Drama The Proposal Summary & Characters by Anton Chekhov
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The Proposal Summary
Story of 2 Neighbours
The story about two neighbors named Stephan and Ivan. Stephan is an old man who lives with his young daughter Natalya. Ivan has lands besides Stephan's and has disputes over the meadows.
However, one evening Ivan comes to meet Stephan in his house. He is also dressed up and Stephan asks him about the reason. Ivan seems to be ambiguous with his reasons and beats around the bush.
Ivan’s Confession
Stephan presumes that he has come to ask for some help but Ivan has a different request to make. Ivan confesses her like for Natalya and proposes to marry her. Stephan is pleasantly surprised.
He claims the Natalya has always liked Ivan and that she was old enough to start married life. Ivan praises Natalya's beauty and homemaking abilities.
Stephan leaves the room and then Natalya enters the room. She enquires about Ivan's dress and then complains about the meadows. The two end up arguing heatedly and start to scream at each other.
Natalya's father joins the two and sides with her daughter on the issue. Feeling intimated Ivan insults Stephan and Natalya. Stephan openly declines Ivan's proposal and Ivan leaves the house.
Natalya Comes to Know the Truth
After Ivan leaves, Natalya asks her father about the proposal. She laments her rude behavior and demands that her father bring Ivan back.
Ivan returns and ends up chatting Natalya. She talks calmly and accepts Ivan's demands. However, the two start another argument about their respective dogs. Stephan comes back and again sides with his daughter.
The atmosphere becomes hostile again and results in Ivan fainting. Stephan feels guilt and calls for the doctor. Soon Ivan is revived and he reiterates his proposal.
Both Natalya and Stephan agree and plan a quick wedding. Stephan also feels relieved as a father as he had been getting worried about her unmarried daughter.
The Proposal Characters
Natalya
She is a young and beautiful woman. She is good at homemaking and also intelligent in other affairs. However, she is also argumentative and often gets into petty quarrels. She is also aware of her loneliness and longs for Ivan.
She wants to marry him and loves him immensely. She is proud of her dog and property and ends up fighting with Ivan on the issue of ownership. In the end, she dials her pride back and confesses her love for Ivan. Their fight ends up in a happy marriage.
Stephan
Stephan is an old person who takes pride in his possessions. He is also a worried father as he has one unmarried daughter to take care of. He is excited about the match of Ivan with her daughter as he regards Ivan in the same social setting.
He suffers from spells of anger and pride and almost kills Ivan by causing him to faint. However, in the end, he realizes his mistake and asks Ivan to marry his daughter and bless the young couple to live a happy marital life.
Ivan
Ivan is a lonely man who desperately wants a happy. He does not love Natalya but considers her a good woman to marry. He praises her appearance and homemaking skills.
However, he does not know how to confess her desire to marry her and takes a lot of time to make a straight proposal to her father. He ends up getting into petty disputes with his neighbors.
He even insults Natalya, the woman he wants to marry, and her father Stephan. He also suffers from a weak heart and ends up losing consciousness. When the doctor revives him, he decides to marry Natalya straight away.
