‘A marriage proposal’ or ‘The proposal’ is a one-act play originally written in Russian language by the great Russian author and playwright Anton Chekhov. The play was written in 1888- 1889 and was first performed on stage in 1890. It is a delightful rather satirical comedy often known in literature terms as farce. Farce is a funny play for the theatre, full of situational comedy.
The Great Russian writer Anton Chekhov is known for his brilliant long plays, but in his early writing career he has written many small one-act comedies. ‘A Marriage Proposal’ is also a small comedy act which along with making everyone laugh also takes a dig at the moral fall of the high society people especially the rich land owner class of Russia in the 19th century. Through this play the author has exposed the hypocrisy present in our society and has shown how hollow and pompous the so called modern people actually are. Greed has now become the main driving force behind forming relationships and bonds. This article will provide a thorough explanation of the story line, characters, story’s themes and the mind set of the high society class.
Overview
Ivan Vassilevitch Lomov wants to propose to his neighbour Chubukov’s daughter Natalya for marriage. Both the families are rich land owners of Russia. The author wants to expose the hypocrisy of the land owner class of Russia. He shows that how the economic motives form the grounds for any relationship especially the marital ones. He also highlights how anger and short temper can ruin a relationship. All the three characters in the play are very argumentative and quarrelsome. They fight with each other over trivial issues still want to continue with the proposal as it will be of economic benefit to both the families. The play is set in rural Russia in the late 19th century.
Let’s begin with the main characters of the play.
Characters
There are three characters in this play:-
First character, Ivan Vassilevitch Lomov.
He is a heavy-set man in his mid-thirties. He is a hypochondriac and prone to anxiety and stubbornness. Hypochondria Is a type of anxiety disorder where a person continuously worries a lot about his or her health without any reason to do so. He is a rich landlord and the neighbour of Stepan Stepanovitch Chubukov. He wants to get married as he has already reached a critical age so he decides to propose to a girl in the neighbourhood as she is the best woman available. He has difficulty coming to point while conversing, which makes things worse when he goes to propose to the girl of his choice. He seems to be an eccentric character as no matter how many times he tried, he always landed himself up in an argument with the girl whom he wants to propose while proving his superiority over her.
Second character, Stepan Stepanovitch Chubukov- a rich Old father.
Stepan Stepanovitch Chubukov is a wealthy land owner, Lomov’s neighbor and the father of a marriageable girl, Natalya. He is a materialistic and greedy man who looks for the lucrative aspects in his daughter’s marriage though he is projected like a loving father as he sides his daughter in her silly arguments with Lomov. He comes out as a selfish and manipulative hypocrite because this is quite evident that he can foresee the failure of his daughter’s marriage still he advocated for and supported it at the end, just to maintain and increase his own social status.
Third character Natalya, is an arrogant and stubborn girl.
Natalia is the 25 year old unmarried daughter of Chubukov, who is immature but very eager to get married. She is an excellent housekeeper and a decent looking girl. She has a high opinion of herself and his very stubborn and argumentative by nature. She comes out as a manipulative but stupid character when she gets to know that Lomov came to their house to propose to her she kept aside all her ego and even apologized to him but the next moment she was fighting again with him over some silly topic.
Summary
The curtain Rises with Lomov entering the drawing room of his neighbour Chubukov’s country house, fully dressed up in his evening attire. Chubukov is surprised to see him in a formal dress. When Lomov says that he has come to ask him for a favour, Chubukov thinks that he has come to borrow money from him which he doesn’t intend on giving. Then Lomov reveals that he has come to ask for his daughter Natalya’s hand in marriage. Chubukov is pleased to hear this and assures Lomov that his daughter will definitely accept this proposal. Then he goes to call his daughter.
Natalya is an excellent housekeeper, not at all bad-looking, well educated ‐- what more could I ask?
When lomove is left alone he grumbles about his nervousness and the other ailments from which he suffers. He thinks that Natalya is an excellent housekeeper, decent looking and well educated girl. Moreover he is already 35 years old and it is the best age for him to get married now, so that his life gets regulated. Then Natalya enters the room and is surprised to see Lomov. Lomov begins the conversation about how glad he is that both their families are on good terms since his childhood. While continuing the conversation he talks about his lands and mentions one of his properties, the Oxen Meadows, which was earlier disputed but is now his property. Natalya doesn’t believe him and soon the disagreement gets converted into a heated discussion.
Pardon the interruption. You said, "My Meadows"-- but are they yours?
Both of them end up quarrelling over it. They shout at each other and the marriage proposal is forgotten. In the meantime Chubukov enters and sides his daughter just to get the argument more heated. They start to pull each other’s ancestors in their silly quarrel. Lomov gets much excited and he suffers from palpitation and numb foot. Then Chubukov and Natalya insult him and throw him out of their house and continue cursing him behind his back. After Lomov is gone, Chubukov unintentionally tells Natalya that he had come to him with a marriage proposal. When Natalia hears this she is shocked and gets hysterical about missing the chance to get married.
Proposal for me? Oh! Bring him back! Bring him back!
She forces her father to call him back. Chubukov feels embarrassed and curses himself on being a father of a grown up daughter. He rushes out and calls him back. Lomov returns and tells about his wretched state. Natalia apologizes and admits that the Oxen Meadows belong to him. She then tries to deviate the conversation to some other topic. Somehow they again enter into an argument over the superiority of each of their dogs. Lomov again gets anxious and shouts that he is having a heart failure. Chubukov also joins the argument only to make it worse. All of them get hyper and Lomov finally faints due to his palpitations.
The father daughter duo continue hurling curses at him until Nataliya realises that Lomov is not conscious. Then they try to make him drink some water when unsuccessful, they declare him dead. Chubukov panicks and feels miserable. He starts cursing himself. Suddenly Lomov comes to his senses and Chubukov without losing a second, hands over Natalya’s hands to him, gives his blessings and asks them to kiss each other to confirm their marriage.
Get married! Quick, and then go to devil! She's willing! She's agreed! Only leave me in peace!
Chubukov was tired of all this and wanted to be left alone in peace. Lomov was bewildered at first, as he was not fully conscious but soon after analysing the whole scenario he gets excited and kisses Natalya’s hands. This didn’t last for long as Natalya once again tries to convince Lomov that her dog is better than Lomov refuses to agree and they begin quarrelling again. Seeing all this Chubukov sarcastically says that the happy days of marriage have begun and shouts for champagne.
Now the domestic joys have begun
Theme of A Marriage Proposal
This thought provoking one-act farce by the great Anton Chekhov revolves around the primary theme of cold and benefit-driven marriages that had been common in 19th century Russia especially among the wealthy class. The whole play is a satire on these kind of rich and privileged people who are greedy and fake from inside. They place greater value on maintaining a superior appearance which is totally superficial. In this play the emotional bond which is an essential ground for any relationship, is missing between Natalya and Lomov. They do want to get married to each other but lack empathy, love and respect for each other rather are more interested in proving their superiority over the other. They fight over trivial issues, hurl curses at each other, disrespect each other still at the end are happy to choose each other as their life partners. And the girl’s father also is not concerned about the frequent disagreements between them, he rather seems to be in a hurry to marry his daughter off.
Another important theme of this play is the theme of conflict. The entire play is filled with conflicts; conflict between Natalya and Lomov, conflict between Chubukov and Lomov, conflict between a daughter and a father. Natalya and Lomov fight over the Oxen Meadows and their pet dogs and what not. This conflict has affected Lomov’s health negatively. These conflicts are the wheels on which this comedy act runs smoothly. The whole play is about a marriage proposal which has turned odd and there seems no presence of love in this relationship still both the parties wish to go ahead with it, this whole idea itself is conflicting. This relationship has begun with fighting, arguing and name-calling which is exactly opposite of the way any relationship should begin. Romance and fun have no place in this marriage. The writer is telling that the institution of marriage is not as romantic and fun as some people believe it to be, sometimes the other elements play a bigger role. A father, knowingly pushing his daughter in an incompatible marriage and a girl desperately wanting to marry someone she does not respect, is equally conflicting as the ending remark of the father over there fight, “now the domestic joys have begun.”
One more important theme of this play is greed and vanity. Every action of all the characters is driven by the greed to amass riches. The moment Chubukov realised that Lomov is there to propose his daughter, he happily welcomes him and accepts this proposal. As soon as Natalya comes to know that lomove was there to propose to her she forgets everything and even apologized to him. Lomov also finds Natalya suitable that is why he wants to get married to her. Had she been from a humble background it would have been a different story altogether. All the three characters believe in maintaining a superior appearance. At first, all appeared polite and well behaved but soon they start revealing their true colors.
Conclusion
This marriage proposal is very important to all the three characters of this act as this marriage is going to benefit both the wealthy families, hence all of them are willing to tie this knot despite of their differences. Through this play, Chekhov wants to expose that marriage is not as romantic as some people believe it to be, most of the times, especially in the higher society, it is the selfishness that overshadows the emotional bonding in a relationship. People prioritize wealth over anything.
