Marriage proposal

In the play Marriage Proposals, Chekov depicted the marriage proposals is not romantic, but it is full of argument and conflict. 

Unlike the usual proposal, the proposal in this play was developed by the argument. Natalya and Lomov argued who was the owner of Oxen meadow at first, and then they debated about which type of dog was better. In some way, Chekov show these two characters are like a couple already because Natalya and Lomov like each other.

In this play, the concept of “Symbolic gendering” can be shown in  Natalya’ inner mind. She asked her father to fetch Lomov back after she knew he was going to proposal to her. However, when Lomov came back, she did not mention the proposal directly. Instead, she tried to talk about something to guide Lomov to proposal to her. This circumstance is like the article Marriage Proposals Are Stupid said, “In the vast majority of proposals between heterosexual couples, it’s still the man who asks the question.* “ (Caroline Kitchener). 

There is one symbolic gendering example in today’s media can be the women take care of their children and the house. I still think the tradition proposal way is the most romantic way for proposing. It maybe there is a woman going to proposal to her husband in the future, but based on current’s value, man on his knees still the perfect one for proposal.