Giant Russia

Amongst the vast amount of conversations we see in the second act of The Cherry Orchard one short dialogue in particular seems very important. Unlike the rest of the story it could be interpreted politically or, at least, we can view it with some level of political irony. Even if the Bolschevic revolution and all that followed did not affect him at all, his book seems to have some foresight on it or at least fools today's reader to think so. Here, Lopakhin begins talking about his life and what could be his view on Russia: "You have only start doing something to find out how few honest, decent people there are. Sometimes, when I can't sleep I think: 'Lord, Thou gravest us vast forests, boundless fields, broad horizons, and living in their midst we ourselves out truly to be giants". Lyubov the answers: "Now you want giants! They're good only in fairy tales, otherwise they're frightening" (Chekhov 347). At the time, Russia was going through a period of industrialization that would effectively make it into a giant. Although the he did not even live to see the rise of the Soviet Union, he did see that period of great change and above all, he saw the time where European giants ruled the world. With small deep comments like this one, he gave the play a sense of reality and yet no themes at all.

Although the play has never focuses on politics, these two lines gave it a depth that must be analyzed. During his life, Chekhov must have seen the European empires at their peak. Russia being a vast territory was closer to being an empire than any of the other countries by birth right. The great riches of that land described there makes it clear that to some extent Chekhov's ideal was to see a great Russia that took advantage of its natural resources to become a great power. Still, he also realized the great dangers that came with such gigantic power. Amongst these dangers was the possibility of war against these "frightening" superpowers would attack the great Russia. These clashes amongst titans resulted in the First World War. Evidently the author did not see this but the increase in military power of the empires and the beginnings of Russia's rise must have been evident during his life time. Even though Chekhov tries to avoid themes, his novel incorporates enough plenty of discussion about all themes, even, politics. This possibility is new in the literature we have read in the course so far and therefore, must be noted as a key element of this author's work.