Anton Chekhov was a Russian physician, dramatist, and author who lived from 1860 to 1904. This document provides an analysis of his short story "The Proposal". It summarizes the characters - Lomov wants to marry Natalia for appearances rather than love, while Natalia is strong-willed. It describes the rising action where Lomov and Natalia argue over property, and the climax where Chubukov pressures Lomov to propose. The conflicts are man vs man between Lomov and Natalia, and man vs society regarding marriage for economic stability rather than love. The theme is two people expressing love through fighting, and the moral is the importance of forgiveness. The overall tone is humorous.

1. Anton Chekhov – Life
(The Author)
NAME :- Anton Pavlovich
Chekhov
BORN :- 29th January
1860
Nationality :- Russian
Career :- Physician,
Dramatist & Author
DIED :- 15th July 1904

2. THE CHARACTERS
Stepan Tschubukov :- A country Farmer
Natalia Stepanova :- Tschubukov’s
Daughter
Ivan Lomov :- Tschubukov’s neighbour

3. Character Analysis
• Lomov :- Lomov is a hypochondriac who wants to get
married for the sake of appearances. He doesn't seem to love
Natalya but decides to marry her because she's the best
woman available.
• Natalya :- Natalya is a strong-willed woman who is
more effective than Lomov in speaking clearly and getting
to the point
• Chubukov :- Chubukov seems happy about the
potential marriage between Lomov and Natalya.
However, he sees marriage in a mercenary way,
referring to Lomov's proposal as a merchant buying
goods. For him, the match is advantageous as a good
business arrangement for both families.

4. Rising Action
 When Natalia faces lomov, & Lomov struggles to
tell her what is his purpose and he want to express it
briefly.
 They end up arguing about their property and
Lomov forget about his purpose.
 Chubukov enters and tell him, upon the request of
Natalia, that they owned the oxen meadows which
cause the problem to rise.
 They drive away lomov and called him with
different names.

5. The climax...
 Chubukov brings Lomov back after he felt,
but the timid lomov still cannot bring
himself to propose.
 When he again faints, the chubukov repeat
their hysteria, finally as Lomov begins to
regain consciousness, the father intevences,
determined not to miss a second
opportunity: “ Chubukov..She’s willing..
Well, kiss each other and devil take you
both…

6. The Conflict
• Man vs Man
Lomov’s principle against Natalia.
• Man vs Society
The idea that lomov wants marry Natalia
not because of love but for economic
stability.

7. Theme & Moral
 The Theme is based on two people who love each other
by fighting.
 Lomov and Natayla act like a married couple before
they become engaged. They are argumentative from the
start.
 The moral of the story is to learn to forgive and forget.
 In the story The Proposal by Anton Chekov, the 3
main characters Natalya, her father Chubukov, and
Lomov lose their temper on silly and trivial issues.

8. Tone
Mood
 Humourous
 Funny
 The character’s attitudes in the play is
comical which entertains the readers.