The image of Gaev 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 our article, the image of Gaev in the play "The Cherry Orchard" is described in detail.
Gaev is the brother of the main character of the work, Ranevskaya, practically her double. His image, however, is less significant than the image of this woman. That is why the hero of interest to us is presented as the “brother of Ranevskaya” in the list of characters, although he is older than his sister and has the same rights to the estate.
The social situation of Gayev
The photo above shows Stanislavsky as Gaev. Leonid Andreyevich Gaev is a landowner who has eaten his fortune "on candy". He leads a rather idle lifestyle. Nevertheless, he is surprised that the garden needs to be sold for debts. This man is already 51 years old, but he does not have his own family. Gaev lives in an old estate, collapsing right before his eyes. He is under the tutelage of Firs, an old footman. The characterization of Gaev should be supplemented by the fact that he is constantly trying to borrow money from someone in order to at least cover the interest on his debts and on the debts of his sister. A pipe dream for him is the repayment of all loans. This landowner hopes to get an inheritance from someone, pass off Anna as a wealthy person, go to Yaroslavl, where you can try to try your luck at the Countess-aunt.
Caricature of the nobility
The image of Gaev in the play "The Cherry Orchard" is a caricature of the nobility. The negative qualities of the landowner Ranevskaya are even more ugly presented in the character of her brother, which emphasizes the comic of everything that happens. Gaev’s description, unlike Ranevskaya’s, is mainly in remarks. His character is revealed mainly through actions, and other characters in the play speak very little about him.
The attitude of others to Gaev
The author tells us very little about Gayev’s past. However, we understand that this person is educated, that he knows how to dress his thoughts in beautiful speeches, albeit empty ones. The hero we are interested in has lived all his life on the estate. He was a regular in men's clubs, where he indulged in a game of billiards, his favorite pastime. 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. Those around were very surprised by this offer. Sister Gaeva directly tells Leonid Andreyevich: "Where are you! Sit already." Lopakhin also expresses his doubt about this, believing that Gaev will not be able to stay on the proposed place, since he is "very lazy." Only Anya, the hero’s niece, believes in him.
What caused this distrust in relation to Gaev? People around show even some disregard for this hero. Even the footman Yasha is disrespectful to him. Let's resolve this issue, which will help us better understand the image of Gaev in the play "The Cherry Orchard."
Character traits of Leonid Andreyevich
Gaev is a man who can be called idle talk. He sometimes indulges in ranting at the most inopportune moments. Because of this, his interlocutors are lost and often ask him to shut up. Gaev Leonid Andreyevich himself is aware of this, but he cannot cope with his unpleasant character trait. In addition, the characterization of the image of Gaev should be supplemented by the fact that he is very infantile. Leonid Andreevich can not defend his opinion, not even able to clearly formulate his point of view. This hero often cannot say something essentially. Instead, he pronounces his favorite word, "whom." In the speech of the hero of interest to us, inappropriate billiard terms also constantly appear.
Relationship with Firs, sister and nieces
Servant Firs still walks after the master, as if after a small child. He either shakes off the dust from his trousers, then brings Gaev a warm coat. Meanwhile, Leonid Andreevich is an adult fifty-year-old man. However, he does not consider such custody by 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 devotion to Firs, in the finale of the work, Gaev forgets about him.
He loves his sister and his nieces. Gaev is the only man in his family. However, he could not become the head of the family. The hero is not able to help anyone, because it doesn’t even occur to him. This indicates that Gayev’s feelings are very shallow.
Is the cherry garden dear to Gaev?
The image of Leonid Gaev is also revealed in his relation to the cherry orchard. For our hero, he means a lot, as for his sister. Gaev does not want to accept Lopakhin’s proposal, as does Ranevskaya. He believes that "it went" would be to divide his estate into plots and rent them out. After all, this will bring his family closer to businessmen like Lopakhin. This would be unacceptable for Leonid Andreyevich, because he considers himself a true aristocrat and looks down upon merchants like Yermolai Alekseevich. When Gaev returns from the auction where his estate was sold, he is depressed, tears are visible in his eyes. However, when he hears the cue striking the balls, his mood immediately improves. This fact tells us that the hero is not characterized by deep feelings. This is an important feature that complements the image of Gaev in the play "The Cherry Orchard" by Chekhov.
The value of the image of Gaev
The character we are interested in closes the chain, which consists of the images of the nobles depicted by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov. The author introduced us to the “heroes of his time” - well-educated aristocrats who cannot defend their ideals. Due to this weakness of the nobles, people like Lopakhin have the opportunity to take a dominant position in society. Anton Pavlovich specially underestimated the image of Gaev in the comedy "The Cherry Orchard", making him a caricature. This was necessary in order to show the degree of shredding of the nobles.
Did the Cherry Orchard succeed to the author?
Chekhov's work ( his portrait is presented above) caused a great public outcry. Many of his contemporaries belonging to the aristocracy were very critical of this play. They accused Anton Pavlovich of not knowing their circle, of misrepresenting his class. Chekhov can hardly be blamed for this. After all, he sought 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 quotes from the comedy Cherry Orchard, and the play itself is included in the compulsory school curriculum in literature. This work is still very popular in theaters of our country. All this speaks of the undoubted value of the "Cherry Orchard" from an artistic point of view.