Lopakhin Ermolai Alekseevich is a rich merchant, coming from ordinary peasants (his father was a serf). Lopakhin's father became free after the abolition of serfdom (1861). Having some money, he opened a shop and became rich. Ermolai energetically took up his father’s business and significantly increased his wealth. Despite his condition, Lopakhin remained a simple man (he liked to emphasize this).
Lopakhin has a calculating mind, business acumen and enterprise. He is energetic, and the scope of his activities is much wider than that of the previous masters of life.
From five o'clock he is already on his feet, works from morning to evening and cannot imagine his life without work. An interesting detail is that due to his activities, he always lacks time; some business trips on which he goes are constantly mentioned. This character in the play looks at his watch more often than others. In contrast to the amazingly impractical Ranevskaya family, he knows the score of both time and money.
Lopakhin loves Ranevskaya and keeps warm memories of her. In a conversation with Dunyasha he says:
“I remember when I was a boy of about fifteen, my late father - he was selling in a shop here in the village back then - hit me in the face with his fist, blood started coming out of my nose... Lyubov Andreevna, as I remember now, was still young, so thin, let me down me to the washstand, in this very room, in the nursery. “Don’t cry, he says, little man, he’ll heal before the wedding...”
Garden Rescue Plan
Having learned about her misfortune (the cherry orchard does not generate income and Ranevskaya is forced to put it up for sale in order to pay off her debts), Lopakhin proposes a rescue plan. Like a true entrepreneur, he finds a way to make the garden profitable. To do this, you need to divide the garden into plots and rent them out as summer cottages. True, the cherry tree itself will have to be cut down.
Lopakhin, being a practical and a little down-to-earth person, does not understand the nostalgic feelings that Ranevskaya feels for the garden. When she does not agree to do this with their dear garden, Lopakhin is surprised at the frivolity and idleness of Ranevskaya and her brother. He himself gets up at 5 am and works until night.
Lopakhin's celebration
At the end of the play, it is Lopakhin who acquires the cherry orchard. This is the moment of his highest triumph: the peasant’s son, “the illiterate Ermolai,” becomes the owner of a noble estate, where his “father and grandfather were slaves.” He no longer thinks about feelings former owners estates. Joy bursts out of Lopakhin, he laughs and stamps his feet. His feelings are expressed in a monologue:
“If my father and grandfather stood up from their graves and looked at the whole incident, how Ermolai bought their estate, the most beautiful of which there is nothing in the world. I bought an estate where my grandfather and father were slaves, where they were not even allowed into the kitchen...”
Having become the owner of the Ranevskaya estate, new owner dreams of a new life: “Hey, musicians, play, I want to listen to you! Come and watch how Ermolai Lopakhin takes an ax to the cherry orchard and how the trees fall to the ground! We will set up our dachas, and our grandchildren and great-grandchildren will see a new life... Music, play!”
The “new master” of life, Lopakhin, personifies the new time. He is the only one who can come closer to understanding the essence of the era, but in his life there is no place for real beauty, sincerity, humanity, because Lopakhin is a symbol only of the present. The future belongs to other people
Quotes from Lopakhin
My father, it’s true, was a man, but here I am in a white vest and yellow shoes.
Your brother, Leonid Andreevich, says about me that I’m a boor, I’m a kulak, but that doesn’t really matter to me. Let him talk. I only wish that you would still believe me, that your amazing, touching eyes would look at me as before. Merciful God! My father was a serf to your grandfather and father, but you, in fact, you once did so much for me that I forgot everything and love you like my own... more than my own.
You are very gentle, Dunyasha. And you dress like a young lady, and so does your hair. You can not do it this way. We must remember ourselves.
Yes, time is ticking.
I always have my own and other people’s money, and I see what kind of people are around me. You just need to start doing something to understand how few honest, decent people there are.
The only remarkable thing about this garden is that it is very large. Cherries are born once every two years, and there’s nowhere to put them, no one buys them.
In the spring I sowed a thousand dessiatines of poppy seeds and now I have earned forty thousand net. And when my poppy bloomed, what a picture it was! So, I say, I earned forty thousand and, therefore, I offer you a loan, because I can. Why rub your nose? I'm a man... simply.
My dad was a man, an idiot, he didn’t understand anything, he didn’t teach me, he just beat me when he was drunk, and that was all with a stick. In essence, I’m just as much of a blockhead and an idiot. I haven’t studied anything, my handwriting is bad, I write in such a way that people are ashamed of me, like a pig.
LOPAKHIN AS A SYMBOL OF THE REAL RUSSIA. The role of Lopakhin A.P. Chekhov believed in the play " The Cherry Orchard"central". In one of his letters he said: “...if it fails, then the whole play will fail.” What is special about this Lopakhin and why exactly his A.P. Chekhov placed at the center of the figurative system of his work?
Ermolai Alekseevich Lopakhin - merchant. His father, a serf, became rich after the reform of 1861 and became a shopkeeper. Lopakhin recalls this in a conversation with Ranevskaya: “My father was a serf to your grandfather and father...”; “My dad was a man, an idiot, he didn’t understand anything, he didn’t teach me, he just beat me when he was drunk and kept hitting me with a stick. In essence, I’m just as much of a blockhead and an idiot. I haven’t studied anything, my handwriting is bad, I write in such a way that people are ashamed of me, like a pig.”
But times change, and “the beaten, illiterate Ermolai, who ran barefoot in the winter,” broke away from his roots, “made his way into the people,” became rich, but never received an education: “My father, it’s true, was a man, but I’m a white vest, yellow shoes. With a pig's snout in a row... Only he's rich, he has a lot of money, but if you think about it and figure it out, he's a man..." But don't think that this remark reflects only the hero's modesty. Lopakhin likes to repeat that he is a man, but he is no longer a man, not a peasant, but a businessman, a businessman.
Individual remarks and remarks indicate that Lopakhin has some big “business” in which he is completely absorbed. He always lacks time: he either returns or is going on business trips. “You know,” he says, “I get up at five o’clock in the morning, I work from morning to evening...”; “I can’t live without work, I don’t know what to do with my hands; hanging out somehow strangely, like strangers”; “I sowed a thousand dessiatines of poppy in the spring and now I have earned forty thousand net.” It is clear that not all of Lopakhin’s fortune was inherited; most of it was earned by his own labor, and the path to wealth was not easy for Lopakhin. But at the same time, he easily parted with the money, lending it to Ranevskaya and Simeonov-Pishchik, persistently offering it to Petya Trofimov.
Lopakhin, like every hero of “The Cherry Orchard,” is absorbed in “his own truth,” immersed in his experiences, does not notice much, does not feel much in those around him. But, despite the shortcomings of his upbringing, he is acutely aware of the imperfections of life. In a conversation with Firs, he sneers at the past: “It was very good before. At least they fought." Lopakhin is worried about the present: “We must say frankly, our life is stupid...” He looks into the future: “Oh, if only all this would pass, if only our awkward, unhappy life would somehow change.” Lopakhin sees the reasons for this disorder in the imperfection of man, in the meaninglessness of his existence. “You just have to start doing something to understand how few honest, decent people there are. Sometimes, when I can’t sleep, I think: “Lord, you gave us huge forests, vast fields, the deepest horizons, and living here, we ourselves should really be giants...”; “When I work for a long time, tirelessly, then my thoughts are lighter, and it seems as if I also know why I exist. And how many people, brother, are there in Russia who exist for no one knows why.”
Lopakhin is truly the central figure of the work. Threads stretch from him to all the characters. He is the link between the past and the future. Of all the characters, Lopakhin clearly sympathizes with Ranevskaya. He keeps warm memories of her. For him, Lyubov Andreevna is “still the same magnificent” woman with “amazing”, “touching eyes”. He admits that he loves her “like his own... more than his own,” he sincerely wants to help her and finds, in his opinion, the most profitable “salvation” project. The location of the estate is “wonderful” - twenty miles away Railway, near the river. You just need to divide the territory into plots and rent them out to summer residents, while having a considerable income. According to Lopakhin, the issue can be resolved very quickly, the matter seems profitable to him, you just need to “clean up, clean... for example,... demolish all the old buildings, like this one an old house, which is no longer any good, cut down the old cherry orchard..." Lopakhin is trying to convince Ranevskaya and Gaev of the need to make this “only correct” decision, not realizing that with his reasoning he is deeply hurting them, calling everything that is unnecessary rubbish long years was their home, was dear to them and sincerely loved by them. He offers to help not only with advice, but also with money, but Ranevskaya rejects the proposal to lease out the land for dachas. “Dachas and summer residents are so vulgar, sorry,” she says.
Convinced of the futility of his attempts to persuade Ranevskaya and Gaev, Lopakhin himself becomes the owner of the cherry orchard. In the monologue “I bought,” he cheerfully tells how the auction went, rejoices at how he “grabbed” Deriganov and “beat” him. For
Lopakhina, peasant son, the cherry orchard is part of an elite aristocratic culture; it has acquired something that was inaccessible twenty years ago. Genuine pride can be heard in his words: “If only my father and grandfather had risen from their graves and looked at the whole incident, like their Ermolai... bought an estate, the most beautiful of which is nothing in the world. I bought an estate where my grandfather and father were slaves, where they were not even allowed into the kitchen...” This feeling intoxicates him. Having become the owner of the Ranevskaya estate, the new owner dreams of a new life: “Hey, musicians, play, I want to listen to you! Come and watch how Ermolai Lopakhin takes an ax to the cherry orchard and how the trees fall to the ground! We will set up dachas, and our grandchildren and great-grandchildren will see a new life here... Music, play!.. There's a new one coming landowner, owner of the cherry orchard!..” And all this in the presence of the crying old mistress of the estate!
Lopakhin is also cruel towards Varya. For all the subtlety of his soul, he lacks humanity and tact to bring clarity to their relationship. Everyone around is talking about the wedding and congratulating. He himself talks about marriage: “What? I wouldn't mind... She good girl..." And these are his sincere words. Varya, of course, likes Lopakhin, but he avoids marriage, either from timidity, or from an unwillingness to give up freedom, the right to manage his own life. But, most likely, the reason is excessive practicality, which does not allow such a miscalculation: marrying a dowryless woman who has no rights even to a ruined estate.
Lopakhin, as stated in the author's remark at the beginning of the play, is a merchant. His father was a serf of Ranevskaya’s father and grandfather, and traded in a shop in the village. Now Lopakhin has become rich, but he says with irony about himself that he remains “a man, a man”: “My dad was a man, an idiot, he didn’t understand anything, he didn’t teach me, he only beat me when he was drunk... In essence, I’m just as stupid and idiot. I haven’t studied anything, my handwriting is bad, I write in such a way that people are ashamed of me, like a pig.”
Lopakhin sincerely wants to help Ranevskaya and offers to divide the garden into plots and rent them out. He feels himself enormous power, which requires an application and exit. In the end, he buys a cherry orchard, and this minute becomes the moment of his highest triumph: he becomes the owner of the estate where his “father and grandfather were slaves, where they were not even allowed into the kitchen.” The further he goes, the more he acquires the habit of “waving his arms”: “I can pay for everything!” - he is intoxicated by the consciousness of his strength, luck and the power of his money. Triumph and compassion for Ranevskaya conflict in him at the moment of his highest triumph.
Chekhov emphasized that Lopakhin’s role is central, that “if it fails, then the whole play will fail,” “Lopakhin, it’s true, is a merchant, but a decent person in every sense, he must behave quite decently, intelligently, quietly, without tricks " At the same time, Chekhov warned against a simplified, petty understanding of this image. He is a successful businessman, but with the soul of an artist. When he talks about Russia, it sounds like a declaration of love. His words are reminiscent of Gogol's lyrical digressions V " Dead souls" The most heartfelt words about the cherry orchard in the play belong to Lopakhin: “an estate that is not more beautiful in the world.”
In the image of this hero, a merchant and at the same time an artist at heart, Chekhov introduced features characteristic of some Russian entrepreneurs of the early twentieth century who left their mark on Russian culture - Savva Morozov, Tretyakov, Shchukin, the publisher Sytin.
The final assessment that Petya Trofimov gives to his seemingly antagonist is significant: “After all, I still love you. You have thin, delicate fingers, like an artist, you have thin, gentle soul..." About a real entrepreneur, about Savva Morozov, M. Gorky said similar enthusiastic words: "And when I see Morozov behind the scenes of the theater, in the dust and trembling for the success of the play - I am ready to forgive him for all his factories, in which he, however, he doesn’t need it, I love him, for he disinterestedly loves art, which I can almost feel in his peasant, merchant, acquisitive soul.”
Lopakhin does not propose to destroy the garden, he proposes to rebuild it, divide it into summer cottages, make it publicly available for a reasonable fee, “democratic.” But at the end of the play, the hero who achieved success is shown not as a triumphant winner (and the old owners of the garden - not only as defeated, that is, victims on some battlefield - there was no “battle”, but only something absurd, sluggishly everyday, certainly not “heroic”). Intuitively, he feels the illusory and relative nature of his victory: “Oh, if only all this would pass, if only our awkward, unhappy life would soon change.” And his words about “an awkward, unhappy life”, which “you know it’s passing,” are supported by his fate: he alone is able to appreciate what a cherry orchard is, and he himself destroys it with his own hands. Personal it good qualities, good intentions for some reason are absurdly at odds with reality. And neither he himself nor those around him can understand the reasons.
And Lopakhin was not given personal happiness. His relationship with Varya results in his actions incomprehensible to her and others; he still does not dare to propose. In addition, Lopakhin has a special feeling for Lyubov Andreevna. He awaits Ranevskaya’s arrival with special hope: “Will she recognize me? We haven’t seen each other for five years.”
IN famous stage After the failed explanation between Lopakhin and Varya in the last act, the characters talk about the weather, about the broken thermometer - and not a word about the most important thing at that moment. Why did the explanation not take place, why did love not take place? Throughout the entire play, Varya’s marriage is discussed as a matter almost decided, and yet... The point, apparently, is not that Lopakhin is a businessman incapable of showing feelings. Varya explains their relationship to herself precisely in this spirit: “He has a lot to do, he has no time for me,” “He is either silent or joking. I understand, he’s getting rich, he’s busy with business, he has no time for me.” But, probably, Varya is not a match for Lopakhin: he is a broad-minded person, a man of great scope, an entrepreneur and at the same time an artist at heart. Her world is limited by housekeeping, economy, keys on her belt... Moreover, Varya is a homeless woman who has no rights even to a ruined estate. For all the subtlety of Lopakhin’s soul, he lacks humanity and tact to bring clarity to their relationship.
The dialogue of the characters in the second act at the text level does not clarify anything in the relationship between Lopakhin and Varya, but at the subtext level it becomes clear that the characters are infinitely distant. Lopakhin has already decided that he will not be with Varya (Lopakhin here is a provincial Hamlet, deciding for himself the question “to be or not to be”): “Okhmelia, go to the monastery... Okhmelia, oh nymph, remember me in your prayers!”
What separates Lopakhin and Varya? Perhaps their relationship is largely determined by the motif of the cherry orchard, its fate, and the attitude of the characters in the play towards it? Varya (along with Firs) is sincerely worried about the fate of the cherry orchard and estate. Lopakhin condemned the cherry orchard to cutting down. “In this sense, Varya cannot connect her life with Lopakhin’s life, not only for the “psychological” reasons prescribed in the play, but also for ontological reasons: the death of the cherry orchard comes between them literally, and not metaphorically.” It is no coincidence that when Varya learns about the sale of the garden, she, as stated in Chekhov’s remark, “takes the keys from her belt, throws them on the floor, in the middle of the living room, and leaves.”
But it seems that there is one more reason, not formulated in the play (like many things - sometimes the most important thing in Chekhov) and lying in the sphere of the psychological subconscious - Lyubov Andreevna Ranevskaya.
The play outlines another line, piercingly tender and elusive, outlined with exceptional Chekhovian tact and psychological subtlety: the line of Lopakhin and Ranevskaya. Let's try to formulate its meaning as it appears to us.
Once in childhood, still a “boy”, with a bloody nose from his father’s fist, Ranevskaya took Lopakhin to the washstand in her room and said: “Don’t cry, little man, he’ll heal before the wedding.” Moreover, in contrast to her father’s fist, Ranevskaya’s sympathy was perceived as a manifestation of tenderness and femininity itself. Actually, Lyubov Andreevna did what her mother should have done, and isn’t she involved in the fact that this strange merchant has a “subtle, gentle soul”? Lopakhin kept this wonderful vision, this love and gratitude in his soul. Let us remember his words in the first act, addressed to Lyubov Andreevna: “My father was a serf to your grandfather and father, but you, in fact, you once did so much for me that I forgot everything and love you like my own... . more than my own." This, of course, is a “confession” of long-standing love, first love - tender, romantic, love - filial gratitude, youthfully bright love for a beautiful vision, not obligating to anything and not demanding anything in return. Perhaps there is only one thing: so that this romantic image, sunk into the soul of a young man entering the world, is not somehow destroyed. I don’t think that this confession by Lopakhin had any other meaning than the ideal one, as this episode is sometimes perceived.
But once experienced is irrevocable, and this “dear” Lopakhin was not heard, was not understood (they did not hear or did not want to hear). This was probably the moment for him. psychologically a turning point, it became his farewell to the past, a reckoning with the past. Began new life and for him. But now he has become more sober.
However, that memorable youthful episode also relates to the Lopakhin-Varya line. The romantic image of Ranevskaya from her best times - the times of her youth - became the ideal-standard that, without realizing it, Lopakhin was looking for. And here is Varya, a good girl, practical, but... Indicative, for example, is Lopakhin’s reaction in the second act to the words of Ranevskaya (!), who directly asks him to propose to Varya. It was after this that Lopakhin spoke with irritation about how good it was before, when men could be beaten, and began tactlessly teasing Petya. All this is the result of a decline in his mood caused by a lack of understanding of his condition. In a beautiful perfect image youthful vision, a note was introduced that was sharply dissonant with all its harmonious sound.
Among the monologues of the characters in “The Cherry Orchard” about a failed life, Lopakhin’s unspoken feeling can sound like one of the most painful notes of the play, this is exactly how Lopakhin was played the best performers this role recent years V.V. Vysotsky and A.A. Mironov.
“The Cherry Orchard” is considered an example of a dramatic classic. Its creation was accompanied turning point in Russian theater and Russian literature. This is a lyrical comedy with a sad aftertaste characteristic of Chekhov's works.
History of creation
Literary scholars believe that the play is autobiographical. The plot of the work is built around a bankrupt noble family forced to sell the family estate. Chekhov happened to find himself in a similar situation, so he knew first-hand the experiences of his heroes. State of mind each character was familiar to the writer as a person who was faced with the need to leave native home. The narrative is permeated with subtle psychologism.
The innovation of the play was that it characters were not divided into positive and negative heroes, not on the main and minor ones. These were people of the past, present and future, whom the writer classified according to their worldview. Lopakhin was a representative of the present, although sometimes there is a feeling that he could also lay claim to the position of a man of the future.
Work on the work was carried out from 1901 to 1903. Chekhov was seriously ill, but completed the play, and in 1904 the premiere theatrical production According to a new plot, it took place on the stage of the Moscow Art Theater.
"The Cherry Orchard"
The biography and fate of Ermolai Alekseevich Lopakhin is closely connected with the life of the Ranevskaya family. The hero's father was a serf to Father Ranevskaya and lived in small trade. The young lady showed sympathy for the young man, who was constantly bombarded by his father, and he talks about this, recalling the story of life in serfdom. Ranevskaya’s attitude excited the consciousness of Ermolai Lopakhin. He liked the caress of an attractive girl, but he understood that there was an abyss between them based on slavery. Even the meaning of the hero’s surname and name suggests that he is intended for a completely different society.
Lopakhin became rich by becoming a merchant and was able to change his fate. He made himself and, despite the lack of proper education, became one of the people, of which he is incredibly proud. Although he admits that books are empty for him, and his handwriting has never acquired a noble appearance. The former serf achieved everything through hard work; his whole life consists of work. Lopakhin is always in a hurry, looking at his watch, waiting. new meeting. He knows how to handle own time and finances, unlike the Ranevskaya family.
Lopakhin more than once starts a conversation about the cherry orchard, offering help. He easily parts with money by lending money, but in the case of the estate being sold, something else is involved: Lopakhin loves Ranevskaya. He acts nobly, offering to buy the garden and rent it out as summer cottages, although he could have quietly bought it for his own use.
Lopakhin demonstrates amazing for a former serf business qualities. He is practical and calculating, but does not use his talents against those close to him. At the same time, some characters give an unflattering description of the hero, believing that Lopakhin is pursuing the possibility of a profitable deal.
Throughout the action, the conversation repeatedly comes up about Lopakhin's marriage to Vara. Ermolai does not marry the girl not because of the lack of a dowry, but because of the issue of cutting down the garden. Varya sees in the groom only a businessman for whom the wedding can be beneficial as a deal. Incoherent dialogues between the characters make it clear that there is no mutual understanding between them. The love for Ranevskaya, warming in Lopakhin’s heart, does not allow him to think about other women. The hero proposes to Varya solely at the request of his beloved.
Illustration for the book "The Cherry Orchard" In the play, each character loses something along with The Cherry Orchard. Lopakhin loses faith in love, realizing that the image of a simple man is forever attached to him in Ranevskaya’s perception. Having bought Ranevskaya’s garden at auction, he, a representative of the future, the owner of an estate where his family was in service, falls into euphoria. But, having acquired the garden, he did not achieve the fulfillment of a dream that remained unattainable. Ranevskaya leaves Russia, going to Paris, and Lopakhin is left alone with the estate where he spent his youth.
At the end of the play, Ermolai Alekseevich talks about his awkward life. It becomes obvious to him that everything he strived for turned out to be empty. He realizes how many people in his country exist aimlessly and do not understand what they live for.
Still from the film "The Cherry Orchard" The author's attitude towards Lopakhin is not as negative as that of other characters in the play. Chekhov considers Lopakhin a “klutz” and justifies the hero with a lack of education and upbringing. Many of Lopakhin’s actions indicate that, despite his business acumen, the man is not distinguished by simple forethought. He is late for the train to meet Ranevskaya. Wanting to help her out of trouble, he buys a garden. He decides to ask Varya to marry and immediately forgets about it.
The image of Lopakhin is incredibly relevant in last decades. This is a “hero of our time”, skillfully building a business, but callous in soul. A person incapable of perception and thinking exclusively about his own self-realization through material goods. Ermolai Lopakhin presents with his description an anti-portrait of Chekhov. A sensitive writer whose works are full philosophical meaning and tragedy, is the complete opposite of the son of serfs who has made it into the people.
Film adaptations
The first film adaptation of the play by Russian playwright Chekhov was made in Japan in 1936 by director Morato Makoto. The characters were modernized to match current Japanese images. In 1959, director Daniel Petri shot the film “The Cherry Orchard,” in which Martin Hirte played the role of Lopakhin. In Jan Bull's 1973 production, the image of Lopakhin was absent, and in the 1976 Soviet film adaptation, Yuri Kayurov appeared as a merchant in Leonid Kheifetz's teleplay.
Vysotsky plays in the play "The Cherry Orchard" Richard Eid in 1981 directed Bill Paterson as Lopakhin, and in Soviet picture Igor Ilyinsky played Ermolai in 1983. Anna Chernakova, who directed the film “The Cherry Orchard” 10 years later, invited Lopakhin to play the role. The image of the merchant in the television film by Sergei Ovcharov in 2008 went to. The most famous performer this role on theater stage became .
Quotes
Lopakhin is beautiful by the fact that he does not forget his place. Like any person who has not seen a prosperous life, he is proud of what he managed to achieve without patronage and help. For him, the main expression of success is material wealth:
“My father, it’s true, was a man, but here I am in a white vest and yellow shoes.”
Illustration for the play "The Cherry Orchard" The hero understands how valuable an education he did not receive would be in his current situation. He also feels that he lacks the ability to understand the world that he is so eager to get into, where he wants to be accepted as “one of his own”:
“My dad was a man, an idiot, he didn’t understand anything, he didn’t teach me, he just beat me when he was drunk, and that was all with a stick. In essence, I’m just as much of a blockhead and an idiot. I haven’t studied anything, my handwriting is bad, I write in such a way that people are ashamed of me, like a pig.”
Lopakhin's main achievement is that he manages to understand: the life he strives for is worthless. Money doesn't bring him pleasure. Owning a cherry orchard makes him understand that his dreams turned out to be empty, the pleasure from their fulfillment is doubtful. Work becomes the main life credo for the hero:
“When I work for a long time, tirelessly, then my thoughts are lighter, and it seems as if I also know why I exist. And how many people, brother, are there in Russia who exist for no one knows why.”
Introduction
“...if it (the role) fails, then the whole play will fail.” This is how Chekhov spoke in one of his letters about the role of Lopakhin from the play “The Cherry Orchard.” Oddly enough, the author places the center of attention not on Ranevskaya, the owner of the cherry orchard, but on Lopakhin. Merchant, that's enough limited person, himself honestly admitting that he is essentially “a blockhead and an idiot” - this is the characterization of Lopakhin from “The Cherry Orchard” that readers remember first. And yet it is precisely him who the author calls the “central” figure in the work! A number of critics echo him, defining this hero as a hero of new times, a viable person of a “new formation”, with a sober and clear view of things. To better understand this contradictory image, let's carry out Lopakhin's analysis.
Life path of Lopakhin
The fate of Lopakhin, Ermolai Alekseevich from the very beginning is closely intertwined with the fate of the Ranevskaya family. His father was a serf to Ranevskaya’s father, and traded “in a shop in the village.” One day, Lopakhin recalls in the first act, his father drank and broke his face. Then young Ranevskaya took him to her place, washed him and consoled him: “Don’t cry, little man, he’ll heal before the wedding.” Lopakhin still remembers these words, and they resonate in him in two ways. On the one hand, Ranevskaya’s affection pleases him, on the other, the word “peasant” hurts his pride. It was his father who was a man, Lopakhin protests, and he himself “made it into the people” and became a merchant. He has a lot of money, “a white vest and yellow shoes” - and he achieved all this himself. His parents didn’t teach him anything, his father only beat him when he was drunk. Remembering this, the hero admits that, in essence, he remained a peasant: his handwriting is bad, and he doesn’t understand anything about books - “he read a book and fell asleep.”
Lopakhin's energy and hard work deserves undoubted respect. From five o'clock he is already on his feet, works from morning to evening and cannot imagine his life without work. An interesting detail is that due to his activities, he always lacks time; some business trips on which he goes are constantly mentioned. This character in the play looks at his watch more often than others. In contrast to the amazingly impractical Ranevskaya family, he knows the score of both time and money.
At the same time, Lopakhin cannot be called a money-grubber or an unprincipled “merchant grabber,” like those merchants whose images Ostrovsky loved to paint. This can be evidenced at least by the ease with which he parted with his money. During the course of the play, Lopakhin will lend or offer money more than once (remember the dialogue with Petya Trofimov and the eternal debtor Simeonov-Pishchik). And most importantly, Lopakhin is sincerely worried about the fate of Ranevskaya and her estate. The merchants from Ostrovsky's plays would never do what comes to Lopakhin's mind - he himself offers Ranevskaya a way out of the situation. But the profit that can be made by renting out a cherry orchard for summer cottages is not small at all (Lopakhin calculates it himself).
And it would be much more profitable to wait until the day of the auction and secretly buy a profitable estate. But no, the hero is not like that, he will more than once invite Ranevskaya to think about her fate. Lopakhin is not trying to buy a cherry orchard. “I teach you every day,” he says to Ranevskaya in despair shortly before the auction. And it’s not his fault that in response he will hear the following: dachas are “so vulgar”, Ranevskaya will never agree to this. But let him, Lopakhin, not leave, it’s “still more fun” with him...
Characteristics of Lopakhin through the eyes of other characters
So, before us appears an extraordinary character, in which business acumen and practical intelligence are combined with sincere affection for the Ranevsky family, and this attachment, in turn, contradicts his desire to profit from their estate. To get a more accurate idea of the image of Lopakhin in Chekhov’s play “The Cherry Orchard,” let’s look at how the other characters speak about him. The range of these reviews will be wide - from “the enormous mind of a person” (Simeonov-Pishchik) to “a predatory beast that eats everything in its path” (Petya).
A striking negative description belongs to Ranevskaya’s brother, Gaev: “boorish, fist.” Lopakhin is somewhat beautified in Gaev’s eyes by the fact that he is “Varin’s fiancé,” and yet this does not prevent Gaev from considering the merchant a limited person. However, let's see from whose lips such a description of Lopakhin sounds in the play? Lopakhin himself repeats it, and repeats it without malice: “Let him speak.” For him, in his own words, only one thing is important - that Ranevskaya’s “amazing, touching eyes” look at him “as before.”
Ranevskaya herself treats Lopakhin with warmth. For her he is “good, interesting person" And yet, from every phrase of Ranevskaya it is clear that she and Lopakhin are people of different circles. Lopakhin sees in Ranevskaya something more than just an old acquaintance...
Test of love
Throughout the play, every now and then there is a conversation about the marriage of Lopakhin and Varya, this is spoken of as a matter already decided. In response to Ranevskaya’s direct proposal to take Varya as his wife, the hero replies: “I wouldn’t mind... She’s a good girl.” And yet the wedding never takes place. But why?
Of course, this can be explained by the practicality of Lopakhin the merchant, who does not want to take a dowry for himself. In addition, Varya has certain rights to the cherry orchard, and her soul cares for it. Cutting down the garden comes between them. Varya explains her failure in love even more simply: in her opinion, Lopakhin simply does not have time for feelings, he is a businessman incapable of love. On the other hand, Varya herself does not suit Lopakhin. Her world is limited by housework, she is dry and “looks like a nun.” Lopakhin more than once demonstrates the breadth of his soul (let us remember his statement about the giants who are so lacking in Rus'). From Varya’s incoherent dialogues with Lopakhin, it becomes clear: they absolutely do not understand each other. And Lopakhin, deciding for himself Hamlet’s question “To be or not to be?”, acts honestly. Realizing that he will not find happiness with Varya, he, like the district Hamlet, says: “Okhmelia, go to the monastery”...
The point, however, is not only the incompatibility of Lopakhin and Varya, but the fact that the hero has another, unexpressed love. This is Lyubov Andreevna Ranevskaya, whom he loves “more than his own.” Throughout the entire play, Lopakhin’s bright, reverent attitude towards Ranevskaya runs as a leitmotif. He decides to propose to Varya after a request from Ranevskaya, but here he cannot overcome himself.
Lopakhin’s tragedy lies in the fact that for Ranevskaya he remained the same little man whom she once carefully washed. And at that moment when he finally understands that the “dear” that he kept in his soul will not be understood, a turning point occurs. All the heroes of “The Cherry Orchard” lose something of their own, cherished – Lopakhin is no exception. Only in the image of Lopakhin does his feeling for Ranevskaya appear as a cherry orchard.
Lopakhin's celebration
And then it happened - Lopakhin acquired Ranevskaya’s estate at auction. Lopakhin is the new owner of the cherry orchard! Now a predatory element really emerges in his character: “I can pay for anything!” The understanding that he bought an estate where once, “poor and illiterate,” did not dare to go beyond the kitchen, intoxicates him. But in his voice one can hear irony, self-mockery. Apparently, Lopakhin already understands that his triumph will not last long - he can buy a cherry orchard, “there is nothing more beautiful in the world,” but buying a dream is not in his power, it will vanish like smoke. Ranevskaya can still be consoled, because she is, after all, leaving for Paris. And Lopakhin remains alone, understanding this very well. “Goodbye” is all he can say to Ranevskaya, and this absurd word raises Lopakhin to the level of a tragic hero.
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