Comment on the appropriateness of the title of ‘The Proposal’

Q: Comment on the appropriateness of the title of ‘The Proposal’. OR, Discuss the marriage proposal in the one – act play ‘The Proposal’.

A:       Anton Chekhov’s one – act play ‘The Proposal’ is a play where farce is used to laugh at the society that believed marriage would bring about economic stability. All the characters are influenced by the marriage proposal.

          Lomov, aged about 35, is desperate for a wife. Natalya is unable to find her man and Chubukov wants Natalya, his daughter, to be married soon. Hearing lomov’s proposal Chubukov is overwhelmed. But before direct proposal to Natalya, Lomov allows himself to be side – tracked into arguments with Natalya over land and their hunting dogs. Later, after listening about Lomov’s proposal Natalya demands her father to get Lomov back and eventually the proposal was successfully complemented.

          Marriage during Chekhov’s time is only a convenient business deal more than anything else. It really does not matter if the two individuals involved ars of different temperaments or held different opinions or loved each other. Lomov comes to ask for Natalya’s hand in marriage but later he admits that he is not in love with her but he wants to marry her for economic and social stability. Chubukov is the business like father who considers his daughter a liability and wants her daughter’s maximum gain through marriage.

          Hence, marriage proposal is the central theme of the drama and the title is appropriate.