The Cherry Orchard
By Anton Chekhov
Departure from Serfdom
The Cherry Orchard was penned in the middle of one the greatest ages of social upheaval in the history of the world. Its author, Anton Chekhov, was born in Russia in 1860, the year before Alexander II, czar of Russia, abolished servitude. Chekhov's grandfather was a servant, but his father went beyond "serfdom," and became a grocer. Chekhov elevated himself to an even higher level by becoming a doctor, a landowner, and a respected author and playwright.
The human tragedies of the Lenin era become known through Chekhov's integr…
