Symbolism of The Cherry Orchard

Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard has a seemingly endless revolving door of characters with very traditional russian names, but has a constant center with the lavishly described and hotly debated cherry orchard. The orchard is lovingly described by some of the characters, including by Lopakhin, who eventually destroys it. It is however, most treasured by Ravensky, the madame of the estate herself. However, it is no longer exactly an "estate", as Ravensky refuses to accept her current financial situation and holds on to the beauty of the cherry orchard as a relic of her idyllic and upper class child hood.It is in fact a relic of the past because it is essentially non functioning, no longer financially sustainable the cherry orchard must go.

The cherry orchard becomes a symbol that holds different meaning for different characters in the play. The different ways the character's view the cherry orchard is a synthesized version of the greater ideological conflict of the play. At its core, there is a disagreement between the old and the young, a struggle between modernity and the way of the Old Russia. The older characters Ravensky and Lopakhin view the cherry orchard positively, as a thing of beauty, and Lopakhin does not hesitate to describe it this way. He hopes that the new tenants of the land will enjoy the cherry orchard as he has. However, Trofilmov does not separate the cherry orchard from the memories of the "Old Russia" and the social structure that having the orchard perpetuated : serfdom. Trofilmov's views on the cherry orchard are in direct conflict with Ravensky's, while Lopakhin flirts with both ideologies. While he perceives the orchard as beautiful and Ravensky as kind and generous, his upbringing as a peasant has left a sour taste in his mouth and memories from which he wishes to break free. These three main characters use the cherry orchard as the grounding center for their differences.