Cherry Orchard: Not Good, Not Bad, Just Fair

Cherry Orchard: Not Good, Not Bad, Just Fair

Not Good, Not Bad, Just Fair

There are no heroes and no villains.   In Anton Chekhov's play "The Cherry Orchard," Chekhov does not favor or disfavor any character.   He merely presents the characters fairly.   His presentation of the characters may cause confusion if the reader tries to blame the outcome of the story on a character, but maybe there is no one at fault or the blame is to be shared.   Lopakhin and Madame Ranevsky are clashing individuals, who are not to be judged as either good or bad.   Both characters are human, having honorable traits, and minor disreputable qualities.   Lopakhin and Madame Ranevsky's characters are incompatible in the other's mind.   Madame Ravensky is a member of the falling aristocracy who is a lost romantic trapped in a fantasy world on the orchard while forgetting her troubles in the "real" world.   Contrarily, Lopakhin is a money driven, sometimes vulgar, and socially rising individual.   Lopakhin is trying to make a future by overcoming his past, but remains genuine and practical in his offering help.  
The orchard is a focal piece in the play, hence the name "The Cherry Orchard."   The orchard is to be sold in a month after Madame Ravensky's arrival.   Lopakhin believes that the only way the orchard estate can be saved is by chopping down the cherry trees and breaking up the property, which he intends to do if he buys the orchard.   Madame Ravensky would rather the orchard be lost completely than changed from how it will remain in her memories forever.
The orchard haunts Madame Ravensky.   The orchard is where her son died, which is the saddest thing in her life, but at the same time the orchard was where Madame Ravensky grew up.   She remembers all the innocence she had at the orchard, and the orchard would not be the same if it changed.   No one can bring back the orchard in her family and she won't save it because the orchard is merely a memory.   She is dropping in class as seen in her fifth floor apartment, but will still put...