“Think, Anya, your grandfather, your great-grandfather, and all your ancestors were serf-owners, they owned living souls;” Trofimov has a moment alone with Anya. Anya reveals that knowing him has made her see things in a different light. The orchard doesn’t hold the same magic as before. Ideal for adult males ranging from 20-39. 1-2 Mins.
Written By: Anton Chekhov
TROFIMOV:
Think, Anya, your grandfather, your great-grandfather, and all your ancestors were serf-owners, they owned living souls; and now, doesn’t something human look at you from every cherry in the orchard, every leaf and every stalk? Don’t you hear voices…? Oh, it’s awful, your orchard is terrible; and when in the evening or at night you walk through the orchard, then the old bark on the trees sheds a dim light and the old cherry-trees seem to be dreaming of all that was a hundred, two hundred years ago, and are oppressed by their heavy visions. Still, at any rate, we’ve left those two hundred years behind us. So far we’ve gained nothing at all—we don’t yet know what the past is to be to us—we only philosophize, we complain that we are dull, or we drink vodka. For it’s so clear that in order to begin to live in the present we must first redeem the past, and that can only be done by suffering, by strenuous, uninterrupted labour. Understand that, Anya.
