The Proposal

As “The Proposal” opens, Chekhov’s audience expects a conventionally heartfelt, romantic marriage proposal between landowner Iván Lómov and his neighbor Natásha Chubukóv, but the characters disrupt expectations. Instead of being a respectable suitor, Lómov argues with Natásha, hysterically collapses over insults, and ultimately fails to propose at all. But even before he speaks to Natásha, Lómov’s asides inspire doubt: he gives himself a pep talk, reasoning that if you “wait for the ideal woman…

When Lómov starts proposing to Natásha, one of his main arguments is that he and the Chubukóvs own neighboring properties. Even before he asks Natásha to marry him, then, it’s clear what’s important to Lómov as a member of the 19th-century Russian landowning class: consolidating his landholdings and, thus, his position in society (since he doesn’t have a noble title to fall back on). In turn, Natásha and her father angrily challenge Lómov’s claim…