THE PROPOSAL

By— Anton Chekov

About the Author

Antony Chekhov was a great playwright and story writer. He was born on 29 January 1860 in a village
in Southern Russia. His father ran a grocery store. His mother, Yevgeniya was an excellent storyteller.
Chekhov was an established physician. He is considered to be among the greatest writers of short
stories in the world. Chekhov once said, “Medicine is my lawful wife and literature is my mistress.”
Introduction of the lesson- The Proposal
INTRODUCTION
Anton Chekov (1860-1904) was a famous writer. He is chiefly known for his short stories. This story
‘The Proposal’ is a romantic story of a neighbour named Ivan Lomov. He is a landowner and often
gets money from Chuhukov’s another landowner. Chubukov has a daughter named Natalya. Lomov
comes to Chubukov with a marriage proposal for his daughter Natalya.

The theme of the Story

`The Proposal’ is a one-act play. Actually, it is a farce written by Anton Chekhov in 1888-89. The play
is about the tendency of wealthy families to seek matrimonial ties. The real purpose is to increase their
estates and landed properties. Ivan Lomov was a wealthy neighbour of another wealthy farmer Stepan
Chubukov. Lomov comes to seek the hand of Chubukov’s twenty-five-year-old daughter, Natalya.
Tomov, Chubukov and Natalya’-all three are quarrelsome people. They quarrel over petty or small
issues. Each one of them has a claim over a particular piece of land. They also quarrel over their dogs.
Amidst this quarrelling, they completely forget the real issue — the marriage proposal. But good sense
prevails in the end. Economic good sense ensures that the proposal is made. Chubukov doesn’t want
to miss the opportunity. He puts his daughter’s hand into Lomov’s hands. He doesn’t waste any time
and blesses them. However, old habits die hard. The newly married couple starts their married life
with a fresh quarrel.

SUMMARY
When the play begins we see that Lomov comes to meet Chubukov at his house. Chubukov who is a
farmer welcomes Lomov. He asks him why he is wearing formal clothes and whether he is going to
attend a function. Lomov replies that he is not going anywhere; he has come only to meet him. Lomov
appears excited and perturbed. He calms himself down and begins to tell him the purpose of his visit.
He tells him that he came to him many times in the past also for his help but he did not help him.
Before telling the purpose of his visit. Lomov is excited once again. Chubukov thinks that perhaps he
has come to ask for a loan. He makes up his mind not to help him in any way.
Lomov once again begins to tell Chubukov about the purpose of his visit. But he once again becomes
excited. He talks about himself in exaggerated terms. Chubukov asks him not to beat about the hush
and to talk about his purpose of coming. Lomov gathers courage and tells him that he has come to
ask for his daughter Natalya’s hand in marriage. On hearing this Chubukov becomes very happy, he
goes in to call Natalya. But before this Lomov asks him whether Natalya would give her permission
for this. Chubukov replies that she will readily accept a match like him.
Lomov is left alone in the room. His body is trembling with excitement. He thinks about his present life.
He wants to settle the question of his marriage at once. He thinks that now he should not delay. He
thinks about Natalya. She is a skilled house-keeper. She is educated and is not bad to look at. At this
age, he should not expect a better girl than her. Now he is thirty-five years old. Now he should lead a
regulated life. He is suffering from serious diseases like palpitation, excitement and insomnia. Because
of these reasons, he should marry.
Just then Natalya comes in. Her father has not told her that Lomov has come to meet her. He only told
her that a customer had come. Even then she welcomes Lomov. Before Lomov can speak, she starts
speaking-When she mentions his beautiful dress, he is again excited. Before he can talk about his
marriage to her, he starts trembling. Natalya encourages him and he recovers. He says that he will tell
her everything in brief. Even then he cannot talk in a straight-forward manner. He beats about the

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bush. He tells her that for the Iasi many decades their families have had good relations. Their estates
are also adjoining. His Oxen Warbles touch their birchwoods. Natalya protests against this. She says
that the Oxen Meadows belong to her. they lay their claims to it. They start quarrelling about the
ownership of the Oxen Meadows. They shout loudly at each other. They do not calm down in any way.
Chubukov comes in and finds them both quarrelling. He is greatly surprised. But when he finds that
they are quarrelling about the ownership of the Oxen Meadows. he also becomes angry. Instead of
calming them down, he also starts quarrelling. He claims to be the owner of the Meadows. He insults
not only Lomov but also his family members. Lomov becomes more excited. He uses insulting words
for Chubukov, Natalya and their family members. Lomov’s palpitation increases and he becomes very
perturbed. He goes out of the room. Chubukov says how the foolish Lomov dared to bring a proposal
for Natalya’s marriage. When Natalya hears this, she is deeply shocked. She is almost unconscious.
She starts weeping and asks her father to bring tomor back. Chubukov feels sad. He says that it is the
biggest misfortune to be the father of a girl. He goes out to call Lomov.
Lomov again enters the room. Natalya thinks that she will not annoy him this time. She tries to please
him. She says that the Meadows belong to him. She tries to change the topic so that he could propose
to her. But he is still not all right. He is feeling disturbed. He does not come to the point. Lomov starts
praising the qualities of his dog Guess, which he has purchased for 125 roubles. But Natalya says that
her dog Squeezer which she purchased for 85 roubles is much better than Lomov’s dog Guess. Both
of them praise the qualities of their dogs. Now they start quarrelling on this topic. They again start
shouting at each other. In the meantime, Chubukov comes. Instead of putting an end to their quarrel,
he also starts quarrelling. In this dispute. Lomov’s condition deteriorates and he falls on the chair,
unconscious. Both the father and the daughter think that he has died. Natalya starts lamenting that
her chance of getting married has gone.
After sometime. Lomov comes to his senses. Chubukov tells Lomov that Natalya is willing for marriage.
so he should marry her. Natalya expresses her willingness. Chubukov does not want to lose even a
moment and joins their hands. He asks them to kiss each other. But soon, they start quarrelling again.
They start debating the qualities of their respective dogs. Chubukov tries to calm them down. With
this, the play comes to an end.

Read the following passages and answer the questions that follow :
PASSAGE 1
CHUBUKOV: We just get along somehow, my angel, thanks to your prayers, and so on. Sit down,
please do… Now, you know, you shouldn’t forget all about your neighbours, my darling. My dear fellow,
why are you so formal in your get-up! Evening dress, gloves, and so on. Can you be going anywhere,
my treasure?
LOMOV: No. I’ve come only to see you, honoured Stepan Stepanovitch. CHUBUKOV: Then why are
you in evening dress, my precious? As if you’re paying
a New Year’s Eve visit!.
LOMOV: Well, you see, it’s like this (Takes his arm] I’ve come to you, honoured
Stepan Stepanovitch to trouble you with a request. Not once or twice have I already had the privilege
of applying to you for help, and you have always, so to speak… I must ask your pardon. I am getting
excited. I shall drink some water honoured Stepan Stepanovitch.
Questions :
(a) What kind of dress is Lomov wearing?
(b) Why Is Lomov in a formal dress?
(c) What does Lomov say about the purpose of his visit?
(d) Why does he drink some water?
(e) Find a word from the passage which means ‘special right’.
Answers :
(a) Lomov is wearing an evening dress.
(b) He is in a formal dress as he has come for the hand of Chubukov’s daughter.
(c) He says that he has come to make a special request to Chubukov.

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(d) He drinks some water because he gets excited.
(e) ‘ privilege’.
PASSAGE 2
Brr… It’s cold! Natalya Stepanovna is an excellent housekeeper, not bad-looking, well-educated. What
more do I want? But I’m getting a noise in my ears from excitement. [Drinks] And It’s impossible for
me not to marry. In the first place, I’m already 35—a critical age, so to speak. In the second place. I
ought to lead a quiet and regular life. I suffer from palpitations, I’m excitable and always getting awfully
upset; at this very moment my lips are trembling, and there’s a twitch in my right eyebrow. But the very
worst of all is the way I sleep. I no sooner get into bed and begin to go off, when suddenly something
in my left side gives a pull, and l can feel it in my shoulder and head… I jump up like a lunatic, walk
about a bit and lie down again, but as soon as I begin to get off to sleep there’s another pull! And this
may happen twenty times…
Questions :
(a) Who is the speaker of these lines?
(b) Why is he eager to marry?
(c) What does the speaker think of Natalya?
(d) What disease does he suffer from?
(e) Find a word from the passage which means ‘mad’.
Answers :
(a) Lomov is the speaker of these lines.
(b) He is eager to many because he is already 35.
(c) He thinks that she is a good housekeeper.
(d) He suffers from palpitations.
(e) ‘lunatic’.

VERY SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS

Q.1. Who is Lomov?

Ans. Lomov is a young landowner.
Q.2. Why did Lomov come to Chubukov’s house?
Ans. Lomov came to Chubukov’s house with a marriage proposal for Natalya.
Q.3. How old were Lomov and Natalya? [H.B.S.E. March 2017 (Set-C)
Ans. Lomov was thirty-five years old and Natalya was twenty-five years old.
Q.4. Why is Lomov so eager to marry?
Ans. Lomov is so eager to many because he is already over thirty-five.
Q.5. What disease does Lomov suffer from?
Ans. Lomov suffers from palpitations.
Q.6. What does Lomov quarrel over with Natalya for the first time?
Ans. Lomov quarrels over ownership the right of Oxen Meadows.
Q.7. What documents does Lomov offer to show Natalya?
Ans. He wants to show her the documents relating to the Oxen Meadows.
Q.8. Who has been using Oxen Meadows?
Ans. Peasants have been using Oxen Meadows.
Q.9. What do they quarrel over for the second time?
Ans. For the second time, they quarrel over the quality of their dogs.

Short Answer Question

1. What do you think would have been Chubukov’s reaction on hearing the reason for which
Lomov had come to his house?
Ans. When Chubukov came to know that the reason of Lomov’s coming to their house is to marry
Natalya, he was overwhelmed with joy. He embraced and kissed Lomov and told him that he was
hoping for it for a long time. He told Lomov that he had always loved him as if he was his own son.

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2. What justification did Lomov give to Natalya and Chubukov to prove that he is the rightful
owner of Meadows?
Ans. Lomov told Natalya and Chubukov that his aunt’s grandmother gave the Meadows for the
temporary and free use of Chubukov’s grandfather’s peasants. So he is the rightful owner of the open
meadows.
3. Lomov was a quarrelsome person. Justify.
Ans. Lomov was a quarrelsome person. He came to Chubukov’s house to propose Natalya. But he
started arguing about the meadows and insisted that those meadows belonged to him. Later he kept
on proving that his dog Squeezer is better than ‘Guess’ – the dog of Chubukov’s. He did not care for
his health or his proposal but kept on fighting for one or the other reason. It proves that he was a
quarrelsome person.
5. Describe, in brief, the character of Natalya as sketched in the chapter the proposal.
Ans. Natalya was 25 years old, daughter of Chubukov. She was a good housekeeper, not bad looking
and well educated. She secretly loved Lomov. She was greedy and short-sighted. She was short-
tempered as well.
6. Lomov went to Chubukov’s house and was seeking permission so that he could trouble him
with a request. What is the trouble that he is talking about?
Ans. Lomov went to Chubukov’s house to ask him to marry his daughter, Natalya. He asked Chubukov
for Natalya’s hand. This is the trouble he was talking about.
7. Natalya was not Lomov’s real love. But still, he wanted to marry her. Give two reasons for
his decision.
Ans. Though Lomov was not in love with Natalya, he wanted to marry her because he was suffering
due to a weak heart and sleep-sickness. He wanted a companion who could look after him.

Long Answer Question

1. Neighbours must have a cordial relationship which Lomov and Natalya do not have.
Describe the first between them.
Ans. Neighbours must have a cordial relationship which Lomov and have. Although he had come
there to propose Natalya he started fighting with her over a small piece of land. This land adjoined her
land and his oxen meadows touched her birch woods. Natalya told Lomov that Lomov tried meadows
belonged to her but Lomov claimed that m the oxen meadows are his. Convince Natalya by telling her
that his aunt’s grandmother gave the meadows for the temporary and free use to Chubukov’s
grandfather’s peasants. They did not demand money for it for a long time so the Chubukov’s
misunderstood that the meadows belonged to them. While Chubukov’s insisted that yelling could not
prove anything because everyone knows that meadows belong to Chubukov’s since last three hundred
years. Both threatened each other.
2. The proposal was forgotten amidst argumentation. Which right approach should have been
followed by both parties?
Ans. Lomov came to Chubukovs to propose Natalya. Both are neighbours and at the right age to
marry. But instead of forwarding the proposal both of them started fighting over truffles. Firstly they
fought over a small piece of land called oxen meadows both of them claimed that the land belonged
to them and not the other one. Somehow the argument came to an end and they started fighting over
dogs and claimed each of their dog better than the other ones. The proposal was forgotten amidst all
these arguments. The situation might be different if both the parties had followed the right approach.
Oxen meadows would belong to both of them if they got married. Similarly, dogs are the very petty
thing to argue about while marriage is going to take place. There should not be any ego in between of
them both. They should be polite and patient to each other. They should not be rigid and stubborn.
Their priority should be their marriage and not meadows or dogs. Only the proposal could be carried
on.

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