Question

Neighbours must have a cordial relationship which Lomov and Natalya do not have. Describe the first fight between them.

Answer 1

Lomov and Natalya meet and rather than proposing to her, he gets off the point. He tells her how he has inherited his land and how he respects her father. He also tells Natalya that his Oxen meadows touch Natalya’s Birchwood. Hearing this, Natalya says that the Oxen Meadows belong to her family. They start arguing about it. Lomov makes it clear that he is talking about the Oxen Meadows that are between her Birchwoods and Burnt marsh. Natalya again insists that they are theirs.

Lomov refuses it. He tells her that his aunt’s grandmother had given those meadows to her father’s grandfather. The peasants used the land for 40 years and started regarding it as their own. Natalya’s father comes and he also starts quarreling with Lomov. They get into an intense argument and resort to name-calling. After some time, Lomov leaves their house.