"A Marriage Proposal" is a one-act play by Russian writer Anton Chekhov. It was first published in 1888 and has become one of Chekhov's most popular works. The play revolves around the three characters, Ivan Vassilevitch Lomov, Stepan Stepanovitch Chubukov, and Natalya Stepanovna, who are neighbors in a rural Russian community. Lomov, a nervous and hypochondriacal young man, visits Chubukov to ask for his daughter Natalya's hand in marriage. Chubukov is initially thrilled about the proposal, as he has long hoped for a union between the two families. However, as Lomov and Natalya begin discussing the details of the proposed marriage, they become embroiled in a petty argument over a disputed piece of land that lies between their properties. The argument quickly becomes heated, with both Lomov and Natalya becoming increasingly agitated and prone to hyperventilating. As the argument reaches a fever pitch, Lomov suddenly collapses in a fit of apoplexy, and Natalya and Chubukov believe that he has died. However, he soon recovers, and the play ends with the two families agreeing to the marriage, albeit with some lingering resentment over the land dispute. Overall, "A Marriage Proposal" is a darkly comedic exploration of human pettiness and the absurdity of everyday life. The play highlights Chekhov's skill at creating nuanced and memorable characters and his ability to capture the essence of the human experience in all its messy, contradictory glory.

1. A Marriage Proposal
One-act by Anton Chekhov
A Marriage Proposal sometimes translated as simply
The Proposal, is a one-act farce by Anton Chekhov,
written in 1888–1889 and first performed in 1890. It is
a fast-paced play of dialogue-based action and
situational humour. A young man Lomov comes to
propose his neighbour Natalya but they both keep on
fighting on various topics. Through this play, Chekhov
exposes the fakeness of the world and tries to show
how superficial people are of these days. Rather than
emotional bonding in relationships, people simply
connect with wealth and money.
In this story, Chobukov and Lomov know each other
closely. The Proposal is a rattling good story about a
young man, Ivan Lomov, who presents a marriage
Proposal to his neighbour, Stepan Chubukov, for his
unmarried daughter, Natalya. The story takes a nose-
dive for the worse as the three of them enter into an
argument about who gets to keep the property, Oxen
Meadows, and the dogs.