The prototypes of Ranevskaya, according to the author, were Russian ladies who lived idly in Monte Carlo, whom Chekhov observed abroad in 1900 and early 1901: “And what insignificant women... [about a certain lady. - V.K.] “she lives here with nothing to do, just eats and drinks...” How many Russian women die here” (from a letter from O.L. Knipper).

At first, Ranevskaya’s image seems sweet and attractive to us. But then it acquires stereoscopicity and complexity: the lightness of her stormy experiences is revealed, exaggeration in the expression of feelings: “I can’t sit still, I’m not able to. (Jumps up and walks around in great excitement.) I won’t survive this joy... Laugh at me, I’m stupid... The closet is my dear. (Kisses the closet.) My table...” At one time, the literary critic D. N. Ovsyaniko-Kulikovsky even asserted, referring to the behavior of Ranevskaya and Gaev: “The terms “frivolity” and “emptiness” are no longer used here in a common and general way , and in a closer - psychopathological - sense, the behavior of these characters in the play “is incompatible with the concept of a normal, healthy psyche.” But the fact of the matter is that all the characters in Chekhov’s play are normal, ordinary people, only their ordinary life and everyday life are considered by the author as if through a magnifying glass.

Ranevskaya, despite the fact that her brother (Leonid Andreevich Gaev) calls her a “vicious woman,” oddly enough, evokes respect and love from all the characters in the play. Even the footman Yasha, as a witness to her Parisian secrets and quite capable of familiar treatment, does not occur to him to be cheeky with her. Culture and intelligence gave Ranevskaya the charm of harmony, sobriety of mind, and subtlety of feelings. She is smart, capable of telling the bitter truth about herself and about others, for example, about Pete Trofimov, to whom she says: “You have to be a man, at your age you have to understand those who love. And you have to love yourself... “I am above love!” You are not above love, but simply, as our Firs says, you are a klutz.”

And yet, there is much that evokes sympathy in Ranevskaya. Despite all her lack of will and sentimentality, she is characterized by a breadth of nature and a capacity for selfless kindness. This attracts Petya Trofimov. And Lopakhin says about her: “She is a good person. An easy, simple person."

Ranevskaya’s double, but a less significant personality, is Gaev in the play; it is no coincidence that he is on the list characters he is represented by his sister’s affiliation: “Ranevskaya’s brother.” And he is sometimes able to say smart things, sometimes be sincere, self-critical. But the sister’s shortcomings - frivolity, impracticality, lack of will - become caricatures in Gaev. Lyubov Andreevna only kisses the closet in a fit of emotion, while Gaev makes a speech in front of him in “high style.” In his own eyes, he is an aristocrat of the highest circle, Lopakhina does not seem to notice and tries to put “this boor” in his place. But his contempt—the contempt of an aristocrat who ate his fortune “on candy”—is ridiculous.

Gaev is infantile and absurd, for example, in the following scene:

“Firs. Leonid Andreevich, you are not afraid of God! When should you sleep?

Gaev (swatting away Firs). So be it, I’ll undress myself.”

Gaev is another version of spiritual degradation, emptiness and vulgarity.

It has been noted more than once in the history of literature, the unwritten “history” of the reader’s perception of Chekhov’s works, that he allegedly experienced a special prejudice towards the high society - towards noble, aristocratic Russia. These characters - landowners, princes, generals - appear in Chekhov's stories and plays not only empty, colorless, but sometimes stupid and poorly mannered. (A.A. Akhmatova, for example, reproached Chekhov: “And how he described representatives of the upper classes... He didn’t know these people! He didn’t know anyone higher than the assistant station manager... Everything is wrong, wrong!”)

However, it is hardly worth seeing in this fact a certain tendentiousness of Chekhov or his incompetence; the writer had a lot of knowledge of life. This is not the point, not the social “registration” of Chekhov’s characters. Chekhov did not idealize representatives of any class, no social group, he was, as you know, outside of politics and ideology, outside of social preferences. All classes “got it” from the writer, and the intelligentsia too: “I don’t believe in our intelligentsia, hypocritical, false, hysterical, ill-mannered, lazy, I don’t believe even when it suffers and complains, because its oppressors come from its own depths.” .

With that high cultural-moral, ethical-aesthetic demands, with that wise humor with which Chekhov approached man in general and his era in particular, social differences lost their meaning. This is the peculiarity of his “funny” and “sad” talent. In The Cherry Orchard itself there are not only no idealized characters, but also certainly goodies(this applies to Lopakhin (“modern” Chekhov’s Russia), and to Anya and Petya Trofimov (Russia of the future).

Gaev's place in the system of images of the work

To understand Chekhov’s perception of the nobility, it is necessary to consider Gaev’s characterization in the play “ The Cherry Orchard", brother main character, practically a double of Ranevskaya, but less significant. Therefore, in the list of characters he is designated “Ranevskaya’s brother,” although he is older than her and has the same rights to the estate as his sister.

Gaev Leonid Andreevich is a landowner, “who spent his fortune on candy,” leading an idle lifestyle, but it is strange to him that the garden is being sold for debts. He is already 51 years old, but he has neither a wife nor children. He lives in an old estate, which is being destroyed before his eyes, under the tutelage of the old lackey Firs. However, it is Gaev who is always trying to borrow money from someone in order to cover at least the interest on his and his sister’s debts. And his options for repaying all the loans are more like pipe dreams: “It would be nice to receive an inheritance from someone, it would be nice to marry our Anya to a very rich man, it would be nice to go to Yaroslavl and try your luck with the aunt countess...”

The image of Gaev in the play “The Cherry Orchard” became a caricature of the nobility as a whole. All negative sides Ranevskaya found an uglier attitude in her brother, thereby further emphasizing the comedy of what was happening. Unlike Ranevskaya, Gaev's description is mainly in stage directions, which reveal his character through actions, while the characters say very little about him.

Characteristics of Gaev

Very little is said about Gaev's past. But it is clear that he is an educated man who knows how to express his thoughts in beautiful but empty speeches. He lived all his life on his estate, a regular at men's clubs, where he indulged in his favorite pastime, playing billiards. He brought all the news from there and there he received an offer to become a bank employee with an annual salary of six thousand. However, for those around him it was very surprising, the sister says: “Where are you!” Sit already...” Lopakhin also expresses doubts: “But he won’t sit still, he’s very lazy...”. The only person who believes him is his niece Anya “I believe you uncle!”. What caused such distrust and, in some ways, even disdainful attitude on the part of others? After all, even the lackey Yasha shows his disrespect for him.

As has already been said, Gaev is an empty talker; at the most inopportune moments he can launch into a rant, so that everyone around him is simply lost and asks him to remain silent. Leonid Andreevich himself understands this, but it is part of his nature. He is also very infantile, unable to defend his point of view, and cannot really formulate it. He so often has nothing substantive to say that he constantly sounds favorite word“Whom” and completely inappropriate billiard terms appear. Firs still follows his master like a little child, either shaking off the dust from his trousers, or bringing him a warm coat, and for a fifty-year-old man there is nothing shameful in such care, he even goes to bed under the sensitive gaze of his lackey. Firs is sincerely attached to the owner, but even Gaev in the finale of the play “The Cherry Orchard” forgets about his devoted servant. He loves his nieces and his sister. Just to become the head of the family in which he remained the only man, he couldn’t and he can’t help anyone, since it doesn’t even occur to him. All this shows how shallow the feelings of this hero are.

For Gaev, the cherry orchard means as much as it does for Ranevskaya, but, like her, she is not ready to accept Lopakhin’s offer. After all, dividing the estate into plots and renting them out is “off”, largely because it will bring them closer to such businessmen as Lopakhin, but for Leonid Andreevich this is unacceptable, since he considers himself a true aristocrat, looking down on such merchants. Having returned in a depressed state from the auction at which the estate was sold, Gaev has only tears in his eyes, and as soon as he hears the blows of the cue on the balls, they dry up, once again proving that deep emotions are simply not characteristic of him.

Gaev as the final stage in the evolution of the nobility in the works of A.P. Chekhov

Gaev closed the chain consisting of images of nobles created by Chekhov throughout creative life. He created “heroes of his time,” aristocrats with an excellent education, unable to defend their ideals, and it was this weakness that allowed people like Lopakhin to occupy a dominant position. In order to show how small the nobles had become, Anton Pavlovich understated the image of Gaev as much as possible, bringing him to the point of caricature. Many representatives of the aristocracy were very critical of this depiction of their class, accusing the author of ignorance of their circle. But Chekhov didn’t even want to create a comedy, but a farce, and he succeeded.

Reasoning about the image of Gaev and a description of the features of his character can be used by 10th grade students when writing an essay on the topic “Characteristics of Gaev in the play “The Cherry Orchard”.”

Work test

The play "The Cherry Orchard" is called swan song Chekhov. This is his last play, written a year before his early death.

Written in 1903. First staged on January 17, 1904 at the Moscow Art Theater. The playwright passed away on July 15, 1904. He was 44 years old.

The play was written on the threshold of the first Russian revolution of 1905-07, it contains a moment of Chekhov's foresight of subsequent historical events, which he was no longer able to see.

Central image in the work there is an image of a cherry orchard, all the characters are located around it, each of them has their own perception of the garden. And this image is symbolic. Behind the image of the cherry orchard stands the image of Russia, and the main theme of the play is the fate of Russia.

The play is imbued with the author's thoughts about the past, present and future of Russia, the symbol of which is the cherry orchard.

Ranevskaya and Gaev personify the past of the cherry orchard and at the same time the past of Russia. In the play the garden is cut down, but in life they fall apart noble nests, is becoming obsolete old Russia, Russia Ranevsky and Gaev.

Ranevskaya and Gaev are images of bankrupt landowners and nobles. They are descendants of wealthy owners of a magnificent estate with a beautiful cherry orchard. In the old days, their estate generated income on which its idle owners lived.

The habit of living through the labors of others, without caring about anything, made Ranevskaya and Gaev people unsuited to any serious activity, weak-willed and helpless.

Ranevskaya, outwardly charming, kind, simple, is fundamentally the personification of frivolity. She is sincerely concerned about the instability of her adopted daughter Varya, takes pity on the faithful servant Firs, and easily kisses the maid Dunyasha after a long separation. But her kindness is the result of an abundance not created with her own hands, a consequence of the habit of spending money without counting.

Ranevskaya's double, but a less significant personality, is Gaev in the play. And he is sometimes able to say smart things, sometimes be sincere, self-critical. But the sister’s shortcomings - frivolity, impracticality, lack of will - become caricatures in Gaev. Lyubov Andreevna only kisses the closet in a fit of emotion, while Gaev makes a speech in front of him in a “high style.”

Gaev is frankly ridiculous in his attempts to live as if nothing had changed, as if he had not eaten his fortune on candy. He almost always speaks out of place, pronouncing meaningless billiard terms reminiscent of the times of his cheerful youth. Gaev is pathetic with his empty, pompous speeches, with the help of which he is trying to revive the familiar atmosphere of his former prosperity.

For brother and sister, everything is already in the past. But Gaev and Ranevskaya are still somehow attractive to us. They are able to sense beauty, and the cherry orchard itself is perceived mainly aesthetically, and not utilitarianly - as a source of berries that can be used for food or sold, or as a large plot of land, again having commercial value.

The play has an elegiac mood, the sadness of parting with a dying past, in which there was a lot of bad, but there was also good. At the same time, this is a kind of Chekhovian lyric and satirical comedy, which, with some sly good nature, but still quite sternly, with Chekhov’s sobriety and clarity, laughs at the nobility leaving the historical stage.

Critics who responded to the production of the play in Art Theater, regarded it as the final verdict on the noble class. One of the reviewers of the play argued that in “The Cherry Orchard” a “monument was erected over the grave of pretty white-handed orchids, orchids that bloomed behind someone else’s coffin,” and “their sluggish submission and meekness fills the heart with horror and pity.”

People like Gaev and Ranevskaya are being replaced by a completely different type of people: strong, enterprising, dexterous. One of these people is another character in the play Lopakhin.

One of the main characters of the work is Gaev Leonid Andreevich, brother The main characters are the owner of the estate, Ranevskaya.

The writer presents Gaev as a lonely fifty-year-old man, a landowner who does not have his own family, living in an old estate under the guardianship of the old man Firs, who has lost his family fortune due to an idle lifestyle in the form of his favorite pastime - playing billiards.

The characteristic features of the hero are his aristocratic education, combined with a weak-willed nature, which is expressed in the inability and unwillingness to make important life decisions and defend his own position. But at the same time, Gaev is distinguished by his artistry and sincerity in expressing his thoughts, as well as sentimentality and romanticism.

When participating in conversations, Leonid Andreevich is verbose, often rants not on the substance of the conversation and sometimes he himself notices that he is speaking off topic and inappropriately inserts expressions that are not entirely clear to his interlocutors.

Gaev is characterized loving attitude to his household and loved ones, he sincerely cares for the happiness of his sister and his nieces, hoping to successfully marry one of the girls, Anna, to a worthy and wealthy nobleman. Gaev is very attached to old Firs, he cannot do without him even while preparing for bed, but at the end of the play he does not even remember the old man.

Naively believing that there is a possibility of saving the estate from sale and preserving the cherry orchard, which has for him great importance However, as for all family members, Gaev’s dreams represent receiving an unrealistic inheritance. In fact, Leonid Andreevich does not want to realize the accomplished fact of losing the family estate, although he says goodbye to the garden with tears in his eyes, but deep feelings and suffering are not typical to this hero. Therefore, he enters the service with a small annual salary in a men’s club, although, according to his relatives and the merchant Lopakhin, Gaev’s work will not last long, since Leonid Andreevich is not disciplined in work and is lazy.

Describing the image of Gaev in the play, the writer caricaturesly reveals the essence of the devastation of the noble class of that time, the spinelessness and lack of initiative of the aristocracy, idealizing the events taking place, which are already being actively replaced by representatives of commerce and business merchants in the form of Lopakhin, striving for a dominant position in society.

Option 2

Leonid Alekseevich Gaev is one of the heroes of the play “The Cherry Orchard” by the great Russian writer and playwright Anton Pavlovich Chekhov. In his image, as in Ranevskaya, the author depicted the past of Russia. He is a representative of the nobility, an aristocrat, and at the same time, wanting to show that their time is over, the author purposefully makes Gaev a bankrupt landowner.

Gaev is already 51 years old, but at the same time he is absolutely not independent. The old servant Firs still dresses and undresses him, like a little child, carefully watching that the master does not catch a cold. Gaev is infinitely lazy. When the question of selling the Cherry Orchard at auction arises, he only makes long, pathetic and solemn speeches, swearing that under no circumstances will he allow the sale... But that’s all. In practice, no action was taken or even weak attempts to do anything. Gaev is an example of pure egoism. Caring only about himself, he really doesn’t care what happens to the Cherry Orchard. At the end of the play, he forgets about his old devoted servant Firs.

Gaev's hobby is playing billiards, and he also likes to eat candy. The passion for games and sweets emphasizes the character’s infantilism. After selling the garden, Leonid Alekseevich will get a job at a bank, but no one believes that this will last long. Everyone knows his inconstancy and laziness.

Chekhov contrasts Gaev with Lopakhin, who is a typical representative of the merchant class of that time. Leonid Alekseevich speaks poorly of Lopakhin, considers him a boor and a brute. Rejects it business offer to rent out the Cherry Orchard as dachas, which in reality could have saved the garden, citing the mythical vulgarity of such a deal. At the same time, Gaev does not consider it shameful to beg for money from others. In the play, he says that it would be nice to go to his aunt-countess - to ask for money to cover debts or receive an inheritance, or to marry Anya, his niece, to a rich man

The purpose of creating “The Cherry Orchard” was to display the division of society of that time into the past (Ranevskaya, Gaev), present (Lopakhin) and future of Russia (Petya Trofimov, Anya). Gaev is an image of the outdated noble past of Russia. He is helpless and absolutely not adapted to modern life.

Essay Image and characteristics of Gaev

The play The Cherry Orchard still remains relevant; many of the characters are written with incredible texture and represent collective images different human types. One of the main acting heroes is Leonid Andreevich Gaev, who throughout his entire existence was a landowner and was always ready for everything. When the time comes for a new time and need arises, Gaev does not know what to do.

In fact, you need to consider this hero as the antithesis of Lopakhin and vice versa. From birth, Gaev remained in bliss; he was constantly cared for and accustomed to the wealth and habits of people of the upper class. In turn, Lopakhin represents a man, as they say in America, “who made himself.” He is somewhat similar, for example, to Stolz from Goncharov’s novel, he is also an active, mostly materialist who strives to achieve everything.

Gaev is a spacious and mostly dreamy, inactive nature. He literally cannot take care of his estate himself, but can only think about how good it would be to receive some kind of indulgence, some kind of contentment from other people. Having lived like this until he was 50 years old, he can no longer choose anything else, and only at the end of the play do we learn about how Leodnid Andreevich gets a job as a bank employee.

As Lopakhin says, Gaev will not be able to hold out at this job, since he is very lazy and this really makes sense. Lopakhin, of course, treats the landowner with contempt in many respects and does not miss the opportunity to tease him, but he gives very clear definitions that correspond to reality.

It seems to me that in the image of Gaev, Chekhov depicted the crisis of the aristocratic class and the crisis among the landowners.

As you know, in order to maintain power, you must have clear and firm convictions, as well as the ability to defend these convictions in fact. Leonid Andreevich, in turn, is an aristocrat only in name; he is a landowner by inheritance, but in fact he would not be able to achieve the privileges that he has.

In my opinion, the figure of Gaev is sad and even to some extent tragic, although it does not evoke sympathy.

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“The Cherry Orchard” is a well-known play by Chekhov, which allows us to follow two main lines. In the foreground, the fate of the estate, which is ancestral for Ranevskaya and Gaev, unfolds before us. Since large debts have accumulated, the need to sell the estate is almost inevitable. The second line, which is not so noticeable, is love. Everything in the play is tragic, but the author tries to show that even such situations do not interfere with ridicule. The life of the aristocracy is shown, the characters show the foundations and aspirations of those times.

Gaev is Ranevskaya’s brother, and has all her shortcomings, but on his person they look even more unpleasant. His image is not so important for the plot; he also has the right to an estate and is a landowner. The plot says that he ate up the estate “on candy”, he is lonely in his respectable years and lives idly, looked after by a lackey.

Characteristics of the hero

(Konstantin Sergeevich Stanislavsky in the role of L.A. Gaev, Moscow Art Theater. Chekhov 1922-24.)

Gaev lives in debt, does not understand the need to sell the estate, he does not pay attention to the decline of the building. The character constantly borrows money and dreams of paying off his debts and leaving.

The main character traits are:

• weak will. He squandered his wealth and was unable to manage the estate;
• carelessness. Despite everything, he lives idly;
• inattentive. He lives on the estate, but does not see that it is being destroyed;
• dreamer. He hopes that someone will pay off the interest and debts, that Anya will be taken as a wife by a rich landowner, he hopes to receive money from his aunt in Yaroslavl;
• educated. He knows how to speak beautifully and construct phrases, but his words are empty;
• sentimental. Like sister Gaev, she loves the cherry orchard and yearns for it.

It is difficult to understand much about the character’s psychology, since he is not listed among the main characters, and simply reflects Ranevskaya, exacerbating all the shortcomings of the nobility that is fading into the past.

The image and role of the hero

Gaev lives without worries, he plays billiards, goes to clubs and collects gossip. When he was offered a job at a bank for 6,000 per annum, his sister did not believe in him, and Lopakhin doubted his perseverance, only Anya supported her uncle. Gaev is not trusted, he is not appreciated, because his character is negative, and he cannot reason. He did nothing for the estate, and when Lopakhin made a sensible proposal to break up the plot for rent, he did not grab this exit. Gaev didn’t even want to listen, because he places his own prejudices higher. After the sale of the estate, Gaev was sad, but he was quickly distracted by the noise from playing billiards. The character is a shallow person who is incapable of feeling deeply.

Symbolism of Gaev for the play

(Innokenty Smoktunovsky as Gaev, Feature Film"The Cherry Orchard", USSR 1976)

Gaev and Ranevskaya show the aristocracy of that time and symbolize Russia's past, which is passing away. Gaev shows himself the behavior that is inherent in the aristocracy, including the inability to give up his habits and reconsider his views. The hero believes that by breaking up the estate, he will sink to the level of businessmen, and this is unacceptable and vulgar; Ranevskaya has the same opinion. He looks down on businessmen, does not listen to advice, this behavior is in his blood, and cannot be corrected.