Marriage Proposal is a short play by Anton Chekhov discussing the event when two wealthy families try to tie the knot. This story explores themes of arguments, fun, and dispute. Thank you for being here. This article will discuss:
- Introduction
- Characters
- Summary
- Themes
- Analysis
- Conclusion
Introduction
This play was written back in 1888 by Anton Chekhov. You’ll love his writing style because of the twists in his short stories. Here are some of his works:
The Marriage Proposal Characters
- This story contains three characters:
Ivan Lomov
He belonged to a wealthy family and came to get the hand of Natalya from his father. He believed that his dog “Guess” was better than anything else.
Natalya
She was the girl whom Ivan wanted to marry but they both went into quarrels and baseless arguments. Deeply, they both loved each other.
Stephen Chekhov
- He was Natalya’s father. He tried his best to reduce the stress between Natalya and Lomov.
The Marriage Proposal Summary
This story is set back in 1888 when a 35-year-old man from a rich family came to Chekov to get the hand of his daughter “Natalya”.In the start, Lomov is tense and not able to express his feelings but later he expresses that he wants to marry his daughter. Chekov was overwhelmed and happily agreed that his daughter also wanted to marry him.
Fight over Meadows
After some time, Chekov went and called Natalya. She greeted him and said that he looked superb and he wore a fantastic dress. She asked him about smoking as it was extremely cold but he refused. As he was going to propose to her, he mentioned one meadow that his grandfather had. He said they belonged to him. Natalya got triggered and said they belonged to her father. Both went into a quarrel and said some bad words. After some time, Chekov came back and asked what was going on. She told him that Lomov said that meadows belonged to his family. Chekov said they belonged to him.
Chekov got involved in a quarrel and told him how his aunt eloped with an architect. He told him that his uncle was a drunkard. Both families said bad words to one another. Lomov felt pain in their heart and went away.
After he went away, Chekov told Natalya that the purpose of Lomov being here was to marry her. She went in shock and said his father had called him back.
2nd Argument
Lomov came back and this time she told him that he was right about the meadow property. As they were talking, she asked him about hunting and he refused as it was harvesting season plus his dog “Guess” was bitten by other dogs. He told her that he got him 125 rubbles. Here again, their quarrel started. She said her dog”leap” is better than “guess”.This quarrel again touched the threshold. Lomov was not feeling good and was faint on the floor.
End of story
After some time, he got to his senses. Chekov was tired of their fights. He placed “Lomov” hand in his daughter “Natalya” hand. This assured him that hoped he’d feel relaxed after they got married.
That’s where the story ends.
Themes: The Marriage proposal
Here are some themes from the marriage proposal by Anton Chekhov.
Quarrel
- Both families fought over some baseless things. This shows how a little bit of misunderstanding can ruin the best moments.
Courage to accept
Natalya accepted that meadows belonged to Lomov. This was all to reduce stress. This sends a lesson that it’s good to stay silent when fighting getting threshold.
Love
Although both Natalya and Lomov fought deeply they loved one another. This sends a lesson that there are ups and downs in love.
Greed
This story defines the greed of the landlord class for property. The characters were soo much obsessed with the oxen meadows that it had erupted marriage proposal.
The Marriage Proposal Analysis
- Well, the story was good till the end. You can find humor and fun in it when both trashed each other.
- As a reader, this play sends a deep message to the reader that beautiful moments can be ruined by some baseless arguments. One should try to ignore such quarrels that can hurt relations.
- Further, this story explores human nature and how we try our best to idolize ourselves.
Conclusion: The Marriage Proposal Summary
This blog discussed “The Marriage Proposal Summary”, a story by Anton Chekhov. This story discusses a quarrel that took place because of property between Natalya and Lomov.
FOR MORE, CLICK