The Proposal By Anton Chekhov

A Marriage Proposal by Anton Chekhov: Summary

Lomov pays a visit to his neighbor, Tschubukov. He is wearing a dress-suit. Tschubukov expresses a great pleasure. He welcomes him and gives him a warm handshake. Merely he is surprised to meet him in a formal dress, and thinks that perchance he is on his way to some appointment. Lomov tells him that he has no engagement except with him. He tries to explain the purpose of his visit, but he gets nervous and excited.

Anton Chekhov(1860-1904)

Tschubukov has a daughter named Natalia. She is twenty-five, but single. In fact, he has come with a proposal to ally Natalia. He is so nervous that he finds information technology very difficult to tell Tschubukov the purpose of his visit. He says that he has come to ask him for a favor, though he does not deserve information technology. Tschubukov thinks that he has come up to borrow coin, and asks him not to beat nearly the bush. After much hesitation and stammering, Lomov tells him that he has come to ask for the hand of his daughter, Natalia. Tschubukov naturally feels very happy and kisses him. He says that he will go to telephone call his daughter and assures Lomov that she will at once accept this proposal. When Lomov is left alone, he feels that he is cold and his whole body is trembling. He thinks that Natalia is an excellent housekeeper, not at all bad-looking, well-educated - what more he should ask. Moreover, if he does not marry now, he volition never become married. He has been already 30-five. He has a weak heart, and he suffers from palpitation. The worst of all is the way he sleeps. He hardly lies downwards and begins to doze when he gets a pull in his left side and something begins to hammer in his left shoulder and in his head. He walks well-nigh a little, lies down again and feels the same fashion again. This continues the whole dark. Only a well-regulated life can aid him in this respect. Spousal relationship lonely tin can bring this much-needed peace and regularity in his life.

Natalia comes and is surprised to run across Lomov, because her begetter has told her that at that place is a dealer who has come to buy something. She begs to be excused for wearing an frock and an old apparel. She asks if he would similar to accept something to eat. Then she offers him smoke, and talks about the atmospheric condition. She is also surprised to detect him in a formal dress, and tells him that he seems to be looking better. She thinks that perhaps he is on his way to a ball. Lomov gets excited. He is unable to express the purpose of his visit. He wants to exist cursory, only in his excitement he starts chirapsia about the bush. He speaks of the onetime relations of the Lomovs and the Tschubukovs. He tells her that his late aunt and his late uncle had a great regard for her father and her late female parent, and furthermore his holding adjoins hers; his Oxen meadows touch her birch woods.

Natalia is shocked to hear that the Oxen Meadows vest to Lomov. She claims that the meadows are hers, and not his. Poor Lomov feels all the more excited. He tries to explicate that in one case at that place was a dispute over the Oxen Meadows, but now everybody knows that they vest to him. His aunt'southward grandmother put the meadows, free from all costs, into the easily of the peasants of her father'due south gramps for a certain fourth dimension while they were laying bricks for his grandmother. These people used the meadows free of toll for about forty years and began to consider the land as theirs. Natalia, nevertheless, does not believe it. Lomov is prepared to show the papers, merely of no use. She tells him that they have endemic the property for nearly 3 hundred years; the meadows are not worth much, but she cannot stand injustice.

If he keeps explaining it for two days, she will not be convinced. She does non want to take his property, and she refuses to requite up what belongs to her. The word turns into a quarrel and the marriage proposal is forgotten. Natalia tells him that she volition immediately send her reapers to the meadows. Lomov promises to turn them out. They shout at each other.

In the class of their quarrel, Tschubukov enters. When he is arguing about the Oxen Meadows, he sides with his girl. Lomov again tries to explain, only Tschubukov does not listen. He tells Lomov that the latter cannot prove anything by yelling. He would rather give them to the peasants than let him merits them. Lomov becomes rude. Tschubukov begs him to address him respectfully for he is not used to have people accost him in that tone of a rude person. Lomov calls him a land-grabber, and tells him that he will testify in the court. Tschubukov gets furious, calls him an intriguer and accuses his whole family. In this way, they first to pull each other's family unit. Lomov says the unabridged race of the Lomov has always been honorable, and never has one been brought to trial for embezzlement equally Tschubukov'south uncle has been. Tschubukov tells Lomov that the latter's grandad was a drunkard and that his aunt had eloped with an architect. Lomov say that Tschubukov's mother was humpbacked. So they drag their ancestors in their foolish quarrel.

Now Lomov gets much excited. The palpitation of his heart becomes unbearable. His eyes are blurred. His foot goes numb. Information technology seems as though he were dying. He takes his hat, and staggers out of the room. Tschubukov warns him not to come into his house over again. The begetter and the girl expletive him and tell him all sorts of dirty names.

After Lomov has gone, Tschubukov says that the fool had the courage to come to him with a matrimony proposal. When Natalia hears that he had come to advise to her for marriage and that is why he was dressed in evening clothes, she begins to cry and falls into an armchair. She blames her father for non telling her that before. She goes into hysterics, and asks her father to bring him back immediately. The poor father feels embarrassed: they have insulted him and thrown him out of their house; and now he should call him back. How ridiculous! He feels like shooting himself. Natalia blames her father and calls him brutal. She thinks if it were not for him, Lomov would not have gone. Her behavior, indeed, is very funny. Tschubukov rushes out and calls him back.

Lomov returns; he is in a wretched state. His heart is chirapsia terribly; his side is pain him; his leg is lamed. Natalia feels pitiful for her mistake, and admits that the Oxen Meadows belong to him. She suggests that they should talk most something else. She wants to avoid every possibility of dispute, and wishes Lomov to make the proposal straight away. She asks him if he is going on hunting shortly. Lomov replies that he expects to brainstorm after the harvest. His domestic dog, Gauge, has gone lame: peradventure information technology is a dislocation, or maybe he has been bitten by some other dog.

Lomov is very proud of his dog; he has bought him for a hundred and 20 5 roubles and thinks it is very inexpensive. Natalia however, does not agree. Her dog, Leap, cost more than 80 five roubles, and he is in every way better than Guess. They are over again dragged into an argument over the superiority of each other's dogs. In his opinion Leap is over-curt; he has a short lower jaw, and therefore he cannot grab his prey. Natalia cannot stand up this. She thinks that her canis familiaris is pure-bred, whereas his dog is erstwhile, ugly and skinny and nobody tin figure out his pedigree. She does not like when a person does not say what he really thinks. In the course of hot discussion, Lomov again gets excited; he feels the palpitation of middle, and his eye is bursting.

The father again enters the room. Both plough to him for opinion. He says Guess certainly has his good points. He is from a skillful breed, has a practiced stride, strong haunches, so forth. Simply he has two faults he is old and he has a brusk lower jaw. Lomov tells Tschubukov that on a hunting expedition his dog, Judge, had run neck to neck with the Count's canis familiaris. But Leap was left backside. Tschubukov says that the Count struck his dog with a whip; that is why he was left behind. Lomov reminds him that his domestic dog was whipped because instead of running afterward the play tricks, he scrap the sheep. Tschubukov, however, does not hold. He requests Lomov to stop that statement. But that does not seem possible. Tschubukov gets angry. He tells Lomov to stay at home with his palpitation; he is not fit for hunting. They again corruption each other and call names. Lomov begins to meet stars; every part of his body is bursting. He falls into a chair and faints.

Seeing Lomov faint, Natalia thinks that he is dead. She starts weeping and crying, and requests her father to call in the doctor. The poor father feels miserable. He holds a glass of water to Lomov's lips, but the latter does non drink water. The father finds himself in a terrible situation. He is so mad with desperation that he wants to shoot himself. In the meantime, Lomov comes to senses. He sees mist before his eyes. Tschubukov does not want to accept any more gamble by leaving them solitary. He at one time speaks out that his girl is willing to marry. He thrusts Lomov'southward hand into his daughter's paw and gives them his blessings. He just wants to be left in peace. Lomov is all the same dazed. He is non able to empathise what is going on. At last they kiss each other and are reconciled. Merely they again start quarrelling over their dogs. Natalia says, "Guess is worse than Bound. Lomov says, "Ameliorate". Amongst their shouting, the poor old father shouts, "Champagne, Champagne".