Who made the proposal and to whom? What was the proposal? How was the proposal realised?

Ivan Vassilevitch Lomov made the proposal to marry Natalya Stepanovna to Stepan Stepanovitch Chubukov. Lomov wanted to marry Natalya Stepanovna and so he came to Chubukov house to propose her for marriage.

At first, Lomov and Natalya argued continuously, about the ownership of the Oxen Meadows and then over which of their dogs is the better hound. Their argument reached such an extent that Lomov could not directly propose her for marriage. But in the end, the proposal was realised by Chubukov who forcefully arranged their engagement ceremony and united them.

How did the illness of Lomov help to unite Lomov and Natalya?

Lomov and Natalya at first argued over the ownership of Oxen Meadows and then over the superiority of their dogs. Lomov’s heart started palpitating and he became seriously ill and at last, fainted. Natalya and Chubukov became anxious thinking whether he was dead because Natalya could not get married if he was dead. Therefore as soon as he regained his consciousness, Chubukov hurriedly gave his blessings to the couple and united them. Therefore if Lomov had not been ill, they would not have been united so soon. Thus, the illness of Lomov helped the couple to unite.


The playwright has used some funny adjectives with which the characters use to blame each other. How do they contribute to the comic elements of the play?

Do you find the play funny? Support your answer with illustrations from the text.


Do you think “The Proposal can be defined as a play of contradictions? Support your answer with reasons.

Make a brief sketch of social life as you see in the play.


What is the focus in the play? Is it a character? Is it an action? Is it the unpredictability of the people? Explain your answer.

Write a brief note on Chekhov’s depiction of aristocratic society in ‘The Proposal’.


Why does Chekhov choose only three characters to deliver his message to us?

What aspects of the human condition and society does the play make fun of?


What is Anton Chekhov trying to say about the manner in which neighbours interact/ behave? Support your answer with evidence from the play.

How would you best describe the personalities of each of the characters in the play?


How does Chekhov alternate the actual proposal and the arguments? Explain your answer.

What are the effect of this alternating the proposal and the arguments? Explain your answer.


Comment on the setting of the play with reference to costume, customs and mannerism. Does it relate to the socio-economic background of that period?

Discuss the reasons why the marriage proposal is important to all the characters.


Discuss the significance of the title ‘The Eyes Have It’.

Establish ‘The Eyes Have It’ as a good short story.


What instructions were given to the girl by her parents before she started her journey? Do you think the narrator started to like the girl from the very beginning? Support your answer with reference to the text.

….my voice startled her.”- Who is the speaker here? Who is mentioned as “her”? Why was she “startled” by the voice of the speaker? What did she do afterwards?