The Proposal

Summary

Chekhov's one-act comedy follows Lomov, a nervous, hypochondriac landowner, who visits his neighbour Chubukov to ask for the hand of his daughter, Natalya. Chubukov is delighted and gives his blessing at once, then leaves the two young people alone to talk.

Before Lomov can actually propose, the conversation drifts to a piece of land called Oxen Meadows. Both Lomov and Natalya stubbornly claim the land belongs to their family, and a heated argument erupts. Chubukov joins in, and the three of them quarrel furiously, hurling insults — only for Natalya to break down when she learns Lomov had come to propose, demanding he be brought back.

Lomov returns, but a second argument soon flares up, this time over whose hunting dog is better — Lomov's Guess or Natalya's Squeezer. In the middle of the shouting Lomov, who is excitable and unwell, nearly collapses. Seizing the moment, Chubukov hastily joins their hands and declares them engaged, and the play ends with the couple still bickering. Through this farce Chekhov pokes fun at quarrelsome human nature and marriages built on property rather than love.

Key points to remember

• It is a one-act farce by Anton Chekhov, set among Russian landowners.
• Lomov: anxious, sickly and quarrelsome; comes to propose to Natalya.
• Natalya: equally argumentative; quick to fight over trifles.
• Chubukov: Natalya's father, eager for the match but also hot-tempered.
• First quarrel is over the land called Oxen Meadows.
• Second quarrel is over the dogs Guess and Squeezer.
• Satire on marriages based on property and on petty human ego.

Important questions (board pattern)

• 3 marksWhat are the two issues over which Lomov and Natalya quarrel?

  How to answer: Name the dispute over Oxen Meadows (the land) and the dispute over whose dog — Guess or Squeezer — is superior.

• 6 marksHow does Chekhov use humour to satirise the institution of marriage?

  How to answer: Show that the proposal is driven by property and convenience, not love; the constant petty quarrels and the forced engagement mock such matches.

• 6 marksDescribe the character of Lomov.

  How to answer: Cover his nervousness, hypochondria, eagerness to marry for practical reasons, and quarrelsome streak; use the land and dog arguments as evidence.

• 3 marksWhy does Chubukov hurry to join the couple's hands at the end?

  How to answer: Because Lomov nearly faints and the quarrel threatens the match; Chubukov forces the engagement through before another fight can ruin it.

• 3 marksWas Lomov really sick, or do you think he imagined his illnesses?

  How to answer: Present him as a hypochondriac who exaggerates symptoms; his palpitations flare up mainly when he is excited or arguing.