The Cherry Orchard

Lubov is the owner of the estate that encompasses the cherry orchard, and she is one of the play’s central characters. At the start of the play, she is just returning home from Paris, where she has lived for five years after the accidental death of her young son. Her daughter, Anya, found Lubov living in a smokey apartment with “no comfort at all” (9), where Lubov tried to poison herself after her lover took her money and left her for another woman. Back in her childhood home, Lubov is overcome with happiness and relief. She takes comfort in the unchanged environment of the estate, especially in the beauty of the cherry orchard.

The merchant Lopakhin describes Lubov as “[a] good sort—an easy, simple person” (3). She is kind and well-meaning, but she is also out of touch with the changing world. She is innocent and childlike in ways that make her both endearing and pitiable. A self-described “silly woman,” one of her great “sins” is her tendency to “[scatter] money about without holding [her]self in” (39). Lubov’s financial irresponsibility has resulted in the family’s bankruptcy. However, she continues to spend on parties, expensive meals, and generous tips, to the chagrin of those around her, particularly her adopted daughter Varya, who manages the estate in Lubov’s absence.