What is the plot of The Bear by Anton Chekhov?

What is the plot of The Bear by Anton Chekhov?

The story revolves around Mrs Elena Popova who is mourning her dead husband Nicholas. She is consoled by her servant Luka who want her to move on in life. Elena disagrees and tells him that she will never come out of mourning or from the room itself. She pledges to never see another man in her lifetime.

What is the main theme in the play The Bear?

The main theme in The Bear by Chekhov is the folly of pretense. Both Smirnov and Popova pretend to be someone and something they’re not, and it almost leads them to sort out their disagreements in a duel.

What is the significance of the title The Bear?

The title is a reference to the insult that Popova deals Smirnov. It is in this moment that the absurdity of their dynamic reaches its peak. The comedy of the play is made rich by both characters pretending to be more than they are. In the play, Anton Chekhov pokes fun at Russian social conventions of his day.

What kind of play is The Bear?

The Bear (play)

The Bear
Date premiered October 28, 1888
Place premiered Moscow
Original language Russian
Genre vaudeville/farce comedy

Why does Popova call Smirnov a bear?

In Anton Chekov’s play, “The Bear,” Popova calls Smirnov a “bear” because he has accused her of being insincere—he has a poor opinion of women in general, but he regards her as a beautiful woman who plays games to get attention. He accuses her of dressing in mourning in order to impress those who pass by her window.

What role does Luka play in the story?

Luka not only introduces Popova’s character and state of mind at the start of the play, but he acts as a prop—”a person or thing serving as a support.” Luka is an actor who not only “receives” the humorous lines of others, but reacts to them to accentuate their comic nature—while he observes the changes in the …

What is the theme of the boor?

The farce in this play lies in the way that extremes of emotion so quickly shift to other, opposite extremes, and so-called rational human beings are shown to be subject to their tempestuous emotions, which have much more control over their lives than reason. This is the theme of this masterful play.

Who is Smirnov?

Smirnov is a “landowner in early middle age” according to the introduction we are given to him at the beginning of the play. He is bothering Mrs. Popov because her dead husband owed him a sum of money that he now needs to reclaim or else he will be in financial difficulties.

How does poet describe the bear?

The poet describes the bear in a humourous way. He says that as soon as a bear sees a human being, it hugs him tightly. It clasps its prey tightly with both its hands and squeezes him to death. If he is still alive, he gives him another tight hug to kill him.

Is The Bear a farce?

The story of the play is a romantic advancement between a male and female character through strange and unusual dialogues. Thus the play ‘The Bear’ can rightly be called a farce—a play full of comic and absurd situations and sayings. The dialogues and actions of almost all the characters cause laughter.

Who is Popova?

Popova is the female protagonist of The Bear: A Joke in One Act, a play by Anton Chekhov that premiered on October 28, 1888 in Moscow, Russia. The play is set in the house of Elena Ivanovna Popova, a recently widowed but still relatively young and attractive woman.

Who are the main characters in the Bear by Anton Chekov?

Summary “Bear” by Anton Chekov. The Bear is a comedy play. It has two main characters. Popova and Smirnov. Popova is a young lady whose husband is dead; but she is still mourning at his death.

When was the play the Bear by Chekhov written?

At this moment, Luka and two other workers enter the scene with household weapons, ready to break up the dual by force. Written, published, and performed in 1888, Chekhov’s play reflects on and pokes fun of liberal discourses in mid- to late-nineteenth-century Russia, in particular those concerned with “The Woman Question.”

Who is Gregorii Stepanovich Smirnov in the bear?

A bell interrupts Popova’s mournful sobbing, and Gregorii Stepanovich Smirnov enters the scene. Naturally, Popova refuses to see him—after all, she has sworn to not see anyone until her death. Smirnov does not give up, claiming that he has come on urgent business.

Who are the characters in the play the bear?

The Bear, also known as The Brute, is a one act play by Chekov which is entitled a “farce.”. This word gives us great help in understanding the play and how it operates. The two characters of… Compare and contrast Popova and Smirnov within the play “The Bear” by Anton Chekhov. Popova and Smirnov are both land owners.

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