Anton Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard (1904) is traditionally viewed through the lens of social realism, marking the decline of the Russian aristocracy. However, a contemporary Ecofeminist reading reveals a deeper conflict: the parallel between the exploitation of nature and the subjugation of women. Ecofeminism posits that the patriarchal-capitalist mindset seeks to “tame” and profit from both the female body and the earth. In this play, the orchard is not merely a setting but a silent, feminine entity that is sacrificed at the altar of “progress.”. This paper explores the intersection of environmental degradation and the marginalization of women in Anton Chekhov’s final play, The Cherry Orchard. Using the lens of Ecofeminism, it analyzes how the transition from Russian feudalism to capitalism led to the simultaneous commodification of both the female protagonist, Lyubov Ranevskaya, and the natural landscape.
Kumbhar et al. (Fri,) studied this question.