The Proposal
Guess and Squeezer
Explain how the play ends and what it shows about the characters.
The dogs. Natalya tries to change the subject: 'Are you going to start shooting soon?' Lomov says his dog Guess has gone lame. He paid 125 roubles for him. Natalya: Papa paid only 85 for Squeezer, and 'Squeezer is heaps better than Guess!'
A new quarrel.
- Natalya: Squeezer is young and better 'on points and pedigree': 'the son of Harness and Chisels'. Guess is 'old and as ugly as a worn-out cab-horse'.
- Lomov: Squeezer is overshot (lower jaw shorter than the upper), so he is a bad hunter. Guess ran 'neck-and-neck with the Count's dog' on the Marusinsky hunt.
Chubukov joins in. 'Intriguer!' 'Boy! Pup!' 'Old rat!'
Lomov 'dies'. Lomov's heart and foot give out, and he falls into an armchair. Natalya screams: 'He's dead!' Chubukov wants a knife or a pistol. Then Lomov stirs: 'I see stars… where am I?'
Engaged, in a hurry. Chubukov puts Lomov's hand in his daughter's: 'She's willing!… Kiss and be damned to you!' They kiss. Lomov: 'I'm happy.' Natalya: 'I'm happy too.'
The ending. At once Natalya says: 'But still you will admit now that Guess is worse than Squeezer.' 'Better!' 'Worse!' Chubukov tries to shout them down: 'Champagne! Champagne!' The curtain falls on a quarrel. They are married for good sense, and they will go on fighting.
Practise this lesson
Questions that get harder as you improve, a Tutor that helps without giving the answer away, and progress you can see. Free for every learner.
No account, no email address. Opens the real product.