own my favorite character in The Cherry Orchard by Chekhov, experiences anagnorisis in the fourth act of the play. In fact, he is the last person to speak in the play. As he lay dieing, he mutters that "life has slipped by as though I hadn't lived" and finally his last words are: "I'm good, for nothing."As Firs realizes that his life didn't really amount to much and slips away, the audience is stunned with his death. Isn't this a comedy? Chekhov, mocking this society, apparently throughout the play was making fun of a distressed little family. But, a comedy is supposed to end with a marriage, not death... so maybe we misinterrpreted his play. Maybe it isn't a comedy.
Since Chekhov is mocking society, and in life we generally think everything has a happy ending, then this could very well be a tragedy. Not only does Firs die, but his anagnorisis proves that that life has now meaning - no worth - "good for nothing".
Yet I don't think Chekhov would be that depressing with his writing. Personally, I think that he encorporated comedy and tragedy in order to create a completely real life scenario. Therefore everyone could interpret the play as either positive or negative whether they are optimistic or pessisimistic - just as they would interpret real life.
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