TUTORIALevolution
The Proposal, a one-act play by Anton Chekhov
Complete Over-view with the Characters of the Drama
NatalyaStepanovna –25Years Old Daughter of Chubukov
Owner of Birchwood and Burnt Marsh inherited from her father’s grandfather.
Ivan VassilevitchLomov –A Kind but Very Suspicious Land Owner of Oxen Meadows inherited from his aunt’s grandmother. The peasants of the father’s grandfather of Natalya made bricks for the grandmother of Lomov’s aunt.
1st Quarrel/Abuses :
Chubukov abuses Lomov – his father was a guzzling gambler, All of Lomov’s family are pettifogger, Lunacy, drunkard grandfather, aunt NastasyaMihailovna eloped with an architect, malicious, double-faced intriguer, Devil, Scarecrow, Blind hen, Turnip ghost, Stuffed sausage, Wizen-faced frump.
Lomov to Chubukov– Grabber, embezzlement (grandfather), His mother was a hump-backed, intriguer (Natalya), The offence they do in the last election was an open secret.
Natalya abuses Lomov –His aunt was the most backbiter, Lomov was low, dishonest, mean, rascal, monster.
2nd Quarrel/Abuses :
After a long quarrel when Lomov came again, Natalya came to know from her father that he had come to propose her. So, she said (Aside) “I wish I know how to get started… (Aloud) Are you going to shooting soon? But soon they involved in another quarrel.
Lomov’s Dog – Guess was a the first-rate dog, He brought it from Mirnov with 125 roubles [Natalya’s dog was overshot (lower jaw is shorter than the upper) means a bad hunter, In Mariinsky hunt Guess ran well with Count’s Dog, while Squeezer was left behind, All dogs are running after a fox while Squeezer is worrying a ship]
Natalya’s Dog – Squeezer is the son of Harness and Chisels, bought with 85 roubles [There is no getting at the pedigree of Lomov’s dog at all, It is old, ugly, a worn-out cab-horse, Teasingly: what kind of hunter Lomov is? He ought to lie on the kitchen oven and catch black beetles, not go after foxes]
Chubukov –Found out two defects- it is old and it’s short in the muzzle. I’ll shoot you like a partridge. In the mid of the quarrel Lomov become senseless. When he came to sense, Chubukov forced them to get married.
______________________________________________________________________________
MCQ
1)
Anton Chekhov’s The Proposal is a Russian- …
2)
The character suffered from awful palpitation was /
worse kind of nervous disorder was-…
3)
By the expression ‘having a go’ Lomov means to say-…
4)
Natalya’s dog (Squeezer )was blamed as-…
5)
Nataly teasingly advised Lomov to-…
6)
Lomov does not ask Natalys for marriage because-…
7)
The engagement of Lomov and Natalya became complete
by-…
8)
Primarily Chubukov guessed that Lomov had come to-…
9)
By the expression ‘spit it out’ Chubukov means to
mean-…
10) Hearing
Lomov, Chubukov said ‘glad’ because-…
11) Lomov was
afraid of never getting married if-…
12) Chubukov
said that a merchant had come ‘for
his goods’-…
13) In the first
meeting Natalya wore-…
14) Natalya told
Lomov that she was / they were-…
15) Regarding
Lomov’s evening dress Natalya says, ‘I never!’ she means-…
16) Natalya
objected Lomov’s claim on-…
17) ‘Oxen
meadows’ refers to the land-…
18) According to
Lomov his aunt’s grandfather had made a
grant of ‘oxen Meadows’ to-…
19) According to
the condition for the grant, Chubukov’s grandfather was-…
20) Measurement
of Oxen Meadows is 5 destinations, is equivalent to-…
21) The unit of
currency mentioned in the play ‘The Proposal’ is-…
22) Chubukov
abuses Lomov as ‘Petty Fogger’ which means-…
23) Lomov blamed
Chubukov as ‘grabber’ which means-…
24) Whom did
Chubukov described as drunkard?-…
25) The word
‘lunacy’ with reference to Lomov means-…
26) The word
‘embezzlement’ means-…
27) Chubukov
blamed Lomov’s grandfather as-…
28) Natalya
called Lomov a ‘monster’ because-…
29) Natalya
wanted that Lomov should come back because-…
30) The label of
the play can be summed up as-…
31) The
sub-genre of the play is-…
32) Chubukov
delighted with the proposal because-…
33) Lomov,
Chubukov and Natalya approach marriage-…
34) Lomov has
two consideration regarding marriage-…
35) Lomov wanted
to talk to Natalya in order to-…
36) Being heated
in an argument, over ownership, the three characters behaved-…
37) Natalya
learns about the proposal when Chubukov-…
38) Lomov and
Natalya again engaged in argument immediately-…
39) Chubukov
asked the coup[le to get married because-…
40) Chubukov is calling for champagne in order to-…
____________________________________________________
BAQ
1. Discuss the reason why the marriage proposal is important to all the characters in “The Proposal”.
Ans : The marriage proposal of Ivan Lomov with Natalya in the play “The Proposal” was not only important to the concerned characters but also to Chubukov, Natalya’s father. Lomov was already thirty-five. He wanted a restrained life and that is why he wanted a settled married life for him. On the other hand, Natalya was twenty-five. She was expert in domestic affairs. She was very eager to marry Lomov. Chubukov, on the other side wanted to grab the opportunity in order to shake down all the responsibility of a daughter’s father from his shoulders in social front. He also knew that the echonomic and social responsibility regarding Natalya would be over when Lomov would marry Natalya. So, he celebrated the occasion by offering champagne. Keeping in view all the reasons, we can conclude that the marriage is very important to all the characters.
2. Describe in detail the character of
Lomov.
Ans : Ivan Lomov is one of the leading characters played a significant role in “The Proposal”. We find him as a funny character in the play. He believes that he had a number of illness including nervous disorder. Although he came to propose Natalya but he could not, as he got involved into an argument with Natalya centering the ownership of ‘Oxen Meadows’. Being a patient of nervous disorder, Lomov was prone to unusual excitement. Lomov failed to propose Natalya formally. It was Chubukov under whose instruction Lomov kissed Natalys and the marriage proposal of Lomov got the final seal of assert through Chubukov’s intervention. Lomov’s argumentative nature and nervous representation make us enjoy his character very much in the play.
3. Write in detail the character of
Chubukov. Or, Discuss, whether Chubukov is a responsible father.
Ans :In the play “The Proposal”, StepanovitchChubukov is basically more a shrewd/clever land-owner and a business-minded father, than a sensible one. Chubukov makes unusual welcome to Lomovusuing words like ‘my precious’, ‘my darling’ etc. but he remains in doubt about Lomov’s real purpose of visiting his house. He takes Natalya’s side of argument only to display that he is a supportive father. He is pleased at the marriage proposal of Lomov but latter when he requires to callLomov back to his daughter, he is greatly offended. He timely intervenes to put the seal of assert to Lomov’s marriage proposal. He offers them champagne to celebrate the occasion as he feels greatly relieved from the echonomic and social responsibility of a grown-up daughter. It is clear from his behavioural aspects that Chubukov is out and out a matter-of-fact father with lack of personality and very little sensibility.
4. Describe in detail the character of
Natalys.
Ans : In Anton Chekhov’s play “The Proposal”, the character, Natalya appears in her negligee and a house coat. This is enough to draw out attention to two important aspect of her character. First of all, she is not a very fashionable lady. Secondly, she is expert in managing homely affairs. Later on, we find her argument with Lomovcenteringaround the ownership of ‘Oxen Meadows’ and the superiority of their dog Squeezer in comparison to Lomov’s dog, Guess. Natalys suffers from hysterics as she becomes excited when she comes to know that Lomov wants to propose her. She is greatly tensed when Lomov was found dead-like on the armchair. She becomes happy when Lomov comes into sense. She is the only woman character in the play and plays a very significant role.
5. Give a short description of the social
life as you see in the play?
Ans : In “The Proposal” Anton Chekhov focuses on the contemporary Russian society of his time. We come to know that then marriage use to be negotiated ridiculously and often without considering the age gap in between the spouses. Marriages are mostly arranged and the quality, qualifications, temperaments, attitudes etc. Hardly mattered. In most cases , marriage was either a case of economic benefit or of other gains. Girls could not decides or choose their partners. Daughters were considered as economic liability. Natalya was not an exception. He timely intervenes to put the seal of assert to Lomov’s marriage proposal and felt greatly relieved from the economic and social responsibility of a grown-up daughter. It depicts well the pettiness of Russian landowners who place the consideration of property and personal pride over love and marriage. Thus the play, “The Proposal” can be considered as a piece of contemporary Russian social life.
6. How did Chubukov
alternate the arguments in order to serve his real purpose ?
Ans : … Natalya appears before Lomov and he started to describe the bond of love and respect between the Lomovs and Chubukovs. While doing that Lomov mentions his ownership upon ‘Oxen Meadows’ to face the chalanging demand of Natalya upon the same. Chubukov takes Natalya’s side and the marriage proposal of Lomov takes the back seat. Natalya comes to know about Lomov’s proposal. He was brought back. But soon they engaged in another argument regarding the superiority of their respective dogs. The marriage proposal of Lomov is never clearly focused.
7. Do you consider Chubukov’s play “The Proposal” to be a satire/farce on marriage ?
Explain with reason.
Ans :Anton Chekhov's "The Proposal" is usually classified as a farce, rather than satire, because it is a short work that focuses on a single idea in a limited way and in a comical way such as the hypochondriac [Lomov], the shrew [Natalya], and the hypocrite [Chubukov]. Farce is further identified by exaggeration and absurdity, two other elements in Chekhov's one-act play.It is full of such exaggerated actions that exceed the limits of common sense. For instance, Lomov who gulps down water, puts his hand over his heart, runs to the door and "staggers out." After he leaves, Natalya becomes "hysterical," falling back into an armchair "and groans for some time. The quick turn of feeling from cordiality to hurling of insults such as Lomov's calling Chubukov a "Grabber" and his returning the insult to Lomov, terming him "Intriguer!" Next is Chubkov's screaming that he will kill himself.Later Joining the hands of his daughter and neighbour, Chubukov shouts,"Get married! She's agreed! Only leave me in peace!"Thus, the farcical basis of "The Proposal" is the fact that Lumov himself is never able to propose.Another form of humour is practical jokesthat the father plays upon his daughter whenChubukov, instead of telling his daughter about Lomov’s marriage proposal, informs her that there is "a dealer who has come to buy something."These elements of exaggeration and absurdity set the tone of ridicule by Chekhov in depicting the pettiness of Russian society. Their hypocrisy is also depicted comically in the placement of economic considerations over those of love and romance.
8. Justify the title of
‘The Proposal’
Ans :The Proposal, a one-act play of Anton Chekhov, explores the process of getting married in a comical way. This one act paly can be read as a satire upon the upper middleclass people of Russia and their courtship. This one-act play depicts the conflicts that the characters face in the play in search of economic value of marriage. It shows the character’s desperation for marriage in a comical way. In Chekhov’s Russia, marriage was a means of economic stability for majority of people. They use to marry to gain wealth and economic possessions or to compromise with the social pressure. The characters in the play involve in arguments over small and irrelevant things. The main argument revolves round the Oxen Meadows and the two dogs called Guess and Squeezer. However the play queerly ends with the acceptance of Lomov’s proposal of marriage by Natalya. Thus the title is highly significant and ironically important.
9. Explain The Proposal as a one-act play.
Ans :A one-act play, as the name suggests, is a play that takes place, from beginning to end, in a single act. The Proposal, written by Anton Chekhov also introduces a comic one-act play centering round three characters :Chubukhov, Lomov, Chubukhov’s neighbour and Natalya, Chubukhov’s daughter. It is a fast-paced play of dialogue based action with situational humour. The setting of the play is Chubukhov’s country house where Lomov, a long-time neighbour of Chubukhov, has come to propose marriage to Chubukhov’s 25 years old daughter, Natalya. Stating his purpose, Lomov receives joyful permission from Chubukhov to marry his daughter. Lomov is a nerve-patient and is prone to unwanted excitement. Having welcomes by Natalya when he tries to explain the reason for being there, he gets into argument for twice with Natalya regarding the ownership of Oxen Meadows and the superiority of their respective dogs, Guess and Squeezer. In the mid of their argument Chubukhov intervenes and forces them to accept the marriage proposal with a kiss. Thus, we find the play from the beginning to end is taken place in a single act securing all the features of an ideal one-act play.
New year’s Eve-According to the Russian calendar, Russians celebrates the new yearfron 6thro 12th January. Therefore, New Year’s Eve here refers to the evening of 5th January, the last day of the year.
She is like a lovesick cat- The expression is an expression of simile. A simile is an explicit comparison between two different things or ideas. In the above case Natalya, 25 years old daughter of Chubukhov and a cat are two dissimilar things. They have been compared having a common feature called ‘lovesickness’.
Open Secret- It is an example of Oxymoron. Oxymoron is a figure of speech where two opposite ideas of seemingly opposite ideas are placed side by side to create an effect on the logical process of thinking. In this case ‘secret is described as ‘open’ which is not possible in reality.
“Bring him back”---Natalya
says this in Chekhov’s hilarious face 'The Proposal’. She says this to her
father Chubukov.
When Lomov departs from Chubukov’s
housewithout expressing his desire to Natalya,Chubukhov tells her about the
proposal. He informs that Lomovhas expressed his desire to many
Natalya.Love-sick Natalya now understands thatthe argument over Oxen Meadows
has done aharmfulact to her life. Natalya now wants to makeup the Situation by
calling him back. She betraysimmense passion for him.
Natalya is a maid of 25. She was not still
been able to find her man. She is love-sick. She cannot afford a chance to miss
such a proposal. So, she is very-much upset. However her passion for Lomov has
been presented in an exaggerated manner.
Arguments
over Dogs:Inspite of her every caution Natalya contradicts Lomov
whenhe describes his dog, Guess' the best. Natalya comments that it was toomuch
to spend 125 roubles for Guess. They got better dog, Squeezer for 85 roubles
only. Lomovreadily finds Squeezer’s faults- it is overshot; as aresult it is a
bad hunter. Natalya then describesSqueezer as a pure dog and Guess as impure,
old,ugly and like a worn-out cab-horse. Chubukovsays Guess is old and short in
the muzzle. Lomovmentions how Squeezer was left behind but Guessran neck and
neck with the Count’s dog. Then theyleave the issue of the dogs and starts
excavatingeach other’s family scandals.
10. How did Chubukov and
Lomov contaminate each-other’s family ?
11. “I’m ill ! Fetch him !”
---Who is the speaker ? Whom does the speaker to be fetched and why ? Why does
the speaker feel ill ?
12. What are Chubukov’s and
Natalya’s opinions about the hunting strategy of Lomov ?
13. What is the reason
behind Lomov’s thinking that Natalya can be an acceptable wife ?
Some Special Notes :
One
Act Play:ln Anton Chekhov’s one-act play ‘Theproposal’ all of the
characters are some way orthe other influenced by the marriage proposal.Lomov
is desperate for a wife. Natalya has notfound her man. Chubukov wants his
daughter toget married soon. Lomov’s intention makesChubukov jubilant. However
before unfolding hisproposal to Natalya Lomov becomes entangled intwo long
arguments with her, first over a disputedplot of land and then over their
hunting dogs. SoNatalya does not get any proposal from Lomov.However, the
proposal is successfullyComplemented by the marriage at the endbecause of
Chubukov’s presence of mind. Thetitle ‘The Proposal’ appears to be
moremeaningful for that.
