The cherry orchard

The central theme of The Cherry Orchard is that of social change. Written in the early 1900s, the play depicts a Russia on the brink of revolution. As the aristocracy’s power wanes, former serfs experience freedom, and a burgeoning middle class takes root, the central characters of the play — representative of the upper, middle, and lower classes — find themselves struggling to negotiate their relationships, loyalties, and anxieties about the changing socioeconomic landscape of their country. Through The Cherry Orchard, Chekhov dramatizes the concerns of several social strata, showing how the emergence of a middle class in Russia disrupted and negatively impacted the lives not only of the aristocrats their “new money” threatened, but also those of the servants and workers unable to thrive in the new order of things. Chekhov ultimately argues that rapid social change — though necessary for societal growth — can actually end up leaving behind the very individuals it seeks to uplift.