The Proposal | CBSE Class 10 English Notes

This note covers Anton Chekhov's one-act play "The Proposal": a part-by-part summary, the characters, the themes, key quotations and answers to the textbook questions.

Who wrote the play and what is it about?

"The Proposal" (originally titled "A Marriage Proposal") is a one-act play, a farce, by the Russian short story writer and dramatist Anton Chekhov. It was written in 1888-89. A farce is a comedy that uses exaggerated, improbable situations to make an audience laugh.

The play is about the tendency of wealthy families to seek ties with other wealthy families, to increase their estates by encouraging marriages that make good economic sense.

Ivan Lomov, a long-time wealthy neighbour of Stepan Chubukov and also wealthy, comes to seek the hand of Chubukov's twenty-five-year-old daughter, Natalya. All three are quarrelsome people, and they quarrel over petty issues.

The proposal is in danger of being forgotten amidst all this quarrelling. But economic good sense ensures that the proposal is made, after all, although the quarrelling perhaps continues.

The whole action takes place in a single drawing-room in Chubukov's house, which is typical of a farce that keeps its setting tight and its pace fast.

What happens in the play, part by part?

The action is continuous, but it falls naturally into four movements built around three running quarrels: the arrival and the proposal itself, the quarrel over Oxen Meadows, the quarrel over the two dogs, and the final collapse into a hasty engagement.

Lomov's arrival and his request to Chubukov

Lomov enters Chubukov's drawing-room wearing a dress-jacket and white gloves, dressed far more formally than a casual neighbourly visit requires. Chubukov greets him with exaggerated warmth, calling him "my darling", "my angel" and "my treasure".

Lomov, nervous and hesitant, finally blurts out that he has come to ask for the hand of Chubukov's daughter, Natalya Stepanovna, in marriage.

Chubukov is overjoyed, embraces and kisses him, and goes to fetch Natalya, assuring Lomov that "as if she won't consent! She's in love; egad, she's like a lovesick cat."

Lomov's nervous soliloquy

Left alone, Lomov delivers an anxious speech revealing his real motives for marrying: he is already thirty-five, "a critical age", and wants "a quiet and regular life".

He lists his ailments at length: palpitations, trembling lips, a twitching eyebrow, and the strange pulling sensation in his side that disturbs his sleep.

He decides he must act quickly, without allowing himself time to hesitate, or he will never marry at all.

The quarrel over Oxen Meadows

Natalya enters in her apron, having been shelling peas, and chats about hay and the weather. Lomov tries repeatedly to begin his proposal but keeps drifting into a long account of his family's history with the Chubukovs.

When he mentions that his Oxen Meadows border her birchwoods, Natalya insists the Meadows belong to her family, not his. The argument escalates rapidly: both repeat "Mine!" and "Ours!" with rising fury, each citing grandparents and peasants and old documents.

Chubukov enters, sides instantly with his daughter, and the quarrel turns into a storm of insults: "grabber", "intriguer", "pettifogger", and accusations about drunken grandfathers and hump-backed mothers.

Clutching his heart and feeling his foot go numb, Lomov staggers out, and Chubukov shouts after him never to return.

Natalya learns of the proposal and the dog quarrel

Once Lomov has gone, Chubukov lets slip that Lomov had actually come to propose. Natalya is horrified at having driven him away and falls into hysterics, demanding that her father fetch him back immediately.

Chubukov, in a panic, rushes out and brings Lomov back. The two apologise hastily and agree the Meadows are his after all, but within minutes they are quarrelling again, this time over whose hunting dog is better: Lomov's Guess or Chubukov's Squeezer.

Chubukov re-enters and the argument grows so heated, with each side hurling insults ("Boy! Pup!", "Old rat! Jesuit!"), that Lomov collapses into an armchair, apparently lifeless, clutching his chest.

The sudden engagement

Natalya and Chubukov, believing Lomov dead, panic and cry for a doctor. When Lomov stirs and revives, Chubukov, desperate to be rid of the whole business, hastily joins Lomov's hand to his daughter's and declares "She's willing! Well? Kiss and be damned to you!" Natalya and Lomov kiss, bewildered but apparently content, and are declared engaged.

Almost immediately, however, Natalya reopens the argument about which dog is better, and the play ends with Chubukov shouting "Champagne! Champagne!" to drown out the renewed quarrel as the curtain falls.

Who are the characters?

Who is Stepan Stepanovitch Chubukov?

Chubukov is a landowner and Natalya's father. He is effusive and hypocritical, showering Lomov with affectionate terms like "my precious" and "my beauty" while privately suspecting, in an aside, that Lomov has "come to borrow money" and thinking "Shan't give him any!" He is quick to quarrel, hurling insults about Lomov's family, yet just as quick to panic when he realises the proposal has been jeopardised, rushing to fetch Lomov back and finally forcing the engagement through himself so that he can be "left in peace".

Who is Natalya Stepanovna?

Natalya is Chubukov's twenty-five-year-old daughter, introduced wearing an apron because she has been "shelling peas for drying".

She is argumentative and stubborn, refusing to give way on the Meadows or on whose dog is superior, even repeating "ours, ours, ours" to drown out contradiction.

Yet when she learns Lomov came to propose, she instantly falls into hysterics and desperately wants him back, showing that her quarrelsomeness does not prevent her from wanting the marriage.

Who is Ivan Vassilevitch Lomov?

Lomov is described in the cast list as "a large and hearty, but very suspicious, landowner" and a long-time neighbour of Chubukov.

He arrives formally dressed to propose but is anxious, hypochondriac and easily provoked, constantly referring to his palpitations, numb foot and twitching eyebrow.

His soliloquy reveals he is marrying for practical reasons, Natalya being "an excellent housekeeper, not bad-looking, well-educated", rather than for romantic love, and he is unable to stop himself quarrelling even in the middle of his own proposal.

What are the play's major themes?

Marriage as an economic and social arrangement

The play's own introduction states it is about "the tendency of wealthy families to seek ties with other wealthy families, to increase their estates by encouraging marriages that make good economic sense." Lomov's private reasoning about Natalya, listing her housekeeping skills and looks rather than love, shows marriage treated as a practical transaction between neighbouring estates rather than a romantic choice.

The absurdity and pettiness of human quarrelling

All three characters quarrel over trivial matters: a strip of meadow worth "perhaps 300 roubles", and whose dog is better. Chekhov exaggerates these disputes into farcical heights of insult and physical collapse, showing how easily reasonable people descend into irrational, repetitive argument ("Mine!"/"Ours!") over matters that barely matter.

Hypocrisy in social behaviour

Chubukov's warm greetings and endearments towards Lomov mask a cold, suspicious aside about money, and he insults Lomov's family viciously moments after embracing him with tears of joy. This gap between polite speech and real feeling runs through the play and is part of its comic method.

Hypochondria and self-absorption

Lomov is preoccupied with his own symptoms throughout: his heart, his trembling lips, his twitching eyebrow and his numb foot recur constantly, even interrupting his own proposal and his own quarrels. This exaggerated self-focus adds to the comedy and suggests characters too absorbed in themselves to manage their relationships calmly.

Comic resolution overriding conflict

Despite three separate quarrels, each threatening to end the match for good, the proposal is eventually completed, forced through by Chubukov almost against the young couple's will.

Even then, the quarrel over the dogs resumes within seconds, suggesting that the underlying economic motive for the marriage survives, while the habit of quarrelling continues unresolved.

What literary devices does Chekhov use?

As the text is a play rather than a poem, its devices are dramatic and comic rather than poetic in the verse sense.

Farce and exaggeration

Chekhov builds comedy through wild exaggeration: Lomov appears to die from excitement over a dog and is revived within moments to be married. The repeated, almost mechanical exchanges of "Mine!"/"Ours!" and "Better!"/"Worse!" use repetition as a comic device to show the escalating absurdity of each dispute.

Dramatic irony

The audience knows from the start, via the play's introduction and Chubukov's early joy, that Lomov has come to propose, while Natalya does not know this until after she has driven him away in fury. This creates dramatic irony in her sudden hysterical reversal once she learns the truth.

Stage directions as comic punctuation

Chekhov's stage directions (such as "[Clutches at his heart]", "[aside]", "[Hysterics.]") constantly undercut the dialogue, showing physical collapse or private thought beside grand, formal speech. This heightens the comic contrast between what is said and what is really happening.

Rapid, interrupted dialogue

Sentences are frequently left unfinished or talked over, as when Lomov's careful, roundabout explanations are repeatedly cut off by Natalya's or Chubukov's impatience. This clipped, overlapping speech rhythm mimics real quarrelling and drives the play's fast comic pace.

Hyperbole in insults and symptoms

Both the insults ("grabber", "pettifogger", "intriguer") and Lomov's catalogue of ailments (palpitations, a numb foot, a twitching eyebrow) are pushed to extremes that no real neighbourly quarrel would reach. This hyperbole is Chekhov's main comic tool across the whole farce.

What are the key quotations?

"If I give myself time to think, to hesitate... I'll never get married." — Lomov, in his soliloquy before proposing

"Oxen Meadows are mine! You understand? Mine!" — Lomov, quarrelling with Natalya over the land

"What a rascal! What trust can one have in one's neighbours after that!" — Natalya, before she learns of the proposal

"Hurry up and get married and... to the devil with you! She's willing!" — Chubukov, forcing the engagement after Lomov revives

"But, still you will admit now that Guess is worse than Squeezer." — Natalya, reopening the dog quarrel after the engagement

Each quotation shows one stage of the farce: Lomov's practical reasoning, the land quarrel, Natalya's hysterics, the forced engagement and the renewed quarrel. Together they trace the play's comic shape, from calm formality through escalating absurdity to an anticlimactic, unfinished ending. The exaggerated language in each line, "never get married", "to the devil with you", "worse than Squeezer", is typical of Chekhov's comic style, where small disagreements are spoken of in extreme, dramatic terms. Reading these five lines in order gives a compressed version of the whole plot: a reluctant proposal — a furious dispute — a desperate reversal — a forced resolution and an unresolved habit of quarrelling that survives even the engagement itself.

What are the answers to the textbook questions?

What does Chubukov at first suspect that Lomov has come for? Is he sincere when he says "I've always loved you, my angel, as if you were my own son"?

Chubukov at first suspects, in an aside, that Lomov "has come to borrow money" and privately resolves "Shan't give him any!" This shows he is initially guarded and suspicious rather than warmly welcoming.

His later declaration of loving Lomov "as if you were my own son" comes only once he learns Lomov wants to marry Natalya, and he is shown shedding a tear and embracing him excessively.

Given how quickly, in the very next scene, Chubukov turns to insulting Lomov's family savagely over the Meadows, his earlier affection appears exaggerated and situational rather than deeply sincere, more a habit of flattering speech than a genuine, stable feeling.

Chubukov says Natalya is "like a lovesick cat" who will certainly consent. Would you agree?

The play supports this to an extent. Natalya does not know a proposal is coming, so her bad temper with Lomov over the Meadows is unrelated to any reluctance to marry him.

The moment she learns he had come to propose, she collapses into hysterics and desperately insists her father "fetch him back", showing she is indeed eager for the match, matching Chubukov's claim, even though nothing in her behaviour before that point shows obvious lovesickness.

Find the words and insults the characters hurl at each other, and five adjectives for each character.

The characters use terms such as "grabber", "pettifogger", "intriguer", "Boy! Pup!", "Old rat! Jesuit!", "Milksop! Fool!" and accusations about drunken or dishonest relatives.

Suitable adjectives drawn from the play's own portrayal: Lomov can be called nervous, hypochondriac, excitable, pedantic and quarrelsome; Natalya can be called stubborn, argumentative, quick-tempered, affectionate (once she learns of the proposal) and dramatic;

Chubukov can be called hypocritical, affectionate in speech, hot-tempered, impatient and manipulative (in forcing the final engagement).

Are there Russian-sounding expressions rather than English ones in the play?

Yes. Phrases such as Chubukov calling grown Lomov "my darling", "my angel", "my treasure" and "my precious" throughout sound unusual for an English-language exchange between two adult landowners, reflecting the play's translation from the Russian original.

Why does the play end the way it does?

The play ends with the engagement forced through almost accidentally. Lomov's apparent collapse, believed by Natalya and Chubukov to be death, finally breaks the stalemate: Chubukov, exhausted and desperate to end the crisis, puts Lomov's hand into his daughter's and declares the match settled before Lomov has even fully understood what has happened.

This ending is deliberately anticlimactic for a farce: love is never actually declared, and the proposal itself is barely spoken, happening instead almost as a by-product of panic.

Immediately afterwards, Natalya resumes the old quarrel about the dogs, and Chubukov drowns it out by calling for champagne.

This shows that the underlying habit of quarrelling between the families has not been resolved by the marriage; it will likely continue well beyond the play's final curtain, as the introduction itself hints when it says "the quarrelling perhaps continues."

How does Chekhov use comic structure to build the farce?

Chekhov structures the play around three separate quarrels layered one after another: the land dispute over Oxen Meadows, the argument over the two dogs, and the implicit, nearly-forgotten business of the marriage proposal itself.

Each quarrel follows a similar comic pattern: calm conversation, a trivial disagreement, rapid escalation into shouted repetition, and physical symptoms (Lomov's palpitations, numb foot, Chubukov's own exclamations of being "sick").

This repeated pattern, used three times with variations, is itself a comic device: audiences recognise that any topic, however small, will lead these characters back into a shouting match.

The farcical climax, Lomov's apparent death and sudden revival into marriage, resolves the external plot (the proposal is made) while leaving the characters' quarrelsome nature completely unchanged, which is the central comic point of the play.

Glossary

• Farce — a comic dramatic work using buffoonery and improbable situations
• Palpitations — unusually rapid or noticeable beating of the heart
• Pedigree — the recorded ancestry of a purebred animal
• Overshot — having the upper jaw longer than the lower, said of a dog
• Thoroughbred — an animal of pure breed, with a known and recorded ancestry
• Dessiatin — an old Russian unit of land area
• Intriguer — a person who schemes or plots secretly
• Pettifogger — a person who argues over unimportant details, often associated with petty legal disputes
• Embezzlement — the dishonest use of money or property entrusted to one's care
• Whipper-in — a huntsman's assistant who manages the hounds during a hunt
• Landgrabber — a person who seizes land unfairly, often from others
• Neglige — a casual or informal state of dress, not fully dressed up
• Hysterics — an uncontrollable outburst of extreme emotion, here shown through wailing

Common errors and misconceptions

• Misconception: Lomov and Natalya marry because they are in love. Correct: Lomov's own soliloquy shows he is marrying for practical reasons, listing Natalya's housekeeping skills and looks rather than expressing love for her.
• Misconception: The land dispute over Oxen Meadows is settled by documents or facts. Correct: It is never actually settled; Natalya and Lomov simply drop the argument once Chubukov panics about the broken engagement, agreeing the Meadows "really are yours" without any proof being examined.
• Misconception: Chubukov is a calm, reasonable father throughout. Correct: He is shown shouting insults, panicking, clutching his head, and eventually forcing the marriage through in desperation rather than acting with calm reason.
• Misconception: Natalya does not want to marry Lomov. Correct: Once she learns he had come to propose, she falls into hysterics and desperately insists he be brought back, showing she is eager for the marriage.
• Misconception: The play ends with the quarrelling resolved. Correct: Moments after the engagement, Natalya and Lomov resume arguing over whose dog is better, and Chubukov has to shout for champagne to drown it out.
• Misconception: Lomov proposes to Natalya directly and clearly. Correct: He keeps drifting into unrelated stories about his family history and the Meadows, and never actually completes a clear proposal to her face; the marriage is finally arranged by Chubukov himself.

Exam-style questions with model answers

Q1. Name the three characters in "The Proposal" and state their relationship to each other. [2 marks]

1. The three characters are Stepan Stepanovitch Chubukov, a landowner; his daughter Natalya Stepanovna, aged twenty-five; and Ivan Vassilevitch Lomov, a neighbouring landowner who comes to propose to Natalya.

Q2. What ailments does Lomov complain of during the play? [2 marks]

1. Lomov repeatedly complains of palpitations of the heart, trembling lips, a twitching right eyebrow, and a numb or "gone to sleep" foot, along with a pulling sensation in his side that disturbs his sleep.

Q3. Describe the quarrel over Oxen Meadows and how it ends. [4 marks]

1. Lomov mentions that his Oxen Meadows border Natalya's birchwoods, prompting Natalya to insist the Meadows are hers, not his.
2. Both repeat "Mine!" and "Ours!" with increasing anger, each citing family history and old peasant use of the land.
3. Chubukov enters, sides with Natalya, and the argument turns into an exchange of insults about each other's families, including accusations of drunkenness and dishonesty.
4. Lomov storms out in distress, and the dispute is never truly resolved; later, once the engagement is at risk, both sides simply agree "they really are yours" without examining any proof.

Q4. Why does Lomov decide he must marry quickly, without waiting for love or an ideal partner? [4 marks]

1. In his soliloquy, Lomov reasons that he is already thirty-five, which he calls "a critical age".
2. He feels he ought to lead "a quiet and regular life" because of his poor health.
3. He lists numerous physical symptoms, including palpitations, trembling and disturbed sleep, suggesting he feels time and health are against him.
4. He concludes that if he waits to think, hesitate, or look for real love or an ideal, he will never marry at all, so he resolves to act immediately.

Q5. How does the play present marriage as an economic arrangement between wealthy families? [6 marks]

1. The play's introduction states it concerns "the tendency of wealthy families to seek ties with other wealthy families, to increase their estates by encouraging marriages that make good economic sense."
2. Lomov is described as a wealthy, long-time neighbour of the equally wealthy Chubukov, making the match one between two established landowning families.
3. In his soliloquy, Lomov lists Natalya's qualities in practical terms, "an excellent housekeeper, not bad-looking, well-educated", rather than speaking of love or passion.
4. The dispute over Oxen Meadows shows how closely bound up with land and property the relationship between the two families already is.
5. Chubukov's eagerness for the match, embracing Lomov with joy the moment he hears the word "propose", suggests he too sees clear benefit in the alliance.
6. The engagement is finally settled not through romance but through Chubukov's forceful intervention, confirming that practical considerations, not courtship, drive the marriage to completion.

Q6. How does Chekhov use repetition and exaggeration to create comedy in the play? [6 marks]

1. Chekhov repeats short, clipped exchanges such as "Mine!"/"Ours!" and "Better!"/"Worse!" to show arguments escalating to an absurd, almost mechanical degree.
2. Lomov's catalogue of ailments, his heart, eyebrow, foot and side, is repeated and exaggerated throughout the play, culminating in his apparent collapse and seeming death.
3. Stage directions such as "[Clutches at his heart]" and "[Hysterics.]" punctuate the dialogue with exaggerated physical reactions that undercut the formal language being used.
4. The pattern of quarrel, collapse and sudden reconciliation is repeated across three separate disputes, over the Meadows, the dogs, and implicitly the proposal itself, which builds a comic rhythm the audience comes to expect.
5. The ending itself is exaggerated: an engagement is settled in a moment of panic rather than through any romantic declaration, and the final quarrel over the dogs resumes within seconds, undercutting any sense of a neat, happy resolution.
6. Even the insults are pushed to extremes ("grabber", "pettifogger", "Boy! Pup!", "Old rat! Jesuit!") for a quarrel between long-time neighbours, adding a further layer of comic overstatement.

Q7. What does Natalya's reaction on learning of the proposal reveal about her character? [3 marks]

1. She immediately falls into hysterics and desperately begs her father to "fetch him back", showing she is far more eager for the marriage than her earlier quarrelling suggested.
2. Her sudden switch from fury at Lomov to desperation to recover him shows her emotional volatility, consistent with her stubbornness in the land and dog disputes.
3. This reaction partly supports Chubukov's earlier claim that she is "like a lovesick cat" who will certainly consent to the proposal.

Q8. Give two examples of hypocrisy shown by Chubukov in the play. [2 marks]

1. Chubukov calls Lomov "my darling" and "my precious" while privately suspecting, in an aside, that Lomov has come to borrow money and resolving not to lend him any.
2. He embraces and kisses Lomov with tears of joy on hearing of the proposal, yet moments later insults Lomov's family harshly during the Meadows quarrel.

Key takeaways

• "The Proposal" is a one-act farce by Anton Chekhov, written in 1888-89, originally titled "A Marriage Proposal".
• The play features three characters: landowner Chubukov, his daughter Natalya, and neighbouring landowner Lomov.
• Lomov visits to propose marriage to Natalya but gets repeatedly sidetracked into quarrels before the proposal is completed.
• The first major quarrel concerns ownership of a piece of land called Oxen Meadows.
• The second major quarrel concerns whose hunting dog, Guess or Squeezer, is better.
• Lomov's constant complaints about palpitations and physical symptoms add to the play's comic effect.
• The engagement is finally forced through by Chubukov after Lomov appears to collapse and nearly die.
• The play ends with the dog quarrel resuming immediately, showing the characters' quarrelsome nature remains unchanged.
• The play satirises how wealthy families treat marriage as an economic arrangement rather than a romantic choice.

Test yourself

What is the original Russian title of the play, and what kind of play is it?

It was originally titled "A Marriage Proposal" and is described as a one-act play, a farce, written by Anton Chekhov.

How old is Natalya Stepanovna, and how is she described in the character list?

Natalya Stepanovna is twenty-five years old, described simply as Chubukov's daughter in the play's list of characters.

What piece of land do Lomov and Natalya argue over, and roughly what is it worth?

They argue over Oxen Meadows, worth perhaps 300 roubles, which lie between Natalya's birchwoods and the Burnt Marsh.

What are the names of the two dogs compared in the play, and who owns each?

Lomov's dog is called Guess, bought for 125 roubles, and Chubukov's dog is called Squeezer, bought for 85 roubles.

What physical symptoms does Lomov mention most often during his quarrels?

He most often mentions palpitations of his heart, a twitching eyebrow, a numb or sleeping foot, and a pulling sensation in his side.

How does Chubukov finally bring about the engagement between Lomov and Natalya?

Believing Lomov has died from his collapse, Chubukov panics, then revives him and forcibly puts Lomov's hand into Natalya's, declaring her willing.

What happens immediately after the engagement is announced at the end of the play?

Natalya reopens the argument about whose dog is better, and Chubukov shouts "Champagne!" repeatedly to drown out the renewed quarrel.

What does Chubukov privately suspect when Lomov first arrives dressed formally?

In an aside, Chubukov suspects Lomov has come to borrow money and privately resolves that he "shan't give him any".