Time

Chekhov’s play “The Cherry Orchard” begins with Lopakhin, a former peasant who is now a wealthy merchant, saying: “The train has come, thank God. What time is it?” (Chekhov 922). With this, he introduces the importance of time and change as central themes that are expressed through attention to patterns in nature, sleep, sleeplessness, life, death, and memory. The train, as a mover of things and people, is a symbol of change and progress. Emphasis on time is a reminder that change is inevitable, regardless of action or inaction. The train has come, and time moves on.

Lopakhin has a complicated relationship with time and change, as he is constantly aware of time as an opportunity, of time passing, and of not having enough time. He has a plan to help Liubov get out of debt by selling land, cutting down the orchard, and building vacation homes. Lopakhin feels the pressure of time to take advantage of this opportunity and is unable to understand Liubov’s inability to move forward. From her childhood nursery, she looks out at the white orchard and remembers, “Oh my childhood! My innocence!” (931). She is stuck, clinging to the past glory of her family’s status and wealth, and she remains stuck. Unable to let go or move forward, Liubov “keep[s] waiting for something to happen. It’s as if the house were about to fall down around our ears or something” (938). Despite Lopakhin’s reminders, Liubov does nothing to prevent the auction, and so Lopakhin seizes the opportunity for himself, buying the entire estate. Here he has a moment of sadness, telling Liubov: “you can’t ever go back to the past. Oh, if only we could change things, if only life were different, this unhappy, messy life…” (952). The character most closely connected to progress and change, has this moment of grief that interrupts his exhilaration as ownership of the orchard passes from the aristocracy, to a man whose family they enslaved. He has compassion for Liubov, even as he embraces his opportunities.

Representing the history of Russia, the orchard itself is an important symbol connected to the aristocracy, and each character has a connection to the orchard specifically related to their social and generational position. The play opens with Liubov returning via train to her family’s estate. It is spring, and the cherry trees are blooming. The play ends in the fall when the train takes everyone away from the orchard and the past, to confront their lives in a new era in Russian history. Time is especially pressing in the final act with worries of being late for the train, and references to endings and beginnings. Left behind, Firs dies with his memories in the empty house, a final symbol of change and of time passing. “The Cherry Orchard” ends with the sound of an ax.

Works Cited

Chekhov, Anton. “The Cherry Orchard.” The Norton Anthology of World Literature. Edited by Martin Puchner, Shorter 3^rd ed., vol. 2, W.W. Norton & Company, 2013. pp. 922-960.