The Proposal

characters and characterization:

a.  Stepan Stepanovich Chubukov: 70 years old, a landowner.
b. Natalya Stepanovna: Chubukov’s daughter, 25 years old.
c. Ivan Vassilevitch Lomov: 35 years old, a neighbour of Chubukov, a large and hearty, but very suspicious landowner.

2.    Plot

            Ivan Vassileyitch Lomov, a long-time neighbor of Stepan Stepanovich Chubukov, has come to propose marriage to Chubukov's 25-years-old daughter, Natalia. After he has asked and received joyful permission to marry Natalia, she is invited into the room, and he tries to convey the proposal to Natalia. Lomov is a hypochondriac, and while he trying to make clear his reasons for being there, he gets into an argument with Natalia about The Oxen Meadows, a disputed piece of land between their respective properties, which results in him having "palpitations" and numbness in his leg. After her father notices they are arguing, he joins in, and then sends Ivan out of the house. While Stepan rants about Lomov, he expresses his shock that "this fool dares to make you (Natalia) a proposal of marriage!" This news she immediately starts into hysterics, begging for her father to bring him to back. He does, and Natalia and Ivan get into a second big argument, this time about the superiority of their respective hunting dogs, Otkatai and Ugadi. Ivan collapses from his exhaustion over arguing, and father and daughter fear he's died. However, after a few minutes he regains consciousness, and Chubukov all but forces him and his daughter to accept the proposal with a kiss. Immediately following the kiss, the couple gets into another argument.

3.    Setting

a.    Setting of place: In Chubukov’s house.

b.    Setting of time: In the past time

4.    Theme

            The farce explores the process of getting married and could be read as a satire on the upper middle class and courtship.
The play points out the struggle to balance the economic necessities of marriage and what the characters themselves actually want. It shows the characters desperation for marriage as comical.
In Chekhov's Russia, marriage was a mean of economic stability for most people. They married to gain wealth and possessions or to satisfy social pressure. The satire is conveyed the successfully by emphasizing the couple's foolish arguments over small things. The main arguments in the play revolve around The Oxen Meadows and two dogs called Ugadi and Otkatai.

5.    The Conclusion

In Chekhov's Russia, marriage was a means of economic stability for most people. They married to gain wealth and possessions. In this play, the concept of marriage is being satirized to show the real purpose of marriage - materialistic gain rather than true love.
Thus, first, it assumes that there is such a thing as true love and that it is a conception based on the idea that two people are literally meant for each other. Second, it states that these two people, though meant for each other, may have to endure a good deal before they can actually achieve the love they feel.

6. Kinds of text

This is classified as a man vs. society drama because in the proposal drama there are some conflicts among its characters. Moreover in this drama there is no natural event.