The Proposal By Anton Chekhov

The Proposal 

By Anton Chekhov

1. “If I give myself time to think, to hesitate, to talk a lot, to look for an ideal or for real love, then I’ll never get married.” – What do the lines reveal?

Ans. As Lomov was waiting for Natalya, he explained the reason of marrying her in this soliloquy. He believed it was foolish to think too much about or keep waiting for an ideal or true love. He was happy that Natalya was an excellent housekeeper, not bad looking and well educated. Moreover he had reached the critical age of 35, had all kinds of medical problems and wanted to live a well-regulated life. She would be a suitable wife also because they had been neighbours for ages and known to each other well. This soliloquy reveals Lomov as a practical minded person who doesn’t believe in true love.

2. Describe the first argument.

Ans. Everything was going well when Natalya entered the room. Lomov began on a cheerful but nervous note as he touched upon his past. His mention about the family ownership of the Oxen meadows made Natalya angry as she believed it to be theirs. Both of them claimed the ownership and none wanted to leave the matter. The debate finally turned into mud mingling upon each other’s family. They also tried to own the meadows by sending their mowers forcibly. The argument went on in the presence of Chubukov also and ended with the exit of Lomov after being named liar by Natalya.

3. Discuss the theme of the play “The Proposal”.

Ans. The theme and the issue for “the Proposal” include making fun of romance and marriage. Chubukov examines the true nature of marriages and instruction of necessity in his time. The play explores the process of getting married and would be read as a satire on the upper middle class and courtship. The play points out the struggle to balance the economical necessities of marriage and what the characters themselves actually want. It shows the characters’ desperation for marriages as financial benefits.

4. Give a brief description of the second argument.

Ans. Soon after their first argument, Natalya tried to bend the subject towards romance. But while doing this they began to talk over the hunting and eventually entered into another argument regarding their dogs. The names of the dogs owned by Natalya and Lomov are Squeezer and Guess respectively. Both of them claimed their own dog to well-bred, expensive and good hunting dog. Lomov’s claim of squeezer’s short lower jaw was ruled out by Natalya and Chubukov. The argument soon turned into an abusing and mud-mingling upon each other’s family. Finally the argument was ended with the fainting of Lomov and union of Natalya and Lomov.

5. Discuss the significance of the title of the play 'The Proposal'.

Ans. The title of the play 'The Proposal' and right from the beginning to the end of the play, the plot revolves round a marriage proposal. Lomov comes to Natalya's house to propose her for marriage but both of them start quarrelling over the trivial matters like Oxen meadows and their pet dogs. But ultimately they reconcile with the help of Chubukov. Chekhov here exposes the non-romantic nature of marriage and resorts to satire in order to bring out the hollowness of marriage as a social institution. Hence the title is apt.

6. How far is it proper to estimate the play 'The Proposal' as a farce?

Ans. A farce is intended to provoke laughter. The abnormal behaviour of characters and absurd situation often give birth to a farce but it lacks any rich suggestion. In other words comedy degenerates into a farce. The abnormal behaviour of Lovmov, his dress in course of visiting his neighbour, his indulge in a bitter quarrel over trivial issues, Natalya's love-sickness, Lomov's complaint at of palpitating heart, abusive words to each other's family and Chubukov's humourous gesture provide great amusement to the readers.  In short, the playwright is highly successful in his comic venture in spite of the farcical elements of the play

7. "What a weight off my shoulders." -- Who is the speaker? When does the speaker say this? Bring out the significance of the line.

i) Chubukov is the speaker.

ii) After the reconciliation of Lomov and Natalya, Chubukov says this.

iii) Chubukov has a grown up daughter like Natalya. Chubukov is eagerly waiting rather finding suitable bridegroom to hand over his daughter. He is aware of the fact that after his death she would have nothing and be forced to live of the charity of his relatives or face living on the street. Really she is a weight/burden to him and the moment Lomov proposed to him to marry Natalya, he is very much happy and excited. At last after couple of arguments they are reconciled and this reconciliation makes him relieved and utters this line.

8. Discuss "The Proposal" as a social satire.

Ans. Chekov's Russia was the time of economic instability. People easily starved to death. The term 'marriage' originally to celebrate the love of young couples, but changes its meaning into the combination of wealth between two families. People of the society had to be desperate over marriage. Throughout 'The Proposal' two lovers clash and fight over misunderstanding and miscommunication, a common problem in conjugal life. Both are desperate for a partner. They neither respect nor care about each other in the hope that they will be able to acquire their desire through marriage. Love or concern for the other never enters into their minds.

9. Sketch the character of Natalya.

Ans. Natalya Stepanova is a young, unmarried girl of 25. She is the daughter of Chubukov and lives with him. Her desire is to have control over everything. She has strong will and knows what she is capable of and what she is not. She does all the household works, takes care of her father, helps to maintain the land and is in charge of the servants. She is well aware of her standing in the social circle. According to Lomov, she is an excellent housekeeper, not bad looking and well educated. Her father calls her a 'love-sick cat'. By nature she is very quarrelsome and abusive. She begins bitter quarrel with Lomov over trivial issues but ultimately reconcile with Lomov.

10. Sketch the character of Lomov.

Ans. Ivan Vassilevitch Lomov is a young, unmarried man of 35. He is a neighbour of Chubukov. He is a large hearty but very suspicious landowner. He is anxious to get married. He is not a believer of true love. He wants to marry to live well-regulated life. He has continual palpitation and is always getting excited. Lomov has a very weak will. He engages himself in disputes with Natalya over trivial issues. He proves himself to be practical and a man of principles. 'The Proposal' is based on Lomov's marriage proposal. He goes through some critical situations and ultimately is able to propose Natalya to marry.

11. Love relationship between Lomov and Natalya.

Ans. In Chekhov’s society, marriage is not a union of two minds; rather a suitable business deal where both sides have to earn profit. In “The Proposal” the marriage is also a profitable hope. Chubukov, the father, Natalya, the daughter and Lomov – all belong to the moneyed, landowner class. Chubukov sees a financially perfection in Lomov for he was really concerned over the marriage of Natalya. Natalya herself realised that all her land issues will be immediately solved once she gets married. Lomov was under tremendous social pressure to get married and then, there always was a possibility of doubling of property if Natalya is the bride. Thus the proposal was important to all for separate reasons.

12. Describe “The Proposal” as a one-act play.

Ans. Anton Chekhov’s “The Proposal” is a one-act play. It obeys the rules of unity of time, action and place. The play starts and finishes within a span of a single day. There is no time-travel. All the characters here are central and indispensable for the construction of the play. Moreover, there is just one action in the play; that is to put forth a marriage proposal. The plot is one-dimensional. Almost all the characteristic features of one act play like brevity, singleness of the plot, limited characters etc. are followed well. Thus the play stands as a one-act play in all aspect.