CH-10 THE PROPOSAL (PLAY)

CHARACTER SKETCH
Natalaya was a young unmarried girl of twenty-five years of age. She lived in the neighbourhood
of Lomov, a young unmarried man. She was an excellent housekeeper and was not bad looking.
She was yearning for love. Her father called her a lovesick cat. The ‘love-sick’ cat, Natalya is
quarrelsome. She does not even know Lomov’s reason for arrival to her house in the very
beginning of the play, rather engages herself in a quarrel with Lomov over the ownership of Oxen
Meadows and then, a quarrel of Guess versus Squeezer. She said that those meadows were not of
much worth to her, but she could not stand unfairness. She is a lonely and sharp-minded woman
who is not willing to give one inch of their land to others. She was desperate to get married. When
she gets to know about Lomov’s proposal of marriage, she desperately wants him back. Even
though she is broached as an argumentative and quarrelsome woman, she at once accepts Lomov’s
proposal to spend her remaining life with him.
Chubukov is portrayed as a practical man who is interested in the material aspects of life. He is
always trying to increase his wealth and social status, and he sees his daughter’s marriage to
achieve this goal. He is eager to have Lomov as his son-in-law because he believes that Lomov’s
wealth and status will benefit his own family.
Chubukov is also shown as being rather manipulative, using his daughter as a pawn to achieve his
own ends. He calls Natalya, a lovesick cat, without even consulting about the proposal once.
He is vengeful and disrespecting. When he finds Lomov commenting of he is being beaten by his
wife, he calls Lomov’s family full of lunatics. He even speaks ill about Lomov’s aunt. He is
ungrateful too. Though Lomov’s family, supported his family in a time of need, he never
acknowledged their kindness.
In summary, Chubukov is a practical, materialistic, and manipulative character who is primarily
concerned with increasing his own wealth and social status. He sees his daughter’s marriage to
achieve this goal and is willing to use any means necessary to achieve it.
Lomov was a young, unmarried man of thirty-five. He was anxious to get married as he had
already reached a critical age. So, he decided to propose to a girl in the neighbourhood. Lomov
thought that she was a good housekeeper and was not bad looking. Further she was unmarried.
Lomov was a funny character. He was suffering from palpitation. He behaved as if he were
eccentric. He was so eager to marry Natalya. But when he came to propose to her, he started
quarrelling over trifles. He quarreled on issues like Oxen Meadows and pet dogs named Squeezer
and Guess. This clearly shows, his quarrelsome nature. He even abused Natalya and her father
Chubukov while quarreling. However, he lacks self – confidence and keeps beating about the bush
instead of starting matters clearly. He is a comical character who has not learnt the wise lesson of
proper discrimination between the relative importance of different situations. Instead of
concentrating on the topic of proposing romantically, he keeps on foolishly asserting his claim
over ‘oxen meadows’. He is childish, unintelligent, and foolish who stubbornly keeps on
arguing with the lady, who seems to be the only person he could marry. He does not even
hesitate to hurl abuses at the Chubukov family when he gets into heated arguments over
Oxen Meadows and the dogs. His stubbornness and immaturity almost ruin the sole
prospect of marriage.