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SUMMARY The Proposal is a comedy drama that is based on the tendency of two wealthy families who seek ties with each other to increase their estates by encouraging marriage that would improve their wealth. The play began with Ivan Lomov who visited Stephan Chubukov, a wealthy neighbour of Lomov. Lomov was a wealthy person himself who was dressed neatly and had come to seek Chubukov’s twenty-five-year-old daughter, Natalya Stepanovna’s hand in marriage. Initially, Chubukov was curious about Lomov’s sudden visit and assumed that the young man had come to ask for money which he might not return. Lomov was a thirty-five-year-old gentleman who suffered from severe heart-throbbing and became upset easily. He thought that Natalya was an excellent housekeeper, a well- educated and average-looking woman who would be an ideal partner to marry. However, when Chubukov heard about the proposal, he was glad and embraced Lomov. He immediately rushed inside to call his daughter, Natalya. When Natalya arrived, Lomov began the conversation about how both the families share a cordial relationship. As he spoke about his land Oxen Meadows, that was a disputed property, Natalya objected that the land belonged to her family. Lomov yelled back stating that the land belonged to him. Both of them had a heated argument on this topic until Lomov had a sudden palpitation attack with numbness on his feet. In no time, Natalya’s father Chubukov arrived and the father-daughter duo started abusing Lomov. Feeling insulted, Lomov rushed out of the house. As Chubukov continued to defame the young man, he accidentally mentioned to Natalya about Lomov’s marriage proposal. Hearing this, Natalya immediately regretted insulting Lomov and asked her father to bring him back. 1 Chubukov rushed out of the house immediately to call Lomov. When the young man returned, Natalya started a conversation about their dogs. In no time, a second round of debate ensued between her and Lomov where she mentioned that her dog Squeezer was better than Lomov’s Guess. Soon, Chubukov entered the scene and the argument worsened. All the three people began quarreling and soon Lomov fainted with another attack of palpitation. Seeing this, Natalya asked her father to wake up Lomov as she expressed her desire that she liked him too. Suddenly when Lomov made a movement, they offered him some water to drink and Chubukov put Natalya’s hand over his hand. They agreed to marry but the quarrel persisted as Natalya said that Squeezer was better than Guess. However, Lomov was adamant and refused to accept that his dog, Guess, was worse than Squeezer, Natalya’s dog. The curtain went down as the verbal fight continued among the characters. TITLE OF THE PLAY A: Anton Chekhov’s one – act play ‘The Proposal’ is a play where farce is used to laugh at the society that believed marriage would bring about economic stability. All the characters are influenced by the marriage proposal. Lomov, aged about 35, is desperate for a wife. Natalya is unable to find her man and Chubukov wants Natalya, his daughter, to be married soon. Hearing Lomov’s proposal Chubukov is overwhelmed. But before direct proposal to Natalya, Lomov allows himself to be side – tracked into arguments with Natalya over land and their hunting dogs. Later, after listening about Lomov’s proposal Natalya demands her father to get Lomov back and eventually the proposal was successfully complemented. Marriage during Chekhov’s time is only a convenient business deal more than anything else. It really does not matter if the two individuals involved are of different temperaments or held different opinions or loved each other. Lomov comes to ask for Natalya’s hand in marriage but later he admits that he is not in love with her but he wants to marry her for economic and social stability. Chubukov is the business like father who considers his daughter a liability and wants her daughter’s maximum gain through marriage. Hence, marriage proposal is the central theme of the drama and the title is appropriate. CHARACTER SKETCH  NATALYA Natalya is a good looking and educated girl of 25 years. She is also a good housekeeper. However she is short-tempered and cantankerous. She is desperate to fall in love and her father calls her a love-sick cat. According to Lomov, she does not seem educated as she is abusive and cannot control her speech. She quarrels with Lomov over Meadows as she says that she does not like unfairness but when she comes to know that Lomov had come to propose to her she changes her attitude and regrets losing an opportunity of love. She is therefore an opportunist. When Lomov returns on being called by her father she begins all over again to fight with him on the issue of their respective dogs. This tells the reader that 2 she has the compulsive habit of quarreling. She seems to be also a dominating nature as she puts down Lomov with her zestful arguing and agitation.  STEPAN STEPANOVITCH Stephan Chubukov was a land owner who had a daughter called Natalya. He was a very quarrelsome man but had a habit of speaking politely to everyone initially. He welcomes Lomov in a polite manner and is happy when he says he has come to propose to his daughter. Chubukov was a man to be carried away easily and so when Natalya and Lomov had an argument he too joined in and insulted Lomov. Chubukov is projected as a loving father but a greedy man who is looking for a good match for his daughter.  IVAN VASSILEVITCH Chubukov's neighbor, thirty-five-year-old Lomov decides to formally propose marriage to Natalia Stepanovna, although he has known his neighbor for years. When he formally asks Natalia's father, Stepan Chubukov, he is hugged by this parent. Nevertheless, he is worried that Natalia will refuse and remains nervous. A hypochondriac, Lomov thinks he is cold, and believes he has a roaring in his ears. Further, he complains of a weak heart, insomnia, strange aches, and other ailments. When he does speak to Natalia, he does not ask her to marry him; instead, he becomes disputatious soon after bringing up the land between their properties. He and Natalia begin shouting, and Lomov threatens to take the Chubukovs to court. Complaining of his heart, Lomov collapses. When her father complains about Lomov's audacity to propose marriage, Natalia begs her father to bring him back, so Lomov returns, but begins to argue with Natalia about their dogs. This prompts more spasms and aches until the father intervenes so that they will marry.