South Atlantic Modern Language Association Chekov's "The Cherry Orchard" Author(s): Peter P. Remaley Source: South Atlantic Bulletin, Vol. 38, No. 4 (Nov., 1973), pp. 16-20 Published by: South Atlantic Modern Language Association Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3197077 Accessed: 28-11-2016 01:41 UTC JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact
[email protected]. Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at http://about.jstor.org/terms South Atlantic Modern Language Association is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to South Atlantic Bulletin This content downloaded from 37.8.23.143 on Mon, 28 Nov 2016 01:41:11 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms CHEKOV'S "THE CHERRY ORCHARD" PETER P. REMALEY Eastern Kentucky University In a letter to Madame Stanislavsky on September 15, 1903, Chekhov wrote of The Cherry Orchard that "the play has turned out not a drama, but a comedy, in parts even a farce."' This asser- tion has proved to be the central concern of numerous critics who have joined in the continuing debate about the essential nature of Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard. Is it indeed a comedy as Chekhov claimed, or a tragedy as so many producers and critics have chosen to interpret it? At best, the critical problems are complex.