English Essay

Since poverty was a prevalent issue in Russia during the 19th century, it is not surprising that Russian novels such as Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky and The Cherry Orchard by Anton Chekhov should regularly make references to poverty. Katerina in Crime and Punishment and Madame Ranevskaya in The Cherry Orchard both exhibit personality traits such as illogicality, dignity, superiority, self-centeredness, and impulsiveness, all of which are closely interconnected to their denial of poverty.
Being illogical allows Katerina and Ranevskaya to refuse aid, which demonstrates their inability to accept poverty. For Katerina, illogicality gives her comfort as it allows her to believe in her moments of delusion. Her illogical refusal of aid is an assertion of self defense as well as a manifestation of her stubbornness. This is demonstrated when a policeman offers her help, yet she declines: “‘Come along, I’ll take you home…It isn’t right for you to be out here in this crowd…’ [the policeman said.] ‘Dear Sir, you don’t know anything about it!’ Katerina Ivanovna shouted.” (515). Katerina irrationally refuses the aid of the policeman and persists in forcing her children to sing and dance on the street instead of requesting the help of her friends. Although this irrationality allows her to deny her poverty, it also worsens her situation as it results in her death. Similarly, Ranevskaya illogically refuses Lopakhin’s aid as a result of her denial of poverty, but not as an assertion of self defense; it is a means to protect the cherry orchard, an object of her affections: “Cut it down? Forgive me, my dear, but you [Lopakhin] don’t know what you are talking about. If there is one thing in the whole province that is interesting, not to say remarkable, it’s our cherry orchard.” (Chekhov 333). Ranevskaya’s irrationality is emphasized in the phrase “you [Lopakhin] don’t know what you are talking about”. It suggests that Lopakhin is the person who is being irrational, but ironically, he seems to be the only logical person in the play as he recognizes that the only way to save the orchard is to cut down the trees. This stubborn irrationality permits Ranevskaya to deny her poverty because it allows her to think that there is a way to save the cherry orchard, but it later causes Ranevskaya to lose her estate altogether. However, being illogical is only one of many traits which contribute to Ranevskaya’s and Katerina’s denial.
Ranevskaya and Katerina are both dignified women, characteristics which are generally thought to be worthy of possessing, but can also be crippling. Katerina’s denial of poverty and boasting are ways which Katerina maintains her pride: “Katerina …receive[d] her guests with a redoubled grandness of manner and a positive hauteur.” (Dostoyevsky 456). The intention of Katerina’s party is to show that she is noble and rich, sources of her pride, which in turn shows her denial of poverty. The haughty tone which she adopts demonstrates her pride in her lineage and friends, and this tone is emphasized by her exaggerations; she states that Raskolnikov is “getting ready for a professorship at St. Petersburg University,” (457). The exaggeration increases progressively with the decline of her financial state, because the more damaged her pride is, the more she exaggerates. Additionally, her pride enables her to spend money on the funeral even though she cannot afford to, worsening her poverty. Ranevskaya’s dignity, on the other hand, is associated with being a beneficiary of people in need, and along with being a beneficiary comes the expectation to be financially secure. In order to maintain her pride, Ranevskaya denies her poverty, shown when she gives a gold piece to a stranger begging for money: “Here you are – take this…I have no silver…Never mind, here’s a gold piece for you…” (Chekhov 358). Ranevskaya feels that if she is unable to give money to this stranger, her pride will suffer, as demonstrated when she becomes “panic-stricken” (358) after she realizes she has no silver in her purse. She takes pride in being kind and generous, but she squanders money when she cannot afford to, which is a causation of her poverty.
A feeling of superiority is an aspect which comes with being wealthy. Katerina and Ranevskaya show haughtiness in their tone of voice while speaking to those whom they consider inferior. Katerina, in particular, speaks conceitedly to her landlady: “‘Amalia Lyudvigovna! I must ask you to mind your manners,’ Katerina began haughtily (she always adopted a haughty tone when speaking to the landlady, in order to make her ‘remember her place’…)” (Dostoyevsky 217). Irony is generated when Katerina speaks haughtily to suggest she is of higher status than her landlady, yet in reality, it is the opposite. Furthermore, the phrase “mind your manners” is ironic since Katerina is speaking rudely, not her landlady. The irony of the quotation serves to demonstrate Katerina’s denial of reality, and the quotation itself shows that feeling superior is a source of pleasure and satisfaction of Katerina. Similarly, Ranevskaya adopts a haughty tone which is reminiscent of an earlier era when she was Lopakhin’s beneficiary: “Don’t cry, little peasant, … it will heal in time for your wedding.” (Chekhov 322). She calls Lopakhin a “little peasant”, not only as a term of endearment, but also to establish her place above him. This haughty tone is retained many years later when Lopakhin speaks to Ranevskaya about the cherry orchard: “‘Do you agree to lease the land for summer cottages or not? [Lopakhin asks. Ranevskaya says,] ‘Who is it that smokes those disgusting cigars out here?’” (348). Ranevskaya ignores Lopakhin’s question, showing that she does not respect those whom she considers inferior. She adopts a discontented tone, conveying the idea that she is discontented with Lopakhin’s persistent questioning, and uses the word “disgusting” to describe the cigarette, implying that she finds the leasing of the land “disgusting” as well.
As poverty is one of the main issues facing Ranevskaya and katerina, it is not surprising that they should both be self-centered. Ranevskaya frequently speaks of her past to reminisce to herself, and Katerina speaks of her past to boast as well as to reminisce, demonstrating their desires to live in the past, resulting in a denial of poverty. For Ranevskaya, a sense of nostalgia accompanies her recount of the past, showing her desire to take refuge in it: “Oh my childhood, my innocence! I used to sleep in this nursery, I looked out from here into the orchard…” (338). Ranevskaya speaks of the orchard with detailed imagery, and talks to the orchard as if it were a living person by suing the pronoun “you”, establishing its importance to her. Her self-centeredness is shown through her actions when she refuses to cut down her beloved cherry orchard even though her family and servants are in jeopardy. For Katerina, the main objective of speaking about her past is to boast, and it is emphasized when she speaks to her daughter: “You would never believe, you never would imagine, Polenka…what a splendid, cheerful life we led in the house of my Papa…” (Dostoyevsky 213). Repetition of the phrase “you would never” and use of adjectives “splendid, cheerful” allows for a slight exaggeration, enhancing the effect of her boasting. In addition to boasting, Katerina speaks of the past as a way of coping with hardships, and it provides a source of hope for a better future.
Katerina and Ranevskaya share their impulsiveness and a lack of self-restraint. For Ranevskaya, her impulsiveness is demonstrated in her behavior towards money: “‘You gave them your purse, Lyuba. That won’t do! That won’t do!’ [says Gayev] ‘…I couldn’t help it! I couldn’t help it!’ [says Ranevskaya].” (Chekhov 379). Ranevskaya gives her purse away even after the estate is sold, demonstrating how unimportant money is to her. She does not understand that money is not inexhaustible, nor does she understand the consequences of her actions, as she now has no money left. This inability to assess consequences of her actions allows her to permit the selling of the cherry orchard. Furthermore, the impulsiveness demonstrates her inability to adapt to her poverty, as she could afford to be impulsive with money before, but not anymore. Likewise, Katerina is unable to refrain from mass spending: “Though she does not know where her next crust of bread is coming rum…and she and her children do not even have proper shoes…she has today purchased Jamaican rum and even…,Madeira, and…coffee!” (Dostoyevsky 448). Like Ranevskaya, Katerina squanders money impulsively, though unlike Ranevskaya, money is important to her and she understands that it is exhaustible: “‘Where’s the money?’ she cried.” (33). Her frenzied state illustrates money’s importance to her, yet she squanders it, showing that she is more impulsive than Ranevskaya. She justifies the spending by convincing herself that she is paying homage to her husband when in fact she is spending it for selfish reasons.
The use of similar characteristics to illustrate the denial of poverty in Katerina and Ranevskaya is evident in both Crime and Punishment and The Cherry Orchard. These characteristics are a source of comfort for the characters, yet ironically, they later become a source of the characters’ downfall. Dostoyevsky and Chekhov seem to share an element of dark humour, as they are both able to ridicule their characters’ foolishnesses.

Word Count: 1,549