The image of Gaeva in the play "The Cherry Orchard" by Chekhov

The image of Gaeva in the play "The Cherry Orchard" is very important to understand correctly. This is necessary to understand how Chekhov treated the representatives of the nobility. In this article, the image of Gayev in the play "The Cherry Orchard" is described in detail.

Gayev is the brother of the protagonist of the work, Ranevskaya, practically her double. His image, however, is less significant than the image of this woman. That's why the hero we are interested in is represented as the "brother of Ranevskaya" in the list of actors, although he is older than his sister and has the same rights to the estate.

Social status of Gayev

In the photo above, Stanislavsky is portrayed as Gaev. Leonid Andreevich Gayev is a landlord who has eaten his fortune "on candies." He leads a rather idle way of life. Nevertheless, he is surprised that the garden needs to be sold for debts. This man is 51 years old, but he does not have his own family. Gayev lives in an old estate that is collapsing right before his eyes. He is under the tutelage of Firs, the old footman. Characterization of Gayev should be supplemented by the fact that he constantly tries to borrow money from someone in order to at least cover interest on his debts and on the debts of his sister. An unrealizable dream for him is repayment of all loans. This landlord hopes to obtain an inheritance from someone, to extradite Anna for a wealthy person, to go to Yaroslavl, where you can try to try your luck at the countess-aunt.

Caricature of the nobility

The image of Gayev in the play "The Cherry Orchard" is a caricature of the nobility. Negative qualities of the landowner Ranevskaya are even more ugly represented in the character of her brother, which underlines the comic of all that is happening. Description Gaeva, in contrast to Ranevskaya, is placed mainly in the notes. His character is revealed mainly through actions, and other characters of the play talk about him extremely little.

Attitudes of others to Gaeva

The author tells us very little about Gaev's past. However, we understand that this person is educated, that he is able to clothe thoughts in beautiful speech, although empty. All his life, the hero of interest to us lived on the estate. He was a frequenter of men's clubs, where he indulged in playing billiards, his favorite occupation. 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. The people around were very surprised by this proposal. Sister Gaeva directly says to Leonid Andreevich: "Where are you, sit still." Lopakhin also expresses his doubt about this, believing that Gayev can not hold onto the proposed place, since he is "very lazy". Only Anya, the hero's niece, believes in him.

What caused this distrust in relation to Gaeva? The surrounding people even show some disdain for this hero. Even lackey Yasha disrespects him. Let's solve this question, which will help us better understand the image of Gaeva in the play "The Cherry Orchard".

Character traits of Leonid Andreevich

Gayev is a man who can be called a talker. He sometimes starts up ranting at the most inopportune moments. Because of this, his interlocutors are lost and often ask him to remain silent. Gaev Leonid Andreevich himself is aware of this, but can not cope with the unpleasant trait of his character. In addition, the characterization of the image of Gayev should be supplemented by the fact that he is very infantile. Leonid Andreevich can not defend his opinion, he is not even able to formulate his point of view properly. This hero often can not say something in essence. Instead, he pronounces his favorite word "who." In the speech of the hero of interest to us, inadequate billiard terms constantly appear.

Mutual relations with Firs, sister and nieces

Servant Firs is still following the master, as if with a small child. He then shakes the dust off his trousers, then he gives Gaeva a warm coat. And meanwhile Leonid Andreevich is an adult fifty-year-old man. However, he does not consider such a custody of his servant to be shameful. The hero even goes to sleep under the supervision of his footman, who is sincerely attached to him. Despite such dedication to Firs, in the finale of the work Gayev forgets about him.

He loves his sister and his nieces. In his family, Gay is the only man. However, he could not become the head of the family. The hero is not able to help anyone, because he does not even think of it. This indicates that Gaev's feelings are very shallow.

Is the cherry garden dear to Gayev?

The image of Leonid Gayev is also revealed in his attitude to the cherry orchard. For our hero, he means a lot, as for his sister. Gayev does not want to accept Lopakhin's proposal, just like Ranevskaya. He believes that it would "go" to break up his estate into plots and lease them. It would bring his family closer to dealers like Lopakhin. This would be unacceptable for Leonid Andreyevich, since he considers himself an authentic 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 seen in his eyes. However, when he hears blows of cue on balls, his mood immediately improves. This fact tells us that the hero does not have deep feelings. This is an important feature, complementing the image of Gaeva in the play "The Cherry Orchard" of Chekhov.

The meaning of the image of Gayev

The character that interests us closes the chain, which consists of the images of the nobles, portrayed by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov. The author presented us with "heroes of his time" - perfectly educated aristocrats, who can not defend their ideals. Because of this weakness of the nobility, such people as Lopakhin have the opportunity to take a dominant position in society. Anton Pavlovich specifically underestimated the image of Gaeva in the comedy "Cherry Orchard", making it caricatured. This was necessary in order to show the degree of grinding of the nobility.

Did the author succeed in the "Cherry Orchard"?

The work of Chekhov ( his portrait is presented above) caused a great public response. Many of his contemporaries, belonging to the aristocracy, were very critical of this play. They accused Anton Pavlovich of ignorance of their circle, in the wrong image of his class. It is hardly possible to reproach Chekhov for this. After all, he was trying 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 the quotes from the comedy "The Cherry Orchard", and the play itself is included in the compulsory school curriculum on literature. This work is still very popular in theaters of our country. All this shows the undoubted value of the "Cherry Orchard" from an artistic point of view.