Anton Chekhov's play “The Cherry Orchard” is labeled as a comedy, however, it contains a handful of significant lessons that can be learned from the characters featured in the play. The debacles and actions of these characters act almost as a social commentary for the industrial era in which the play was written. One of the characters that best represents this idea is the maid Dunyasha. Dunyasha is a housekeeper with a past of poverty but her work sees her constantly surrounded by the lives of the "rich" Raynevskaya family. She has become so accustomed to “their way of life” (Chekhov 864) that she unconsciously tries to live like them. However, whenever he acts outwardly as an upper-class individual, there is always a person who actually belongs to the upper class to put Dunyasha in her place. With her, Lopakhin is also treated differently due to his poor background despite having risen to the middle class. The idea of ​​never being able to rise above the class a person was born into was prominent during the early industrial era, however this idea would soon change with the introduction of the middle class. Both of these ideas are present throughout the play and prove to be one of the most important lessons Chekhov wished to teach the audience. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay It isn't long after first being introduced to Dunyasha that it becomes apparent that she belongs to the lower class and has no chance of rising above It. While Dunyasha and Lopakhin (a wealthy businessman) anxiously await the arrival of the Ranyevskaya family, Lopakhin notices Dunyasha's clothing which is not her normal lower class attire. He criticizes her that she is "getting full of herself" (851) and points out that she needs to "remember who [she is]" (851). The irony behind this is that, similar to Dunyasha, Lopakhin also comes from a poor background. Although he has since become a wealthy and successful upper-middle-class businessman, he seems to have forgotten who he was, as if he was never a poor boy who simply wanted to live a more prosperous life. One might think that Lopakhin has sympathy for Dunyasha, but the opposite seems to be true. It is this kind of selfishness that made the gap between the upper and lower class as large as it was at that time. Despite being treated like a subordinate, Dunyasha still struggles to be seen as more than just a servant. It is for this reason that she does not behave like a typical waitress. She is always involved in the conversations around her, regardless of the social status of the group. When Dunyasha reunites with Anya, she almost fights to make her life seem interesting and that it should be important to Anya. While talking to Anya, Dunyasha addresses her as if she doesn't work for her family. He states that he "can't wait another minute" (852) to describe everything that has happened in his life since Anya's absence. To this, Anya responds "what now?" (852) and the stage directions make it obvious that Anya has no interest in Dunyasha's life and yet continues to speak as if she were a friend of equal status to Anya. Dunyasha's naivety about her situation as a lower-class individual represents the young woman's lack of distinction between classes and how she simply wishes to live as her employers do. Dunyasha is not the only character struggling to be recognized as Ranyevskaya's equal. Lopakhin has known the Rayevskaya family since his father worked as a serf on the family estate. Although currently successful and.