Here we have provided NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English First Flight Chapter 11 The Proposal by Anton Chekov.
About the Play:
The Proposal’ (originally titled ‘A Marriage Proposal’) is a one-act play, a farce, by the Russian short story writer and dramatist Anton Chekhov. It was written in 1888–89. The play is about the tendency of wealthy families to seek ties with other wealthy families, to increase their estates by encouraging marriages that make good economic sense. Ivan Lomov, a long time wealthy neighbour of Stepan Chubukov, also wealthy, comes to seek the hand of Chubukov’s twenty-five-year-old daughter, Natalya. All three are quarrelsome people, and they quarrel over petty issues. The proposal is in danger of being forgotten amidst all this quarrelling. But economic good sense ensures that the proposal is made, after all — although the quarrelling perhaps continues!
Characters of the Play:
| STEPAN STEPANOVITCH CHUBUKOV | a landowner |
| NATALYA STEPANOVNA | his daughter, twenty-five years old |
| IVAN VASSILEVITCH LOMOV | a neighbour of Chubukov, a large and hearty, but very suspicious, landowner |
Thinking About the Play
Q. 1. What does Chubukov at first suspect that Lomov has come for? Is he sincere when he later says “And I’ve always loved you, my angel, as if you were my own son”? Find reasons for your answer from the play.
Ans: At first, Chubukov suspected that Lomov had come to borrow money because he was wearing his evening dress. He was not sincere when he told Lomov that he had always loved him and that he was like his own son. Chubukov had decided not to give any money to Lomov even if he tried borrowing from him. His attitude changed when he came to know that Lomov had come with the proposal to marry his daughter Natalya.
Q. 2. Chubukov says of Natalya: “… as if she won’t consent! She’s in love; egad, she’s like a lovesick cat…” Would you agree? Find reasons for your answer.
Ans: Yes, Natalya is in love with Lomov. This is clear by the way she behaves when she gets to know that Lomov came to propose her for marriage. She starts weeping and asks her father to bring Lomov at once. She even agrees with Lomov that he owns the Oxen Meadows.
Q. 3. (i) Find all the words and expressions in the play that the characters use to speak about each other, and the accusations and insults they hurl at each other. (For example, Lomov in the end calls Chubukov an intriguer; but earlier, Chubukov has himself called Lomov a “malicious, doublefaced intriguer.” Again, Lomov begins by describing Natalya as “an excellent housekeeper, not bad-looking, well-educated.”)
(ii) Then think of five adjectives or adjectival expressions of your own to describe each character in the play.
(iii) Can you now imagine what these characters will quarrel about next?
Ans: (i) The words and expressions that have been used to describe each other by various characters of the play are:
For Chubukov: grabber; intriguer; old rat; Jesuit
For Natalya: a lovesick cat; an excellent housekeeper; not bad-looking, well-educated
For Lomov: a good neighbour; a friend; impudent; pettifogger; a malicious, double-faced intriguer; rascal; blind hen; turnip-ghost; a villain; a scarecrow; monster; the stuffed sausage; etc.
(ii) The five adjectives or adjectival expressions that can be used to describe each character in the play are – easily excited, nervous in practical, formal, proud, silly, quarrelsome, money-minded, etc.
(iii) Students should attempt this question on their own.
I hope that you would have enjoyed NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English First Flight Chapter 11 The Proposal by Anton Chekov. If you have any query regarding this chapter, please feel free to get in touch with me through comment box or social media and I assure you to resolve all your queries related to the topic as soon as possible.
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