Pride And Prejudice- Chekhov

Cherry Orchard has an element that has repeatedly appeared in many novels we have read so far: social class. I guess there is no way getting round it. Social status makes part of the structure of a society, of cultures and differentiates people and points of views, of reality. Chekhov introduces the influence of it right from the beginning in Act I. When Lopahin reflects about his past as a peasant and then reminds Dunyasha that “One must know one’s place.” (pg. 64) referring to her origin and social reality. And then it comes up again when Dunyasha expresses her dilemma in accepting Epihodov’s offer in marrying her or not. And then again Anya mentions her concern in her mother’s money situation, and Lyubov does too, and Pishtchik needs an loan “to pay the interest on (his) mortgage.” (pg. 77) And so on.

But apart from this issue being part of the play, I noticed a similarity to Pride and Prejudice’s main theme of marriage. Varya telling Anya, “All day long, darling, as I go about looking after the house, I keep dreaming all the time. If only we could marry you to a rich man, then I should feel more at rest.” (pg. 68) Just like Mrs. Bennet tells her daughters. The link that Jane Austen does between marriage and economic tranquility resembles Chekhov’s. Plus, Anya’s reaction is that of indifference, she pays no attention to what her sister tells her and changes the subject to the “birds singing in the garden”, kind of like Elizabeth does with Mrs. Bennet’s insisting demand to marry a wealthy man. Yet I don’t venture to compare more of Pride and Prejudice with Cherry Orchard for now.