follows his master as if he were a small child. He either shakes off the dust from his trousers, or brings Gaev a warm coat. Meanwhile, Leonid Andreevich is an adult fifty-year-old man. However, he does not consider such guardianship on the part of his servant shameful. The hero even goes to bed under the supervision of his lackey, who is sincerely attached to him. Despite such devotion to Firs, at the end of the work Gaev forgets about him.

He loves his sister and his nieces. In his family, Gaev is the only man. However, he was unable to become the head of the family. The hero is unable to help anyone, since it doesn’t even occur to him. This indicates that Gaev’s feelings are very shallow.

Is the cherry orchard dear to Gaev?

The image of Leonid Gaev is also revealed in his attitude to the cherry orchard. He means a lot to our hero, as well as to his sister. Gaev does not want to accept Lopakhin’s offer, just like Ranevskaya. He thinks that it would be “nice” to divide his estate into plots and rent them out. After all, this will bring his family closer to businessmen like Lopakhin. This would be unacceptable for Leonid Andreevich, since he considers himself a true aristocrat and looks down on merchants like Ermolai Alekseevich. When Gaev returns from the auction where his estate was sold, he is depressed, tears are visible in his eyes. However, when he hears the cue hitting the balls, his mood immediately improves. This fact tells us that the hero is not characterized by deep experiences. This is an important feature that complements the image of Gaev in the play “The Cherry Orchard” by Chekhov.

The meaning of Gaev's image

The character we are interested in closes the chain, which consists of images of nobles depicted by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov. The author introduced us to the “heroes of their time” - well-educated aristocrats who cannot defend their ideals. Because of this weakness of the nobles, people like Lopakhin have the opportunity to occupy a dominant position in society. Anton Pavlovich deliberately understated the image of Gaev in the comedy “The Cherry Orchard” as much as possible, making him a caricature. This was necessary in order to show the degree of reduction of the nobles.

Was the author of The Cherry Orchard a success?

His work is presented above) caused great stir. Many of his contemporaries belonging to the aristocracy were very critical of this play. They accused Anton Pavlovich of ignorance of their circle and of incorrectly portraying his class. Chekhov can hardly be blamed for this. After all, he sought to create not just a comedy, but a real farce, which he did very well. Of course, he succeeded in the image of Gaev. Many of our contemporaries are familiar with quotes from the comedy “The Cherry Orchard,” and the play itself is included in the obligatory school curriculum on literature. This work is still very popular in theaters in our country. All this speaks of the undoubted value of "The Cherry Orchard" with artistic point vision.

The central character of A.P. Chekhov's play is Leonid Andreevich Gaev. He is one of the owners of a beautiful old garden.

The image and characterization of Gaev in the play “The Cherry Orchard” were created by the author to penetrate the complex problem of changing the nobility. Representatives of the noble class do not keep up with the development of the country and are left without the property accumulated for them by their ancestors.

Character image

Leonid Gaev – brother Ranevskaya. The bankrupt landowner Gaev is not yet old. He is 51 years old, but the man does not have the acumen or entrepreneurial spirit. He, playing with a candy, admits that he ate “his entire fortune.” In fact, the man eats and drinks a lot. The landowner has a special love for children's candy. The landowner sucks them almost constantly. The author has the most frequent remark to describe behavior this character: “Puts a lollipop in his mouth.”

The man is a talker

Gaev is a chatterbox and idle talker, he says nonsense so often that people stop perceiving his speech and often stop it at the beginning. Interlocutors and close people ask Leonid Andreevich to talk less, but he does not hear their requests. The nieces suggest that the uncle remain silent, but the man does not restrain his emotions and continues to praise him for no reason. Gaev can talk not only with living people, Leonid addresses furniture, food, trees. The landowner's speech has a howling character. She is solemn and sublime. His words are public appearances, vivid speeches that convey the feelings that fill the “being” of a man. He doesn’t try to hold back, he expresses all his thoughts to the listener. Why is it being cut off? The speeches have no meaning, no ideas, just a bunch of words. Leonid does not keep his promises. Words spoken out loud do not linger in the soul. Gaev’s oath to preserve the garden is proof of its impracticality. All the actions that he pronounces remain only words: we will pay interest, we will not allow an auction. The solemn oath is pathetic. What does the landowner swear by: honor, happiness, being. But nothing happens by itself. The auction for the sale of the estate took place, Gaev spends the money on expensive food.

Another feature of the character’s speech is the use of billiards game terms. These phrases make you smile; they are awkward and incomprehensible to your interlocutors. Few of them represent the game, rules and attributes.

Character character

The complexity of the hero's character is confirmed by the remarks of other characters. On the one hand, Anya claims that everyone loves and respects him. The niece believes in her uncle, hopes that he will find a way out difficult situation with the estate. On the other hand, the landowner is lazy. Lopakhin believes that Gaev will not be able to work in a bank for 6 thousand a year. Perseverance is not his trait, but it is what is required in banking work. Lopakhin calls Leonid a woman, what is hidden behind this word: weakness, lack of desire to act, fear or laziness? There is no efficiency or practicality in the man’s character. He is frivolous and short-sighted. When the new merchant offers a way out: to cut down the cherry trees and sell the land to summer residents, Gaev moves on to the moral characterization of the act: vulgarity. He does not calculate the benefits, does not look for opportunities to preserve the estate and part of the garden. Leonid does not try to take action on his own. The landowner calculates where or from whom he can borrow.

Character Role

In the play, Gaev plays one of the main roles. The author calls the character an aristocrat. There is a sense of negativity and hidden irony in this characteristic. Leonid may only be externally similar to the aristocracy. In fact, he has none positive trait of this class. But this is a striking difference between the Russian aristocracy, people who are not able to work. For them, even thinking is work. Gaev is all in dreams, cut off from life, unable to solve simple everyday problems. The servant, old Firs, takes care of him as if he were small child. Gaev cannot do basic things without help: undress, sit in a chair, choose clothes according to the weather. A kind attitude towards the owner does not find an answer. Ungrateful landowners forget the old man in the house, again only in words they think of help for him, deciding his fate outside the estate: we will send him to the hospital. Frivolity and meaninglessness shine through in all actions. It's not hard to imagine the future of the "trashy person." I have to agree with Lopakhin. Gaev will leave the service and try his luck with a rich aunt-countess, settling in her service. If she doesn’t let him in, then poverty awaits him. / / / The attitude of the play's heroes to the cherry orchard (Ranevskaya, Gaev, Firs, Anya, Lopakhin, Petya Trofimov)

Each character in Chekhov's play had an individual attitude towards the estate and the cherry orchard in particular. And if, sometimes, this feeling could hardly be called love, then it certainly was not indifference.

Each character in the play had his own story related to the garden. It was associated with childhood, serenity, purity, and an intoxicating aroma. For her, the garden is the meaning of life. The woman cannot imagine her life without him, and in the event of an auction, she says that the garden should be sold along with her.

But after the auction, the woman quickly comes to her senses and calmly accepts the loss. The author notes that in some way, she is even glad that everything is finally over. Perhaps this happens because she has money again, she has something to live on, and quite comfortably.

Just like his sister, he loves the garden very much. For a man, losing him means losing something dear and accepting complete defeat. He promises Lyubov that he will do everything to buy back the estate. The man is confident to the last that it is within his power. After the auction, Gaev is upset, does not comment on the “loss” and almost does not talk to anyone. The inspired Ermolai tells everything for him.

Buys the garden at auction. He literally “steals it from under the nose” of another merchant, throwing in ten thousand each time throughout the auction. As a result, the amount was very significant, which led to the unconditional victory of Ermolai. The man is rejoicing. His interest in the garden is significant. The business plan he drew up will bring him a lot of profit and the garden will more than pay for itself. However, the cherries will no longer please the eye; they are all immediately sent under the ax. This shows that Ermolai did not perceive the garden as something beautiful and unearthly. This place interests him only from the point of view of profit. The man believes that admiring the garden is a relic of the past. Moreover, it does not bring money, which means it is a waste of time for a pragmatic person.

For the old footman, the garden evokes memories of the former wealth of the masters. When the harvested cherries were dried according to a special recipe, they were exported for sale. It was not for nothing that he remembered this, since he believes that cherry trees should not only please the eye, but also generate income.

At first, for Ranevskaya’s daughter, like her mother, the garden initially evokes a storm of emotions. The girl is happy to be at home again and admire the beautiful flowers. However, after communicating with Peter, she radically changes her attitude towards the estate. The girl thinks about the utopia of serf life, about the remnants of the past.

When the cherry orchard is finally sold, Anya reassures her mother, promising to plant her new garden, which will be many times better. The girl leaves with undisguised happiness the places where she spent her childhood.

A similar situation occurs with. He talks about the garden with undisguised contempt, boldly looks into the future and calmly leaves the estate, and this despite the fact that he remains practically homeless.

Each character in the story is shown through the image of a cherry orchard - their attitude to life itself. Some cling to the past, others worry about the future, and still others simply live in the present.

/ / / The image of Gaev in Chekhov’s play “The Cherry Orchard”

Gaev in Chekhov's play is Ranevskaya's brother Lyubov. The man is slightly older than his sister, educated, smart, loves to play billiards and often visits the corresponding gambling establishments.

Gaev is lonely. In his entire life, he never acquired a wife or children. However, the man does not worry about this at all, because why have a family if you can live just like that, for yourself.

The man lives on his parents’ estate with everything ready. He does nothing, is not responsible for anything, completely relying on a rather elderly footman and his niece Varya, who last bit of strength trying to save money. But the girl’s efforts are not enough and the estate runs the risk of being sold at auction. Gaev is surprised by this news. He cannot imagine his life without the house in which he lives, but the man does not want to do anything that will help avoid the auction. All household members have confidence that the cherry orchard can be saved without any effort. Only the merchant Lopakhin understood that the cherry orchard would go under the hammer. He offered to rent out the plots, but neither Gaev nor Ranevskaya took this seriously.

In general, Gaev was not interested in anything other than billiards, and the author emphasizes this several times. He never denied himself anything, led a riotous lifestyle, and since he did not have a main income, he was constantly in debt.

By nature, Gaev, like , was a spendthrift and had a habit of wasting money. However, it is he who is the first to condemn his sister for thoughtlessly “squandering” her savings. It’s hard for him to admit that he’s not far behind her in this matter.

Going to the auction, the man was sure that the money sent by his aunt would be enough to buy the estate. However, there was not enough finance, and the cherry orchard was bought by the merchant Lopakhin.

For Gaev this becomes a heavy blow. Firstly, he did not keep his word to his sister, and secondly, he and all his relatives will have to leave their former possessions and allow the cherry orchard to be cut down.

Further uncertainty frightens the man. He even agrees to go to work and take a position in the banking sector that was offered to him the day before. However, no one believes in his “impulse”. considers him too lazy to suddenly return to work after so many years of idleness.

Chekhov also shows Gaev as a person indifferent to the fate of others. On the eve of his departure, he never remembered his old, devoted footman Firs, who was simply forgotten and left to die to the sounds of the cherry orchard being cut down.

The author ridicules the image of Gaev human vices, such as frivolity, irresponsibility, spinelessness and slobbering. A grown man like Small child Sometimes he can’t even change clothes without the help of a footman. Throughout his entire life, the character’s head never even entertained the idea of ​​doing, building, or nurturing something himself. Chekhov gives everyone in this play a chance to start life with clean slate and finally, realize yourself as an individual.

"The Cherry Orchard". Brother of the main character, Lyubov Andreevna Ranevskaya.

History of creation

Anton Chekhov finished working on the play “The Cherry Orchard” in 1903, and already next year the play was first staged famous directors and Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko in Moscow art theater. The role of Gaev in this first production was played by Stanislavsky himself, and the role of Lyubov Ranevskaya was played by Chekhov’s wife, actress Olga Knipper-Chekhova.

The idea and first drafts of the play date back to 1901. "The Cherry Orchard" became last play, written by Chekhov. The playwright died a year after finishing work on this work.

Play "The Cherry Orchard"


Gaev's appearance from the play "The Cherry Orchard"

Leonid Andreevich Gaev is the brother of the main character of the play. This is a man in years, but divorced from reality. Gaev is 51 years old, the hero loves sweets, likes to have a good drink and a hearty snack, talks an awful lot and what he says often turns out to be inappropriate. The hero behaves stupidly and realizes this, however, like Ranevskaya, he is unable to cope with himself. Ranevskaya's daughters, Gaev's nieces, constantly advise their uncle to remain silent, but he does not heed this advice.

By origin, Gaev is a landowner, but the hero, in his own words, “ate his entire fortune on candy.” The hero loves to make solemn speeches on any occasion. Once Gaev even turns his speech to a bookcase. The hero loves billiards, and terms associated with this game often slip into his speech.


Gaev is unusually lazy. The hero got a place in the bank, where he can receive six thousand in income a year, but those around him do not believe that the hero will appreciate such a gift of fate and stay in this place. The old footman Firs still looks after Gaev as if he were a child, and the merchant Lopakhin, with his characteristic rudeness, calls Gaev “woman” and considers the hero a strange and frivolous person. However, despite all Gaev’s shortcomings, his relatives treat him with love.

Like his sister, Gaev rejects the idea of ​​cutting down the cherry orchard and renting out the land in order to earn money, pay off debts and save the estate in this way. The hero agrees with Ranevskaya that “dachas and summer residents are vulgar,” and makes ephemeral plans to borrow money to buy a garden from a certain aunt-countess or to give his niece Anya in marriage to a rich gentleman who will pay off his debts.


Gaev makes a promise to Ranevskaya that the estate will not be sold at auction for debts, but does nothing to fulfill this promise. Ultimately, Ranevskaya’s estate is bought at auction by the merchant Lopakhin, Ganev, Ranevskaya, the children and servants leave there saddened, and the cherry orchard is cut down. Further biography hero is unknown.

Gaev and his sister are touchingly attached to the cherry orchard, which embodies for both best moments life, youth and happiness. The images of Gaev and Ranevskaya in the play represent an obsolete past, which gives way to the present, embodied in the image of the practical merchant Lopakhin.

Screen adaptations and productions


Illustration for the book "The Cherry Orchard"

In 1981, British director Richard Eyre directed the dramatic film The Cherry Orchard based on Anton Chekhov's play The Cherry Orchard. The role of Leonid Gaev in this film adaptation was played by actor Frederick Treves. The hero's sister Lyubov Andreevna Ranevskaya was played by an actress known for her role as M in a series of films about.

Before this, Judi Dench had already starred once in the film adaptation of The Cherry Orchard. It was a film from 1962, and the actress played the role of Anya - youngest daughter Ranevskaya. The image of Gaev in this version was embodied by Sir Arthur John Gielgud, famous for playing Shakespearean roles, including in films.

In 1999, another film adaptation was released, this time a joint Greek-French production. The film was directed and written by Greek director Michalis Kakoyannis. The role of Gaev was played by British actor Alan Bates. Filming took place in Bulgaria.


Alan Bates in the movie "The Cherry Orchard"

In 2008, a Russian film adaptation of “The Cherry Orchard” was released in the genre of comedy with elements of farce and Italian square theater. The film was directed by Sergei Ovcharov. The role of Gaev was played by actor Dmitry Podnozov.

The play has been staged several times in theaters around the world. In Britain in 2009, The Cherry Orchard was staged at The Old Vic in London, in a version famous playwright and director Tom Stoppard. In 2016, the play was performed on the stage of the U Theater in California, USA. The director was Daniel Heifetz.

Quotes

“If a lot of remedies are proposed against a disease, this means that the disease is incurable.”
“Oh, wonderful nature, you shine with eternal radiance, beautiful and indifferent, you, whom we call mother, combine being and death, you live and destroy...”
“Dear, dear closet! I greet your existence, which for more than a hundred years has been directed towards the bright ideals of goodness and justice; your silent call to fruitful work did not weaken for a hundred years, maintaining (through tears) in the generations of our family vigor, faith in a better future and nurturing in us the ideals of goodness and social self-awareness.”