the marriage proposal

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Stage work
German title: the marriage proposal
Original title: Предложение
Author: Anton Chekhov
Year of origin: 1888
Premiere: April 12, 1889
Place: St. Petersburg
Genus: Joke in one act
Original language: Russian

The marriage proposal ( Russian Предложение ) is a one-act play (official name: "joke in one act ") by Anton Chekhov from 1888.

action

As with all Chekhov's plays , the setting is an estate somewhere in the Russian provinces. A friendly neighbor, the bachelor Ivan Lomov, appears in the guest room of the squire Stepan Chubukov. He wears a tailcoat and white gloves and immediately reveals to Chubukov that he wants his 25-year-old daughter Natalja to propose marriagedo. Tschubukow is spontaneously enthusiastic, sends Natalja in and leaves them both alone. After the greeting, Lomov begins his speech. Before he can go into the actual goal of his visit, however, there is a relentless dispute between the two over a piece of land: Lomov claims that the village of Luzhki belongs to him, while Natalja resolutely denies this and the ownership of Luzhki for himself or herself ... claimed her father. Both argue so loud that Chubukov hears it and comes back in. This also claims that Luschki belongs to him, so that shortly thereafter there are insulting statements on both sides. Chubukov finally throws Lomov out, who leaves the house and threatens Lomov with a lawsuit. Only when he has left does Natalja find out that he actually came to propose to her. She then becomes hysterical and, in a panic, demands that Lomov be brought back immediately. When he is back, she tries a conciliatory tone with him and confesses that Luschki does indeed belong to him. She directs the conversation to the hunt, and immediately another argument breaks out between the two, this time about whose hunting dog is faster. Chubukov comes in again; Lomov yells at him so loudly that he finally complains of shortness of breath and collapses, so that the first thing that father and daughter think is that he has died. But then he comes to again. Chubukov tells the two of them that they should finally get married and leave him alone. Both kiss and receive the father's blessing, but continue to quarrel unabated. Chubukov's closing remarks on this: “That's it, the beginning family happiness! Bring champagne! ”With which the piece ends.

backgrounds

With its very simply structured, exaggeratedly comical plot, the piece is rather untypical for Chekhov's work - in this respect it is more comparable to his other one-act plays such as the bear . In general, these one-act plays served the author in his mature creative period (from the mid-1880s) as a kind of outlet for his humorous streak, which he brought to full use in his early stories, while his style became increasingly thoughtful and reserved in later works. Particularly in the marriage proposal , the subtle comic comedy typical of Chekhov's early works is mixed with a satirical allusion to the mendacious customs and the narrow-mindedness of the Russian small nobility, for whom every marriage is primarily a question of money instead of real love because of the expensive dowries .

Chekhov himself rated his one-act plays rather low compared to short stories and longer plays; He wrote about the marriage proposal that had just been completed in a letter dated November 7, 1888 in the usual ironic manner: I wrote a stupid little vaudeville called “The marriage proposal” especially for the province and sent it to censors . Nevertheless, the play was premiered on April 12, 1889 in Saint Petersburg and on August 9 in Moscow , apparently with success, as the actors later reported Chekhov. On May 30th, The Marriage Proposal was performed in the Prague National Theater and thus for the first time abroad. During Chekhov's lifetime, the piece was translated into German, English and Hungarian, among other things.

Radio plays

In Germany, a further 8 radio play versions of the one-act play were made after 1945.

literature

  • Paul Riegel: "The marriage proposal", in Kurt Bräutigam, Ed .: European Comedies, presented in single interpretations. Diesterweg, Frankfurt 1964, pp. 126-132

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ APČechov. Polnoe sobranie sočinenij i pisem. Moscow 1978. Volume 11, p. 436
  2. ↑ APČechov. Polnoe sobranie sočinenij i pisem. Moscow 1978. Volume 11, p. 440