Who is Lyubov?
Lyubov is the most important as well as the central character of the play Cherry Orchard. Anton Chekhov calls this play a play of action so actions are to be performed by characters. Therefore, we see slight magic of characterization going on in this play. Every character in this play works as a symbol for the play itself. The character of Lyubov has been utilized as a symbol of the fall of the aristocratic class. Her character is a blend of both good as well as bad qualities. Let's discuss about her character in detail.
A Kind Hearted Woman
Lyubov is generally a kind-hearted lady, despite belonging to the aristocratic class. Her kind-heartedness is equally bestowed upon her servants in the pat as well as her "supposed" lover in Paris. Lopakhin gives an account of her meek but generous heart as below:
I remember when I was a boy of fifteen, my father, who is dead--he used to keep a shop in the village here--hit me on the face with his fist, and my nose bled. ...We had gone into the yard together for something or other, and he was a little drunk. Lubov Andreyevna, as I remember her now, was still young, and very thin, and she took me to the washstand here in this very room, the nursery. She said, "Don't cry, little man, it'll be all right in time for your wedding."
Thus, tending the wound of Lopakhin shows her kind-heartedness in a positive manner.
Her Blind Faith in Love
Lyubov's kind-heartedness gives way to her blind faith in love. When she leaves Russia for France, she falls in love with a person who ultimately becomes unfaithful to her. She sells almost everything for her "lover". She takes a great fancy to assist him during his illness before her return to Russia. When she receives a telegram of the supposed lover, begging her to return and to nurse him due to the second attack of illness, she is profoundly compelled to help him,
That wild man is ill again, he's bad again. ... He begs for forgiveness, and implores me to come, and I really ought to go to Paris to be near him.
It's vividly clear that Lyubov is unable to understand the grave reality of her love that her lover is only using her as an ATM machine. She is emotionally attached to him. That is why, she is unable to withhold the caveats of Trofimov.
Her Habit of Spending Lavishly
Lyubov does not realize the importance of money and wealth. Because of her aristocratic nature, she considers it a duty to spend lavishly. Lopakhin is amazed by her generous spendings:
I've never met such frivolous people as you before, or anybody so unbusinesslike and peculiar.
She has sold her villa in Manton for her lover. She has spent every penny on him. During the play, in Act 1, she loans money to Pischik. In Act 2, she gives a homeless man a piece of gold. In the beginning of Act 4, Gaev scolds her for giving away her whole purse to peasants. Her actions in and out of the play clearly show that she does not care about the value of money and she cannot help reject the face of the needy.
Her Inability to Accept the Change
Lyubov loves to live in the past. She is deeply fond of recalling her childhood memories in the orchard,
Oh, my childhood, days of my innocence! In this nursery I used to sleep; I used to look out from here into the orchard. Happiness used to wake with me every morning.
Her love of the past does not permit her to see the gradual weathering of the class to which she belonged. She likes to live in her own world inhabited by the past. Yet some argue that her selling of the Cherry Orchard can be an allusion to her bidding a farewell to the old order.
Is Lyubov a Tragic Character?
Lyubov's main flaw in her character is the lack of practical mindedness. She is not entirely a tragic character because we do not witness her death. Yet losing the Cherry Orchard is a significant event that can be considered within the limits of a tragedy. A tragedy usually happens due to the flaw of a character and he is sometimes given a chance or advice to redeem himself from the dark hands of time. Lyubov was given a golden piece of advice by Lopakhin to lease the land of her estate that would have enabled her to pay off her debts. But she was not ready to listen to his words of sincerity and warded off the "absurd" idea and did not even try to save her property from being auctioned. That almost brought about her tragedy.
Conclusion
Lyubov is not a stupid character as the world calls her. She is the voice of innocence that lacks experience. Despite her flaws, she is the major character of the play that controls, for the most part, the flow of the play. The character of Lyubov has a universal appeal. Her story of 'departure' is the tale of every Russian Aristocratic during the time of revolution.
