The end of the 19th century was a time of great social change in Russia. For centuries, the country was divided between the land-owning class and the peasantry; people called serfs were enslaved to a parcel of land and were forced to labor there. There was no opportunity for social mobility, and an individual lived out their life in the position they were born into. In the mid-19th century, however, the country emancipated the serfs. This led to a decline in the aristocracy’s concentrated wealth and an increase in individual freedom, including the opportunity for social mobility. The Cherry Orchard was written at the start of the 20th century, and it explores the effect of these sweeping social changes on the characters’ lives. While some characters appreciate the power of this new social mobility and use it to improve their wealth and independence, other characters are confused and destabilized by it.

Throughout the play, many characters struggle to find their new place in this changing world. Fiers, who clings to his identity as a servant to stave off the changes of Emancipation Reform, complains that “now everything’s all anyhow and you can’t understand anything” (42). He cannot understand where he fits in this new world.