Character Study - Charlotta

Who am I? She is Anya's governess. She is a in late thirties / earlier forties.

Charlotta's cucumber moment in her monologue

Name: Charlotta Ivanovna. The Russian meaning of Charlotta means masculine or a "free man." I think it's quite an appropriate name for the character. I think this could relate to what she's like as a person.

Where am I? The house she lives in is the estate next to an cherry orchard in Russia with Lyubov, her family and other household.

When is it? The Cherry Orchard is set in 19th Century Russia. It's between May and October. The weather is cold when they arrive back to Russia after being 5 years since they were last here.

What do I want? She'd do anything to have company or wants to have have something to love. I also feel like she wants someone to except her for who she is.

Why do I want it? Charlotta feels that she's alone. She's the only one who's a different class (middle class) to the others. What Charlotta wants is to have children of her own, the cot moment conveys that when she sings she remembers the times when she looked after Anya. She wants to be loved and have a family. She is the very opposite of Lyubov however, they both want a soul mate.

How will I get it? Whenever she has the chance to flirt or talk sense with the other men in the household, she will try to see if she can persuade them to like her for who she is. The difficulty is for those men to understand what she means.

What must I overcome? She's a hard and a strong person on the outside but, underneath she is soft and loving person. The cradle moment in the play revealed her gentle side and shows her attachment in the way she speaks in her motherly tone. It's a complete opposite of the way she is towards the other members of the household. Charlotta needs to overcome the barrier that she won't let anyone see her sensitive weak side because maybe people can see her in a different light.

Past life: She's a single governess who doesn't really fit in. She follows in the footsteps of her parents performing magic tricks but, Anya (Lyubov's daughter) does complain about it. Ivanovna is an orphan, her parents were travelling performers and when they died a German lady took care of her.  Also she has no home and no strong identification about the past. She travelled with Anya to find Lyubov and accompany them back to the estate.

Present day: As the estate and the cherry orchard is going to be auctioned to pay the bank their debt, it's difficult for Charlotta to find work as Anya doesn't need a governess any more. She's a strong and independent woman, Ivanovna is still lonely.

Charlotta's objective is to support the family and look after them when they get back to the estate.

Charlotta's super-objective  is to find love and find someone who understands. That means at times to try to break down the barrier to show others that she can be different and show the person she used to be before becoming a governess.

Summary 

This character is lonely but, Lyubov was the one who has been kind to her since that's who gave her the job. She has been looking after Anya for a long time now. The memories that Charlotta has is missing the times when she looked after Anya and raising her as her own.  Part of her wishes she could find love and have a family but, she's quite a deep person.


This character is a real challenge to portray.