Culture And Culture In The Cherry Orchard, By Madam Lubov Chekhov

In a person’s lifetime, one is able to see the cause and effect the world around the individual has on one’s life. People are affected by the culture in which they live in and are affected by the history of their homeland. One can see these effects in the real world and in the fictional worlds of books, plays, and poetry. In the land of fiction, readers can find several examples of how a character’s psyche has been shaped by the culture and history that surrounds the character. One such example would be Madam Lubov Ranyevskaya from Chekhov’s famous play, The Cherry Orchard. One can see how her cultural and historical context has shaped her behavior, her relationships with those around her, and her family dynamics. Madam Ranyevskaya’s behavior …show more content…

An article from the Library of Congress states, “Russian women did not enjoy the same position as men in society or within the family” (Curtis). In the 19th century, Russian men were dominant in the society over their female counterparts. In fact, it was not just social values that were held by the people. The patriarchy was codified into the law of Russia in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The Russian legal code gave the husbands, or male head of the household, almost unlimited power to make decisions within the family (“Russian”). The wives were expected to obey their husbands every wish and demand without a say so. While Madam’s husband is dead by the time we are introduced to the character, one can still see the patriarchy involved. Gayev, Madam’s brother, seems to be the one to make the final decision for the family in the play and he is the one to go with Lopakhin to the auction of the cherry orchard, even though he has proved himself time and time again to be completely incompetent at doing business. Madam surely knows this and does not react as it has been conditioned in her to obey a male’s every