Varya

Varya is Lyobov's older daughter, who was adopted. At age twenty-four, she is responsible and hard working. When Lyobov and Anya go to Paris for five years, Varya stays behind to care for the house and oversee the cherry orchard. When her mother and sister return home at the beginning of the play, she is delighted to see them.

Throughout the play, there is much talk about Varya's marriage to Lopahin. Everyone thinks that she will become the wife of the rich merchant, and Varya herself hopes the marriage will occur; however, at the end of the play, Lopahin has never proposed, even though he has indicated to Lyobov that he will marry Varya in the future. Since there are no wedding plans at the time of her mother's departure, Varya, like her Uncle Gaev, must take a job working for someone else.

Like her mother, Varya has an aristocratic attitude and has trouble dealing with the loss of the cherry orchard, to which she is very attached. When she learns that Lopahin has bought the estate, she throws the keys to the house on to the floor and exits with her head held high, proving she is proud and strong-willed. Because of her lofty attitude, Trofimov, the perpetual student and Anya's admirer, does not like Varya. He thinks that she is narrow-minded and jealous, for she is always spying on Anya and him. In truth, Varya is very concerned about her younger sister's well-being and is simply overprotective of her. She wants Anya to be happier in love than she herself has been.

Anya is Lyobov's younger daughter, who is nineteen years old during the play. Because of her young age, she goes with her mother to Paris and stays there for five years. When she returns to the cherry orchard at the start of the play, she is delighted to be home and reunited with her older sister, Varya. During the play, she proves herself to be a light-hearted and fun-loving young lady.

Because she is not as steeped in aristocratic ways as Lyobov or Varya, the loss of the cherry orchard is less painful to Anya. Even though she hates to see the estate sold, she looks forward to a bright future for herself. When Lyobov travels back to Paris, Anya decides to remain behind in Russia to complete her education. She promises Lyobov that she will help her after she graduates and gets a good job. It seems that Anya will transition easily to become a part of the new generation of Russians

Anya is attracted to Trofimov and his somewhat radical ideas. When he discusses his philosophies, she is enthralled and hangs on his every word. She adopts his attitude that some people are simply above being in love; she also listens to his advice not to be upset above moving on from the cherry orchard without regret. Like Trofimov, she realizes that her older sister, Varya, often spies on the two of them; as a result, when she once hears her overprotective older sister coming, she asks Trofimov to go down to the river with her to escape from Varya. Although Anya denies that there is anything romantic between Trofimov and her, Varya and the audience are not totally convinced.

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