The Proposal Anton Chekhov

 

'The Proposal'

Anton Chekhov

Anton Chekhov was born January 29, 1860, in the coastal town of Taganrog on the Black Sea in extreme southern Russia. He was the third of six children born to a gentle mother and cruel father. Like many of the characters he would later create, Chekhov had personal experience with money worries. Chekhov's family background is filled with financial struggles. His grandfather was a serf, a worker legally bound to a landowner and part of the lowest class in medieval Russia. Chekhov's father was a grocer who endured a lifetime of economic difficulties. By 1876 the Chekhov's had moved to Moscow because of the father's financial troubles. Sixteen-year-old Anton stayed behind in Taganrog to finish school.

Summary

About the Title

The title The Proposal refers to the marriage proposal by Ivan Vassilevitch Lomov to Natalya Stepanova. The action of the play revolves around this proposal.

A Nervous Visitor

The play takes place in Russia during the 1880s. All the action happens in the drawing room in the house of Stepan Stepanovitch Chubukov. Wearing dress clothes and white gloves, Ivan Vassilevitch Lumov enters and greets his friend Chubukov. Lomov seems nervous about something and Chubukov is puzzled by his friend's anxiety and formal attire. Eventually, Lomov says he wants to ask Chubukov's daughter, Natalya Stepanovna, to marry him. Chubukov is overjoyed, assures Lomov that Natalya will accept, and leaves to get her.

The Oxen Meadows

Soon Natalya enters and greets Lomov. After exchanging pleasantries, Lomov has difficulty coming to the point about why he wants to see her. Instead, he digresses, talking about their respective families and the land he owns. When he mentions that his Oxen Meadows borders her land, Natalya contradicts him, saying this land belongs to her family. Gradually, the dispute about which family owns Oxen Meadows develops from a polite disagreement to a heated argument. Lomov, who is a hypochondriac, begins to feel all types of pains throughout his body as the discussion takes this turn.

Chubukov enters and wonders what their shouting is about. When Natalya explains, Chubukov quickly takes his daughter's side. At first, Chubukov tries to remain calm and use logic, but he also loses his temper. Lomov threatens to sue Chubukov, who counters by saying the Lomovs are all crazy. Lomov calls Chubukov's relatives various derogatory names, and Chubukov and Natalya do the same about Lomov's relatives. Lomov leaves in a huff.

Then Chubukov tells Natalya that Lomov came to propose marriage to her. She is stunned and soon becomes hysterical about missing the chance to get married. She commands her father to bring Lomov back.

Guesser or Messer: the Better Dog

Chubukov fetches Lomov and brings him back, complaining about his various ailments. Natalya apologizes to Lomov, admits that Oxen Meadows belongs to him, and encourages him to propose. However, the two of them digress into a conversation about their prize dogs. The talk quickly devolves to an argument about which dog is better, Lomov's Guesser or Chubukov's Messer. This argument also becomes more and more heated, and soon Lomov begins to feel heart palpitations again. So once again Chubukov takes his daughter's side. As before, his calm logic develops into vitriolic name-calling. Lomov hurls as many insults as he receives. However, the argument becomes too much for him and he faints into an armchair. Chubukov and Natalya both think Lomov is dead and become hysterical.

Lomov murmurs something, and Chubukov asks him to hurry and get married. Still somewhat dazed, Lomov agrees to marry Natalya, who accepts and at first seems overjoyed. But the couple soon begin to argue again about Guesser and Messer. Chubukov ends the play on an equally exaggerated note, saying "And they lived happily ever after!"

Character Analysis

Lomov

Lomov is a hypochondriac who wants to get married for the sake of appearances. He doesn't seem to love Natalya but decides to marry her because she's the best woman available. He has difficulty coming to the point, which makes conversing with him difficult. Because of his tendency to digress, he becomes involved in silly arguments with Natalya and Chubukov about land ownership and dogs. What seems most important to him is maintaining a superior appearance, which is also true of the other two characters.

Natalya

Natalya is a strong-willed woman who is more effective than Lomov in speaking clearly and getting to the point. However, her will is focused on maintaining a superior appearance. As a result, she insists that Oxen Meadows belongs to her family and not to Lomov. She also argues that her dog is better than Lomov's dog. Yet, she feels the burden of being a potential if not actual spinster and, thus, desperately wants to marry Lomov. Despite this, her concern for being right about superficial matters takes precedence.

Chubukov

Chubukov seems happy about the potential marriage between Lomov and Natalya. However, he sees marriage in a mercenary way, referring to Lomov's proposal as a merchant buying goods. For him, the match is advantageous as a good business arrangement for both families. Whether Lomov and Natalya really love each other probably doesn't matter much. Despite his eagerness for the marriage to happen, Chubukov places greater value on maintaining a superior appearance. As a result, he gets embroiled in the inane arguments between Lomov and Natalya.

Context

Farce

A farce is a comedic dramatic work that uses broad satire and unlikely, exaggerated situations with stereotypical characters. Some scholars believe the typically crude characters and implausible plots used in farce render the form inferior to more sophisticated types of comedy. The term farce was first used in France during the 1400s to describe entertainments full of caricatures, buffoonery, and acrobatics. However, this type of theater has its roots in the plays of ancient Greece and Rome. Many of these ancient comedies used stock characters, including the clown and the glutton. Farce was often used in the 1800s, during Anton Chekhov's time, and is still popular today.

Chekhov's The Proposal is often considered to be a farce because of its use of exaggeration. For instance, Lomov's hypochondria—or anxiety about his health—is extreme. Also, the constant arguing among Lomov, Natalya, and Chubukov is unlikely, especially since a marriage proposal is the reason for Lomov's visit. However, Chekhov raises the level of his farce by using exaggeration to convey insightful criticisms about the landowning class and marriage. For example, the petty argument about the ownership of Oxen Meadows conveys the obsession of this class with owning land, even if it has little value, because it defines who they are.

The Proposal enjoyed considerable success both in the rural provinces and cities of Russia. Shortly after its 1889 premiere, Czar Alexander III (1845–94) himself praised a performance of this play at his summer palace near St. Petersburg, Russia. Chekhov, though, disliked the play, perhaps because of its use of exaggeration. He even called it a "wretched, boring, vulgar little skit." He also told a theater producer to "Roll cigarettes out of it for all I care." This sentiment dates from an age when many people not only smoked but hand-rolled their own cigarettes from shredded tobacco and small sheets of paper.

Social Class in Late 19th-Century Russia

During the late 1800s in Russia, society was largely divided into four classes: the upper class, the middle class, the working class, and the peasants. By far the largest class was the peasants, or landless famers and those whose patrons allotted them some land to plant for themselves. According to an 1897 census, peasants made up about 82 percent of the population. The working class (factory workers, soldiers, artisans) accounted for some 4 percent, and the middle class (merchants, bureaucrats, professionals) made up only 1.5 percent of the population. The upper class included royalty, nobility, wealthy landowners, and higher clergy and formed 12.5 percent of the population. The characters in The Proposal, Lomov, Natalya, and Chubukov, were wealthy landowners from that top class.

The main attributes for leading a privileged life in 19th-century Russia were noble titles and land ownership. However, not all landowners were members of the nobility. For instance, in The Proposal, neither Lomov nor the Chubukov's have noble titles, yet they are well-to-do landowners. Wealthy landowners were known to exert a strong conservative influence on Russian society. They worked hard to block any reforms that would give peasants more rights and more land. They saw the possibility of such reforms as a threat to their power. Nineteenth-century Russian nobleman Sergey Witte (1849–1915) voiced the opinion, "Many of the aristocracy are unbelievably avaricious, hypocrites, scoundrels, and good-for-nothings."

In The Proposal, Chekhov uses satire to skewer the wealthy landowners. Lomov, Natalya, and Chubukov are depicted as greedy, petty, and concerned about having a superior position even over others in their class, and all are ridiculous in this obsession.

Marriage in Late 19th-Century Russia

Marriage in Russia during the late 1800s followed a prescribed pattern. Within the social circles of the nobility and wealthy landowners, parents often arranged their children's marriages. In The Proposal, Lomov must come to Chubukov to ask for his daughter's hand in marriage. In addition, for the upper class, marriage was ideally confined to members of their own category. Moreover, marriage was expected to improve each family's financial situation. Chekhov depicts these conditions in The Proposal. Lomov and the Chubukov's both belong to the landed gentry. Furthermore, a marriage between Lomov and Natalya would increase the estates of both families, thereby providing a financial benefit. Chekhov satirizes this businesslike arrangement when Chubukov refers to Lomov's upcoming proposal as "a merchant com by to collect his goods."

A Russian wife's relationship to her husband is also laid out in the 1836 Code of Russian Laws. The code states a wife "must obey her husband, reside with him in love [and] respect  and offer him  affection as the ruler of the household." Chekhov satirizes this law through the relationship between Lomov and Natalya. She does not love or respect Lomov. In addition, she shows no indication that she will obey her husband-to-be. Instead, she is stubborn and argumentative with him—as he is with her. Rather than being pleasant and affectionate toward Lomov, she is insulting and harsh. Indeed, her behavior toward him mirrors his behavior toward her and calls into question the entire institution of marriage when based on such values.

Symbols

Lomov's Hypochondria

Lomov is a hypochondriac who constantly fears he is about to have a severe heart attack or stroke. As a result, when he gets upset, he refers to his foot falling asleep, his heart aching, and his eyebrows twitching. For Chekhov Lomov's hypochondria is a symbol not only of how self-centered the character is but also of his inner conflict. Lomov lacks the confidence to make decisions and thus unconsciously feels something must be "wrong" with him—in other words, he must be ill. Any minor—or imaginary—symptom convinces him he is at death's door, effectively distracting him from the necessity to make and act on a decision.

He is a wealthy landowner who is about to make a significant decision, namely proposing marriage. However, before he talks with Natalya, he obsesses about his twitching right eyebrow, his trembling lips, and a pull in his shoulder. Indeed, Lomov's hypochondria is so extreme that it makes him ineffective. At the end of the play—profoundly anxious about his aches and pains—Lomov faints and is unable to propose to Natalya. Chubukov has to do it for him.

The author could be seen as using this symbol to satirize the landowning class. Lomov's self-concern makes him ineffective, similar to how the selfishness of the landowners makes them unable to take significant action in society. They are too concerned with their own problems, too sick to be of any use to themselves, to others, or surely to their ailing country and society.

The Oxen Meadows

The Oxen Meadows is a small piece of land that lies between the Lomov estate and the Chubukov estate. Both families claim the meadows as their own. In fact, Lomov gets in a heated argument with Chubukov and Natalya about the land's ownership, even though it has little value. Chekhov uses the Oxen Meadows as a physical embodiment of the characters' greed and stubbornness. Lomov, Natalya, and Chubukov are so obsessed with owning land that they can't see the ownership of this tract as being insignificant. It is not by chance that Chekhov called this land the Oxen Meadows. This name calls to mind the popular phrase stubborn as an ox.

The argument over the meadows also shows how much the three characters are concerned with superficial appearances. Their desire to appear virtuous and right about something trivial and empty is more important than a proposal of marriage.

Guesser and Messer

Like the Oxen Meadows, the dogs Guesser and Messer symbolize character traits. The dogs represent the stubbornness of their owners about unimportant matters, such as which dog is better. However, this symbol emphasizes pettiness more than greed. Even though the Oxen Meadows does not have much value, it does have some financial worth. However, winning an argument about the better dog has no importance whatsoever. The hunting pastime is a luxury only wealthy landowners and the nobility can afford. The dogs, thus, support a recreational sport. In addition, the people winning this argument will not have any effect on the dogs themselves. It will not make them better at hunting.

In addition, through the use of the names Guesser and Messer, Chekhov hints that the dogs aren't really worth much. The name Guesser implies that this dog guesses a lot when hunting rather than really knowing what it is doing. On the other hand, the name Messer suggests that this dog often makes a mess and thus isn't very well trained. So the characters are deluded, each thinking its dog is better than it really is.

Chekhov thus uses Guesser and Messer to reveal the characters' petty concern about appearing superior to others and their delusion about themselves.

Themes

Landowning Class

A major theme in The Proposal is Chekhov's satire of the landowning class in 19th-century Russia. As mentioned in the Context section, the landowners were a small, privileged class who were notoriously conservative in clinging to old values that defined them. They knew their advantage in society was based mainly on owning land, as opposed to having a title of nobility. As a result, they opposed any reforms that would allow their peasants to own a piece of land. Chekhov makes fun of the landowners by depicting Lomov, Natalya, and Chubukov as obsessed about ownership of a worthless tract called Oxen Meadows. Their pride and greed are so extreme that they override a marriage proposal. Lomov calls Chubukov a land grabber, but, in truth, they all are.

Additionally, Chekhov depicts the three characters as being so stubborn that they can't admit being wrong. Natalya tells Lomov she was mistaken about owning Oxen Meadows, but she really doesn't believe it. She just says this to get Lomov to propose to her. Chekhov satirizes the characters' stubbornness over Oxen Meadows because landowners believed in their right to own huge amounts of land—and would never consider budging on this position.

Finally, Chekhov shows the characters as valuing superficial appearance over substance. They give the appearance of being solid citizens who support traditional values, including marriage. However, through his depiction of Lomov, Natalya, and Chubukov, Chekhov shows that for some landowners this appearance is false. What they really care about is owning land and appearing virtuous and right, while in reality they care little about Christian values. For example, instead of being kind to each other, they are mean and childish.

Romance and Marriage

Chekhov's theme of romance and marriage runs throughout each section of the comedy. The narrative satirizes marriage mainly through the use of situational irony. This type of irony involves a difference between what is expected to happen and what does happen. The audience expects Lomov's proposal to Natalya to be filled with romantic sentiments, loving caresses, and perhaps even tears of joy. However, what the audience gets is bickering between two petty people who each want to prove they are right above anything else. Romantic love has been thrown out the window.

Chubukov's attitude toward the prospective union of Natalya and Lomov also skewers the ideas of romance and marriage. This character is older than Lomov and has seen more of life. As a result, he believes, as a person grounded by his class, that most of life is a charade, in which people go through the motions while not really meaning what they say. Because of this, Chekhov constantly has Chubukov mouthing phrases such as "and so on and all that." This implies that Chubukov sees people performing rote behaviors that are expected in certain social situations. Thus, for Chubukov, a marriage proposal is a formality in which each participant expresses certain expected sentiments like love, loyalty, and so on. Whether they truly mean these sentiments is another matter.

Chubukov's attitude reaches a climax at the end of the play, when he orders a dazed Lomov to get married and sticks the suitor's hand in Natalya's hand. Then Chubukov says, "She's willing and all that and so on." Thus—with no romantic gestures—Lomov becomes engaged without really knowing what's happening. However, in a society in which appearance matters more than substance, this doesn't matter. The formalities have been observed and the charade has been acted out, much to the relief of Chubukov. The play's last line has Chubukov saying, "And they lived happily ever after!" This is the typical, expected ending of a fairy-tale romance. But the truth of this matter, as the bickering Lomov and Natalya show, is clearly going to be quite the opposite.

Lack of Communication

Chekhov uses three methods to covey the lack of communication theme. The first is Lomov's style of speech. He has a roundabout way of talking that prevents him from getting to the point. For example, instead of directly proposing to Natalya, he talks about their families. Also, he often stops his train of thought to mention something else. Many times, this tendency is caused by his hypochondria. In the middle of his argument with Natalya and Chubukov about Oxen Meadows he cries, "You're a snake and a ... Oh, my heart ... And it's an open secret that before the last elections you bribed ... my eyes are gone blurry."

Secondly, when Lomov digresses from the main point, he and Natalya each value the digression more than the central topic of conversation. For instance, with Oxen Meadows, Lomov and Natalya view the issue of who owns this plot of land as more pressing than the primary purpose of their talk. This tendency of valuing a superficial digression is even more pronounced with Guesser and Messer. During this scene, both Lomov and Natalya know that a decision is about to be made that will change their lives, namely getting married. Yet, they find more meaning in a frivolous argument about who has the better dog.

Finally, Lomov, Natalya, and Chubukov are more concerned about proving they are right than understanding their opponent's viewpoint. This attitude blocks communication because they end up barraging one another with biased statements and insults instead of being empathetic. For example, in the Guesser and Messer argument, Lomov resorts to calling Chubukov a snake and a rat. In retaliation Chubukov calls Lomov a brat and a fool. Such name calling is hardly conducive to open communication and is used by Chekhov for his satiric purposes of their nature.