THE PROPOSAL
ANTON
CHEKOV
THINKING ABOUT THE
PLAY
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 when he
was in his evening dress. He was not sincere when he disclosed to Lomov that he
had consistently loved him and that he resembled his own child, since he had
decided to not give any money to Lomov. It was just when Lomov requested his
daughter's hand in marriage that his attitude changed and he hurried out to
call his daughter.
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. This is clear
by the manner in which she acts when she becomes more acquainted with that
Lomov came to propose to her. She begins weeping and requests that her dad
bring Lomov without a moment's delay.
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, double faced 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: The words and expressions that have been used to describe each other by
various characters of the play are
Chubukov: grabber; intriguer; old rat; Jesuit
Natalya: a lovesick cat; an excellent
housekeeper; not bad-looking, well-educated
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; the
wizen-faced frump; boy; pup; milksop; fool
THINKING ABOUT THE
LANGUAGE
I. This play has been
translated in English from the Russian original. Are there any expressions or
ways of speaking that strike you as more – Russian than English?
For example would an adult man
be addressed by an older man as my darling or my treasure in an English play?
Ans: Expressions not used in contemporary English are-
my angel, my beloved, my beauty (Here these expressions, are used for an adult
man) and ‘all that sort of thing’ (not explaining what it is just leaving it as
it is) and ‘how may you be getting on’? reported speech
II. REPORTED SPEECH
A sentence in reported speech consists of two
parts: a reporting clause, which contains the reporting verb, and
the reported clause. Look at the
following sentences.
(a) “I went to
visit my grandma last week,” said Mamta.
(b) Mamta said that
she had gone to visit her grandma the previous week.
In sentence (a), we
have Mamta’s exact words. This is an example of direct speech. In
sentence (b), someone is reporting what Mamta said. This is called indirect
speech or reported speech. A sentence in reported speech is made up
of two parts — a reporting clause and a reported clause.
In sentence (b), Mamta
said is the reporting clause containing the reporting verb said.
The other clause — that she had gone to visit her grandma last week — is
the reported clause.
Notice that in
sentence (b) we put the reporting clause first. This is done to show that we
are not speaking directly, but reporting someone else’s words. The tense of the
verb also changes; past tense (went) becomes past perfect (had gone).
Here are some pairs
of sentences in direct and reported speech. Read them carefully, and do the
task that follows:
1) (i) LOMOV :
Honoured Stepan Stepanovitch, do you think I may count on her consent? (Direct
Speech)
(ii) Lomov asked
Stepan Stepanovitch respectfully if he thought he might count on her consent.
(Reported Speech)
2) (i) LOMOV : I’m
getting a noise in my ears from excitement. (Direct Speech)
(ii) Lomov said
that he was getting a noise in his ears from excitement.
(Reported Speech)
3) (i) NATALYA :
Why haven’t you been here for such a long time? (Direct Speech)
(ii) Natalya
Stepanovna asked why he hadn’t been there for such a long time. (Reported
Speech)
4) (i) CHUBUKOV :
What’s the matter? (Direct Speech)
(ii) Chubukov asked
him what the matter was. (Reported Speech)
5) (i) NATALYA : My
mowers will be there this very day! (Direct Speech)
(ii) Natalya Stepanovna
declared that her mowers would be there that very day. (Reported Speech)
You must have noticed that when we report
someone’s exact words, we have to make some changes in the sentence structure.
In the following sentences fill in the blanks to list the changes that have
occurred in the above pairs of sentences. One has been done for you.
1) To report a question, we use the reporting verb asked (as in sentence set
1).
2) To report a declaration, we use the reporting verb declared.
3) The adverb of place here changes to there.
4) When the verb in the direct speech is in the present
tense, the verb in reported speech is in the past tense (as in sentence set 3).
5) If the Verb in direct speech is in the present
continuous tense, the verb in reported speech changes to past continuous tense. For example, is getting changes to was getting.
6) When the sentence in direct speech contains a word
denoting respect, we add the adverb respectfully
in the reporting clause (as in sentence set 1)
7) The pronouns I, me, our and mine, which are used in
the first person in direct speech, change to third person pronouns to such as he, him, their, or his in
reported speech.
