The Cherry Orchard

Act II opens in a field in front of the cherry orchard, where Charlotta, Yasha, Dunyasha, and Epikhodov are having a picnic. Charlotta is snacking on a cucumber as she talks about her life. She tells the others that a German woman took her in after her parents died; she says she doesn’t know her own age or anything about her family. She muses that she has no one to talk to.

Meanwhile, Epikhodov plays the guitar, trying to get Dunyasha’s attention. However, she talks with Yasha, asking him about his experiences living abroad. Epikhodov boasts about how educated he is and produces a revolver, saying he is never sure “whether to live or to shoot [him]self” (33). At the sight of the gun, Charlotta decides to leave the group and walks away, telling Epikhodov he is “very clever” and “very terrible” (33).

Epikhodov argues that fate has been “pitiless” with him and tells Dunyasha that he would like to speak to her alone. She agrees, but she first sends him on an errand to bring her cloak. With Epikhodov gone, Dunyasha confesses that she is in love with Yasha but worries that he will “deceive” her. He kisses her, and he then announces that he can hear Lubov coming. Dunyasha doesn’t want to be spotted alone with Yasha, so she hurries off.

Lubov, Gaev, and Lopakhin enter. Lopakhin is asking Lubov to decide on renting the land for villas. Lubov and Gaev ignore him. They have just returned from lunch in town, and Lubov laments her tendency to “spend recklessly” while the rest of her household pinches pennies. She drops her purse, spilling gold coins, and Yasha picks them up. She wonders why she went to the expensive restaurant for lunch, and she complains that Gaev ate, drank, and talked too much.

Yasha tells Gaev he cannot listen to his voice without laughing, and Gaev, annoyed, tells Lubov to send the boy away. With Yasha gone, Lopakhin warns that a rich man called Deriganov is planning on buying their estate. Gaev chimes in to say that their aunt, the countess, has agreed to send money, but he isn’t sure how much or when it will arrive. Lubov hopes it will be 10 or 15 thousand rubles, and Lopakhin announces that he has never met anyone as “frivolous” or “unbusinesslike.” He cannot believe they are not taking the impending loss of their estate more seriously.

Lubov wonders what they are supposed to do about it, and Lopakhin reiterates his plan to lease the land for villas. Lubov complains that villas are “so vulgar,” and Lopakhin loses his patience, shouting that Lubov is an “old woman” before storming off (39). Lubov begs him to stay. She tells him they “have been too sinful,” admitting to “scatter[ing] money about without holding [her]self in” (39). She recounts how her husband drank himself to death; when she fell in love with another man, her son drowned as “punishment.” She fled Russia, but the man followed her. In France, the man fell ill, and Lubov bought a villa and spent three years caring for him untilshe  could no longer bear it. She finally sold the villa to cover her debts, and when they were back in Paris, the man robbed her and left her for another woman. Devastated, Lubov tried to poison herself.

Lubov cries and asks God to end her punishment. She pulls a telegram from her pocket, announcing that the man wants her to forgive him. Then, she is distracted by the sound of music. Gaev announces that it is a Jewish band, and Lubov wonders if they will play at the house. Lopakhin offers that he saw a funny play in town. Lubov responds that he should look at his own life instead of going to the theater. Lopakhin agrees that they “live a silly life” (40). He talks about his father, a peasant and “an idiot” who never taught Lopakhin anything. He admits he is also “a fool” and is ashamed of his handwriting. Lubov suggests that Lopakhin get married, perhaps to Varya. He agrees that she’s nice but avoids saying anything more definitive.

Gaev changes the subject, telling them he’s been offered a job at a bank. Just then, Fiers enters with Gaev’s coat, muttering that Gaev left the house without telling him. Lubov remarks that Fiers has grown old, and the man replies that he has “been alive a long time” (41). He remembers the emancipation but tells them he “didn’t agree” with it and preferred to continue working for his “people.” He didn’t understand why everyone was so happy about it. He complains that masters and peasants used to “[keep] their distance” from one another; however, “now everything’s all anyhow and you can’t understand anything” (42).

Trofimov, Anya, and Varya arrive. Lopakhin teases Trofimov, calling him an “eternal student” and making fun of him for always spending time with women. However, Varya and Lubov encourage Trofimov to speak, continuing a previous conversation in which he was defining the “proud man.” Trofimov suggests that the proud man is “mystical” because man is “imperfectly made” and most often “coarse and stupid and deeply unhappy” (44). Therefore, instead of “admiring one another,” man must simply work (44). He says the human race is progressing but laments that few people in Russia work. The intellectuals are “incapable of hard work,” spending their time philosophizing and treating their servants poorly, while the majority of people “live like savages, fighting and cursing at the slightest opportunity” (45).

Lopakhin jumps in, saying he has learned a lot about people by dealing with their money. Most are selfish and dishonest when they “ought really to be giants” (45). Epikhodov enters with his guitar, and Gaev remarks on the beautiful sunset. He bursts out in an ode to nature, and Varya and Anya tell him to hush. Everyone sits quiet for a moment, but the sound of a breaking string breaks the silence. The sound is “unpleasant, somehow,” and Gaev suggests it was a bird. Fiers remembers that an owl screeched right before the emancipation, which he calls “the misfortune.”

Lubov suggests they return to the house, but before they can leave, a vagrant appears. He asks the way to the train station, and then, addressing Varya, he asks for money. She screams in fright, making Lopakhin angry. Lubov gives the man a gold coin, and he goes on his way. Varya laments that while their servants have nothing to eat, Lubov is giving their money away. Lubov admits she is “a fool” and tries to comfort Varya by telling her that Lopakhin will propose soon; he responds with a joke about sending Varya to a nunnery. They all exit, leaving Anya and Trofimov alone.

Trofimov remarks that Varya doesn’t want to leave them alone because she fears they will fall in love. What she doesn’t know is that they are “above love” and intend to “escape all the petty and deceptive things which prevent [their] being happy and free” (49). Looking out at the cherry orchard, Anya remarks that she doesn’t love the cherry orchard like she used to. Trofimov reminds Anya that all her ancestors were serf owners, and those serfs worked in the cherry orchard, which now holds the memory of their suffering. He says that the only way to live in the present is to come to terms with the past, which must be done through hard work.

Anya promises to leave her family’s house and go away. Trofimov encourages her in this decision, saying that he is poor, but his “soul is always [his] own” and he knows happiness is coming (51). The moon rises, and Varya can be heard calling them from off-stage. Anya suggests they go down to the river.