The main features of the philosophy and aesthetics of modernism:

1) an idealistic attitude towards reality - consciousness is recognized as primary;

2) the desire to create one’s own new reality in works, rather than describe an existing one;

3) works, as a rule, do not recreate objects of reality, but those images that have already been created in world culture, with the aim of understanding them more deeply;

4) the main category of modernism becomes the concept of text, which is recognized as the highest reality and is formed not through the reflection of objects of reality, but through the reproduction and comprehension of “cultivated” objects localized in predecessor texts;

5) extremely valuable for modernism is the idea of ​​constructing a text as a “journey” through the labyrinths of a deeply individualized consciousness, often characterized by a pathological character;

6) technically complicated style of writing.

RUSSIAN MODERNISM OF THE LATE XIX – BEGINNING OF THE XX CENTURY

Currents, directions, schools

Russian modernism of the late XIX – early XX

Pre-symbolism

Symbolism

Poetry schools of the 10s.

I. Annensky

early K. Balmont

Elder symbolism

symbolism

futurism

Moscow school

St. Petersburg school

A. Bely A. Blok

S. Soloviev

M. Kuzmin

N. Gumilev

A. Akhmatova O. Mandel-shtam

V. Bryusov

K. Balmont

D. Merezhkovsky

Z. Gippius F. Sologub

D. Burliuk,

N. Burliuk,

E. Guro, V. Mayakovsky, V. Khlebnikov

I. Severyanin

RUSSIAN REALISM OF THE END OF THE XIX – BEGINNING OF THE XX CENTURY

Typology

Russian realism of the late XIX - early XX

Classical

"Natural"

Philosophical-psychological

Heroic-romantic

Expressionistic

L.N. Tolstoy,

A.P. Chekhov

A.I. Kuprin,

V.V. Veresaev

I.A. Bunin

A.M. Bitter,

A.I. Serafimovich

L. Andreev

Literature:

1. Sokolov A.G.

2. History of Russian literature: in 10 T. – M.; L., 1954. T. 10.

3. History of Russian literature: in 3 T. - M., 1964. T.3.

4. History of Russian literature: in 4 T. - L., 1984. T. 4.

5. P.S. Gurevich. Culturology. – M., 1998.

6. Philosophy of culture. Formation and development. – St. Petersburg, 1998.

Topic 3. Specifics of realism at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries

1. Typology of realism: classical realism, philosophical and psychological realism, “natural” realism, expressionistic realism, socialist realism. Neo-naturalism.

2. Features of poetics.

Realism(from Latin realis - material, real) - a direction in world art that became widespread in the second half of the 19th century, manifesting itself in subsequent eras of cultural development.

The main features of the philosophy and aesthetics of realism:

1) ideological foundations - the ideas of materialism and positivism;

2) the desire for an objective depiction of life, which is achieved by following the principles of a) social; b) historical; c) psychological determinism (conditionality) of images;

3) nationality;

4) historicism;

5) an attempt to present the world in all its complexity and inconsistency, but at the same time whole;

6) the desire to understand the laws of reality in order to change it for the better;

7) understanding of art as a means of a person’s knowledge of himself and the surrounding reality;

8) absence of taboo topics, because the basic requirements for art are authenticity, accuracy, truthfulness.

9) hero - an ordinary person, as a rule, a typical representative of a specific historical era, a certain social circle.

* Some literary theorists deny the existence of realism as a literary movement, believing that from the late 18th to the mid-20th century, romanticism existed in art, within which three stages are distinguished: romanticism proper, late romanticism (what is traditionally called realism) and post-romanticism (traditionally – modernism).

Features of Russian realism of the late 19th – early 20th centuries:

1) transitional nature (If in the second half of the 19th century realism was the central direction in art, then at the turn of the century modernism began to compete with it, significantly influencing it.);

2) heterogeneity (Almost each of the realist authors understands realism in his own way, expressing his ideas about it through an appeal to the traditions of romanticism (M. Gorky, V. Korolenko), expressionism (L. Andreev), impressionism (A.P. Chekhov ) etc.);

3) preference is given to small epic forms (the genre of the novel - central to realistic prose of the second half of the 19th century - is practically replaced by the genres of short stories and tales.);

4) the gravitation of realistic works of the epic genre towards lyricism;

5) the desire to create symbolic images.

Types of Russian realism of the late 19th – early 20th centuries

Classical

"Natural" realism

Philosophical-psychological realism

Heroic-romantic realism

Expressionistic realism

L.N. Tolstoy,

A.P. Chekhov

A.I. Kuprin,

V.V. Veresaev

I.A. Bunin

A.M. Bitter,

A.I. Serafimovich

L. Andreev

Each individual person represents a whole world, therefore, knowledge of the laws of existence seems possible only through comprehension of the world of an individual human personality.

The highest achievements in Russian art are associated with realism, so it is necessary to continue its traditions. The main goal of a turn-of-the-century realist is to help and support a person who has lost his or her orientation in a changed world.

The most striking implementation of the idea “man is the universe.” If you want to know the world, know a person. Basis: philosophy of anthropocosmism

Ideological bias and political bias in literature; The priority becomes not the individual, but the collective principle; when creating an image, the factor of social conditioning is put at the forefront.

Realistic images should be so vivid and impressive that the reader experiences an emotional shock.

Literature:

1. Literary encyclopedic dictionary / translation by V. Kozhevnikov and P. Nikolaev - M., 1987.

2. Khalizev V.E. Theory of literature. – M., 1999.

3. Rudnev V. Dictionary of 20th century culture. – M., 1999.

4. Rudnev V. Encyclopedic Dictionary of 20th Century Culture. – M., 2001.

5. Sokolov A.G.. History of Russian literature from the 19th to the 20th century. – M., 1999.

6. History of Russian literature: in 10 T. – M.; L., 1954. T. 10.

7. History of Russian literature: in 3 T. - M., 1964. T.3.

8. History of Russian literature: in 4 T. - L., 1984. T. 4.

9. P.S. Gurevich. Culturology. – M., 1998.

10. Philosophy of culture. Formation and development. – St. Petersburg, 1998.

11. Byaly G.A. Russian realism towards the 19th century. – L., 1973.

12. Keldysh V.A. Russian realism of the 20th century. – M., 1975.

Topic 4. The fate of realism in the works of V. Veresaev, A. Kuprin, M. Gorky, L. Andreev

1. “Natural realism” by V. Veresaev and A. Kuprin. Veresaev's artistic chronicle and Kuprin's extensive way of writing.

2. M. Gorky: mythologies of reality.

3. Expressionistic paradigm in the works of L. Andreev.

V.V. Veresaev

The specificity of worldview, due to the collapse of populist ideals. The text as an “artistic chronicle of the life of the intelligentsia” of the border period. Topics and issues: the theme of the intelligentsia, the peasant theme, the theme of the mission of art. Late Veresaev: artistic literary criticism.

A.I. Kuprin

An extensive way of knowing existence. Specifics of searching for and finding a hero. Features of the plot: rehabilitation of the adventurous element. Dostoevsky and Nietzsche in the artistic consciousness of the writer. A spontaneous element in Kuprin's prose. Topics and problems. Naturalistic component in the writer’s artistic system.

"Garnet Bracelet"

Genre: story

Subject: the love story of a minor official Zheltkov for Princess Vera Nikolaevna Sheina

Problem: searching for an answer to the question “What is true love? What does it require from a person?

Style: realistic with pronounced elements of romanticism

The concept of love in the story

Concept

The essence of the concept

Examples from the text

Love in performance Zheltkova

Love is knightly service to the Beautiful Lady. This feeling does not require an answer, does not insist on anything. Love presupposes complete self-denial, since only the happiness and peace of the beloved being matters to the lover. Suffering caused by love is accepted as a blessing, since true love, even unrequited love, is the highest happiness that can be sent to a person.

For example, a letter to Princess Vera on her name day, a farewell letter.

Love in performance

Prince Vasily

Love in the life of a modern person is a somewhat comical feeling: it belongs more in ancient novels than in reality, where ardent passion often turns into a funny anecdote. The most logical way to develop a feeling of love is to develop it into a feeling of friendship. However, this confidence wavers somewhat after meeting Zheltkov.

For example, the album of Prince Vasily, which contains illustrated semi-anecdotal stories of love interests, the heroes of which are people from his closest circle (Vera, Lyudmila, etc.)

Love in performance

Faith

True love has not yet touched her. Having not experienced this feeling herself, she is content with the calm, even, rather friendly than love, relationship established between her and Prince Vasily. Zheltkov’s death demonstrates to her the power of true love, fulfilling his last will, she experiences a kind of catharsis - purification through suffering. Thus, she comes close to understanding the true essence of love.

For example, the final scenes of the story: visiting Zheltkov’s apartment after his death and saying goodbye to him, feelings and thoughts evoked by Beethoven’s music, the feeling that she and Prince Vasily will no longer be able to live as before.

Love in performance

Anna

The main thing in life is to get maximum impressions and pleasures. Love in reality is most successfully realized in the form of light flirting, which does not make anyone suffer, but brings only joy and entertainment.

For example, scenes with Vasyuchko, the idea of ​​a gift for Vera is an old prayer book, converted into a lady’s notebook.

Love as seen by a general Anosova

The stories about love told by the old general most clearly confirm the concept of love, the bearer of which in the story is Zheltkov: true love requires self-sacrifice and self-denial from a person. He is the first to understand that Vera’s life path was crossed by that very “love that all women dream of, but which men are no longer capable of.” Emasculation of the essence of a love feeling, from the point of view of General Anosov, will lead to catastrophic consequences for humanity.

For example, the scene of an evening walk after Vera’s name day is the memoirs of General Anosov (love stories).

A.M. Bitter

The “mediumistic” role of Gorky’s personality in Russian cultural life at the turn of the century. The specificity of the romantic paradigm in his early work: epigonism or neo-mythologization (transformation of the mythology of the Old Testament and rethinking of Nietzsche’s mythology). Anarchistic and systematizing tendencies in artistic thinking. Prose of early Gorky. The novel “Mother” - “The Gospel of Maxim”?

Pre-October creativity of A.M. Gorky (1868-1936): play “At the Depths”

Genre and content features of the play -

Realistic literature of the 20th century explores the connections between art and morality, insists that the basis of the work must be moral content, and this is where the moral goals and functions of literature lie.

In life, as John Galsworthy (1867-1933), Theodore Dreiser (1871-1945), Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961), Thomas Mann (1875-1955) prove in their works, the moral and the beautiful are found in an immense variety of connections, combinations and interactions. , and it is this synthesis that is the basis of their inseparability in literature. But it does not follow from this that the task of art and the artist is only to show or make visible to everyone these connections, this harmony or contradictions of the moral and the beautiful in life. The task of literature, writers argue, is much deeper and more complex in nature. Works of art are designed to explore and comprehend the diversity of specific manifestations of man in the conditions of the corresponding era and embody them in artistic images.

Realist writers reflect on the actions of their heroes, condemn them or justify them, the reader experiences with them, admires them or is indignant, suffers, worries - participates in what happens in the work of art.

The question of the moral coordinates of human existence becomes extremely important in realistic literature. The artistic image in realistic literature incorporates knowledge of social relations and their assessment: this is a complex unity of real sensory impressions and imagination, reason and intuition, conscious and unconscious, a unification of the civic biography of writers and their social position; and precisely because the artistic image is the result of the sensory-intellectual activity of the artist, it sets in motion the same spiritual forces in the reader.

In the literature of the 20th century, the principles of realistic art, which requires the depiction of a person in his infinitely complex and continuously changing connections with society, are deepened and improved.

Realistic literature explores political, ideological, moral problems, does not deny artistic experimentation, creates polysemantic and polyphonic images, and actively involves intellectual and emotional artistic solutions associated with expanding the possibilities of artistic reflection and modeling of reality.

The phenomenon of man and the forms of his artistic embodiment are studied by the literature of the 20th century from various points of view. Traditional methods coexist with innovative ones. Both the first and second show their legitimacy and potential.

As for the essence and value of the results achieved in the process of comprehension and artistic knowledge of the world, they are one of the ways through which the literature of the 20th century understands the phenomenon of man. Realistic art, modernist movements and styles strive to study from different sides, using different approaches, the complex nature of the relationship between art and man.

None of the literary trends can claim to be an exhaustive description of the human phenomenon. Taken together, they create a holistic picture of the controversial artistic practice of the 20th century, allow us to better understand the spiritual world of man, the philosophy of action, the relationship between the subjective and the social, and deepen the artistic and aesthetic knowledge of life and human self-knowledge.

Realistic and modernist styles and trends make it possible to reveal from an unexpected side the reality of the 20th century, taken in its immense complexity and versatility.

Realism as a literary movement

Literature is a constantly changing, continuously developing phenomenon. Speaking about the changes that have occurred in Russian literature in different centuries, it is impossible to ignore the topic of successive literary trends.

Definition 1

A literary direction is a set of ideological and aesthetic principles characteristic of the works of many authors of the same era.

There are a huge variety of literary trends. This includes classicism, romanticism, and sentimentalism. A separate chapter in the history of the development of literary movements is realism.

Definition 2

Realism is a literary movement that strives for an objective and truthful reproduction of the surrounding reality.

Realism tries to depict reality without distortion or exaggeration.

There is an opinion that, in fact, realism originated in the period of Antiquity and was characteristic of the works of ancient Roman and ancient Greek writers. Some researchers separately distinguish ancient realism and realism of the Renaissance.

Realism reached its highest point in both Europe and Russia in the middle of the 19th century.

Realism in Russian literature of the 19th century

Realism replaced the previously dominant romanticism in literature. In Russia, realism originated in the 1830s, reaching its peak by the middle of the century. Realist writers consciously refused to use any sophisticated techniques, mystical ideas or attempts to idealize a character in their works. Realists use ordinary, sometimes even everyday images, transferring the real person as she is onto the pages of their books.

As a rule, works written in the spirit of realism are distinguished by their life-affirming beginning. Unlike romantic works, in which the acute conflict between the hero and society rarely ended in anything good.

Note 1

Realism sought to find truth and justice, to change the world for the better.

Separately, it is worth highlighting critical realism, a direction that actively developed in the middle of the 19th century and soon became leading in literature.

The development of Russian realism is associated primarily with the names of A.S. Pushkin and N.V. Gogol. They were among the first Russian writers who moved from romanticism to realism, to a reliable rather than idealized depiction of reality. In their works, the lives of the heroes for the first time began to be accompanied by a detailed and realistic social background.

Note 2

A.S. Pushkin is considered the founder of Russian realism.

Pushkin was the first to convey on the pages of his works the essence of the most important events in the life of a Russian person, presenting them as they were - vivid and, most importantly, contradictory. The analysis of the internal experiences of the characters deepens, the inner world becomes richer and wider, the characters themselves become more alive and close to real people.

Russian realism of the 19th century was characterized by increased attention to the socio-political life of Russia. At that time, the country was experiencing great changes and was on the verge of abolishing serfdom. The fate of the common people, the relationship between man and government, the future of Russia - all these themes are found in the works of realist writers.

The emergence of critical realism, the purpose of which was to address the most pressing issues, is directly related to the situation in Russia.

Some works of Russian realist writers of the 19th century:

1. A.S. Pushkin - “The Captain’s Daughter”, “Dubrovsky”, “Boris Godunov”;
2. M.Yu. Lermontov - “Hero of Our Time” (with features of romanticism);
3. N.V. Gogol - “Dead Souls”, “The Inspector General”;
4. I.A. Goncharov - “Oblomov”, “Ordinary History”;
5. I.S. Turgenev - “Fathers and Sons”, “Rudin”;
6. F.M. Dostoevsky - “Crime and Punishment”, “Poor People”, “Idiot”;
7. L.N. Tolstoy - “Anna Karenina”, “Sunday”;
8. A.P. Chekhov - “The Cherry Orchard”, “Man in a Case”;
9. A.I. Kuprin - “Olesya”, “Garnet Bracelet”, “Pit”.

Realism in Russian literature of the 20th century

The turn of the 19th and 20th centuries was a time of crisis for realism. A new direction appeared in the literature of this time - symbolism.

Definition 3

Symbolism is a direction in art, which was characterized by a craving for experimentation, a desire for innovation and the use of symbolism.

Adapting to changing life circumstances, realism changed its focus. 20th-century realism drew attention to the complexity of human personality formation, the factors influencing this process, and, most importantly, the impact of history on the main character.

Realism of the 20th century was divided into several movements:

• Critical realism. Adherents of this movement adhered to the traditions of classical realism, laid down in the 19th century, and in their works they focused on the influence of society on the realities of life. This direction includes the works of A.P. Chekhov and L.N. Tolstoy;
• Socialist realism. Appeared during the era of the revolution and was typical for most works of Soviet authors;
• Mythological realism. This direction rethought historical events through the prism of legends and myths;
• Naturalism. Naturalist writers in their works depicted reality as truthfully and in detail as possible, and therefore often unsightly. Naturalistic are “The Pit” by A.I. Kuprin and “Notes of a Doctor” by V.V. Veresaeva.

Hero in realist literature

The main characters of realistic works, as a rule, reason a lot, analyzing the world around and the world within themselves. After much thought and deliberation, they make discoveries that help them understand these worlds.

Realistic works are characterized by psychologism.

Definition 4

Psychologism is an image of the hero’s rich inner world, his thoughts, feelings and experiences in a work.

The mental and ideological life of a person becomes the object of close attention of writers.

It is important to note that the hero of a realistic work is not the person he is in real life. This is in many ways a typical image, which is often richer than the personality of a real person, who depicts not so much an individual personality as the general patterns of life of a certain historical era.

But, of course, the heroes of realist literature are more similar to real people than others. They are so similar that they often “come to life” under the writer’s pen and begin to create their own destiny, leaving their creator as an outside observer.

First half. 20th century - an abundance of experiments in literature, new forms, new techniques, new religions are invented. Modernism of the 20th century enters a new stage, which is called. "avant-garde" But the most striking direction is Realism. Along with tard. Classic Forms of realism in the 20th century. In this direction, fantastic absurdity, dream poetics, and deformation are widely used. 20th century realism is distinctive in that it uses previously incompatible techniques. In the literature, a concept of man is emerging. The concept's range has expanded throughout the century. Discoveries occur in the field of psychology - Freud, existentialism and the teachings of Marxists appear. Paraliterature, that is, mass literature, appears. It is not art, it is popular commercial literature that brings instant income. Mass art is a convenient means of manipulating consciousness. Mass culture must be controlled.

The main themes are the theme of war, socio-political catastrophes, the tragedy of the individual (the tragedy of the individual who seeks justice and loses spiritual harmony), the problem of faith and unbelief, the relationship between the personal and the collective, morality and politics, problems of the spiritual and ethical.

Features of realism of the 20th century - abandoned the priority of the principle of imitation. Realism began to use methods of indirect knowledge of the world. In the 19th century, a descriptive form was used, in the 20th century - analytical research (the effect of detachment, irony, subtext, grotesque, fantastic and conditional modeling. Realism of the 20th century began to actively use many modernist techniques - stream of consciousness, suggestiveness, absurdity. Realism becomes more philosophical, philosophy enters literature as a technique that deeply penetrates the structure of a work, which means the genre of parables develops (Camus, Kafka).

The heroes of realism also change. The person is portrayed as more complex, unpredictable. The literature of realism poses more complex tasks - to penetrate into the sphere of the irrational, into the sphere of the subconscious, exploring the sphere of instincts.

The novel remains a genre, but its genre palette changes. It becomes more diverse, uses other genre varieties. There is an interpenetration of genres. In the 20th century, the structure of the novel loses its normativity. There is a turn from society to the individual, from the social to the individual, and interest in the subject dominates. A subjective epic appears (Proust) - individual consciousness is at the center and it is the object of study.

Along with new trends, the trend of classical realism continues to exist. Realism is a living and developing method, a discovery of past masters and constantly enriched with new techniques and images.

For a long time, literary criticism was dominated by the assertion that at the end of the 19th century, Russian realism was experiencing a deep crisis, a period of decline, under the sign of which realistic literature of the beginning of the new century developed until the emergence of a new creative method - socialist realism.

However, the state of literature itself contradicts this statement. The crisis of bourgeois culture, which sharply manifested itself at the end of the century on a global scale, cannot be mechanically identified with the development of art and literature.

Russian culture of this time had its negative sides, but they were not comprehensive. Domestic literature, always associated in its peak phenomena with progressive social thought, did not change this in the 1890-1900s, marked by the rise of social protest.

The growth of the labor movement, which showed the emergence of a revolutionary proletariat, the emergence of a Social Democratic Party, peasant unrest, the all-Russian scale of student uprisings, frequent expressions of protest by the progressive intelligentsia, one of which was a demonstration at the Kazan Cathedral in St. Petersburg in 1901 - all this spoke of a decisive a turning point in public sentiment in all layers of Russian society.

A new revolutionary situation arose. Passivity and pessimism of the 80s. were overcome. Everyone was filled with anticipation of decisive changes.

To talk about the crisis of realism at the time of the heyday of Chekhov’s talent, the emergence of a talented galaxy of young democratic writers (M. Gorky, V. Veresaev, I. Bunin, A. Kuprin, A. Serafimovich, etc.), at the time of Leo Tolstoy’s appearance with the novel “ Resurrection" is impossible. In the 1890-1900s. literature was not experiencing a crisis, but a period of intense creative search.

Realism changed (the problems of literature and its artistic principles changed), but did not lose its power and its significance. His critical pathos, which reached its utmost power in “Resurrection,” did not dry out either. Tolstoy gave in his novel a comprehensive analysis of Russian life, its social institutions, its morality, its “virtue” and everywhere he discovered social injustice, hypocrisy and lies.

G. A. Byaly rightly wrote: “The denouncing power of Russian critical realism at the end of the 19th century, during the years of direct preparation for the first revolution, reached such a degree that not only major events in people’s lives, but also the smallest everyday facts began to appear as symptoms of complete ill-being social order."

Life had not yet settled down after the reform of 1861, but it was already becoming clear that capitalism in the person of the proletariat was beginning to be confronted by a strong enemy and that the social and economic contradictions in the development of the country were becoming more and more complicated. Russia stood on the threshold of new complex changes and upheavals.

New heroes, showing how the old worldview is collapsing, how established traditions, the foundations of the family, the relationship between fathers and children are being broken - all this spoke of a radical change in the problem of “man and environment”. The hero begins to confront her, and this phenomenon is no longer isolated. Anyone who did not notice these phenomena, who did not overcome the positivistic determinism of his characters, lost the attention of readers.

Russian literature reflected acute dissatisfaction with life, and hope for its transformation, and the volitional tension ripening among the masses. Young M. Voloshin wrote to his mother on May 16 (29), 1901, that the future historian of the Russian revolution “will look for its causes, symptoms and trends in Tolstoy, and in Gorky, and in the plays of Chekhov, just as historians of the French revolution see them in Rousseau and Voltaire and Beaumarchais."

In the realistic literature of the beginning of the century, the awakening civic consciousness of people, the thirst for activity, social and moral renewal of society come to the fore. V.I. Lenin wrote that in the 70s. “The mass was still asleep. Only in the early 90s did its awakening begin, and at the same time a new and more glorious period began in the history of all Russian democracy.”

The turn of the century was sometimes filled with romantic expectations, usually preceding major historical events. It was as if the very air was charged with a call to action. The judgment of A. S. Suvorin is noteworthy, who, although not a supporter of progressive views, nevertheless followed Gorky’s work in the 90s with great interest: “Sometimes you read a work by Gorky and feel that you are being lifted out of your chair, that the previous drowsiness is impossible that something needs to be done! And this needs to be done in his writings - it was necessary.”

The tone of literature changed noticeably. Gorky’s words are widely known that the time has come for the heroic. He himself acts as a revolutionary romantic, as a singer of the heroic principle in life. The feeling of a new tone of life was also characteristic of other contemporaries. There is a lot of evidence that readers expected a call to cheerfulness and struggle from writers, and publishers, who caught these sentiments, wanted to promote the emergence of such calls.

Here is one such evidence. On February 8, 1904, the aspiring writer N. M. Kataev reported to Gorky’s friend at the Znanie publishing house K. P. Pyatnitsky that the publisher Orekhov refused to publish a volume of his plays and stories: the publisher aims to print books of “heroic content,” and in Kataev’s works do not even have a “cheerful tone”.

Russian literature reflected the development that began in the 90s. the process of straightening a previously oppressed personality, revealing it in the awakening of the consciousness of workers, and in spontaneous protest against the old world order, and in anarchic rejection of reality, like Gorky’s tramps.

The process of straightening was complex and covered not only the “lower classes” of society. The literature has covered this phenomenon in a variety of ways, showing what unexpected forms it sometimes takes. In this regard, Chekhov turned out to be insufficiently understood, as he sought to show with what difficulty—“bit by drop”—a man overcomes the slave within himself.

Usually the scene of Lopakhin’s return from the auction with the news that the cherry orchard now belonged to him was interpreted in the spirit of the new owner’s intoxication with his material power. But Chekhov has something else behind this.

Lopakhin buys the estate where the gentlemen tortured his powerless relatives, where he himself spent a joyless childhood, where his relative Firs still servilely serves. Lopakhin is intoxicated, but not so much with his profitable purchase, but with the consciousness that he, a descendant of serfs, a former barefoot boy, is becoming superior to those who previously claimed to completely depersonalize their “slaves.” Lopakhin is intoxicated by the consciousness of his equality with the bars, which separates his generation from the first buyers of forests and estates of the bankrupt nobility.

History of Russian literature: in 4 volumes / Edited by N.I. Prutskov and others - L., 1980-1983.