The play by A.P. Chekhov "The Cherry Orchard" occupies a special place in the writer's work. Character characters are a reflection of representatives of that era. Each character of the play is important for the development of the plot and the psychological component of the work. Below is a description of Gaev from The Cherry Orchard.
general description
The characterization of Gaev from The Cherry Orchard is worth starting with general information about this hero of the play. He is not a primary character, but against his background the character of his sister, Lyubov Ranevskaya, is more clearly revealed.
He is 51 years old, he does not have his own family, and his sister and her daughters are the closest people to him. Another is the old servant Firs, who takes care of him and helps in everything. In front of his eyes, their family estate is being destroyed, but Gaev (unlike other heroes) is trying to pay off his debts and somehow buy out the estate. But his ideas can be called dreams rather than feasible projects.
The characterization of Gaev from The Cherry Orchard is a caricature of the nobility, which spoke more than confirmed its words by actions. At the same time, the heroes of the play speak little about him, therefore, one can learn more about his character from the remarks in the work.
Character Features
In the characterization of Gaev from The Cherry Orchard, it should be noted that he considered himself a real aristocrat, loved to speak high-sounding phrases. He often visited men's clubs and played billiards, because it was supposed to have fun and rest for people of his circle. Gaev learned all new news from club members, and there he was offered a place in the bank with a permanent salary. But none of the people around him (except Ani) believes that he will work.
This is due to the fact that Leonid Andreyevich did not reinforce his words with actions, so people did not take him seriously. In the characterization of Gaev from The Cherry Orchard, it should be noted that he was an infantile man, for whom the old servant Firs did everything. Leonid Andreyevich often made long speeches out of place, did not know how to defend his point of view and sometimes even correctly formulate it.
Gaev was not capable of deep feelings, because it didn’t even occur to him that he should become the head of the family and take care of his sister and nieces. But he is not interested in anything (except that he is an aristocrat and belongs to the nobility).
Comparison with the main character
In a comparative description of Ranevskaya and Gaev in The Cherry Orchard, you can see that these two characters are very similar. They both do not know how to defend their point of view, lead an idle lifestyle and take everything lightly. But Ranevskaya is respected. Because she is sentimental, intelligent and was able to do selfless good things.
If Leonid Andreyevich was infantile not only in terms of character, but could not do anything himself, then his sister could not make decisions guided by reason, she exaggerated all her feelings and could not abandon the habit of living in a big way. There is a big difference between Gayev and Ranevskaya: both of them are representatives of idle and frivolous people, but if Lyubov Andreevna had affections and her inner world was more developed, then Gayev was not able to feel deeply, and the most important thing for him was a visit to the men's club and a game of billiards.
Garden attitude
In the characterization of Gaev in the play "The Cherry Orchard", his attitude to the estate should be noted. Of course, for him, it also meant a lot (as for his sister), because in him passed his childhood and youth. He is the only hero who tried to do something to save him, but all the projects are more like dreams.
Gaev did not agree with Lopakhin’s proposal to hand over land to summer residents - it seemed to him vulgar. To save the aristocrat's face was more important to him than the cherry orchard. This confirms that Gaev was not capable of deep and serious feelings.
This character was a parody of the nobility, all of his negative traits were exaggerated in order to show how it shredded. But it should be noted that in this play there are no idealized heroes. A.P. Chekhov showed the differences between social strata, their habits and beliefs, creating this play.