Essay #2: Writing About a Play

A tale about Mrs. Popov and Mr. Smirnov from “The Brute”

 “There is never a time or place for true love. It happens accidentally, in a heartbeat, in a single flashing, throbbing moment.” (Dessen, 2004) Anton Chekhov was a Russian short story writer, playwright and physician. His one-act play The Brute is a brief one-act drama written in 1984. This particular drama tells the narrative of two characters who are initially antagonistic but eventually become lovers. Despite their initial disparities, both Mrs. Popov and Mr. Smirnov, would work to have a strong and long-lasting marriage, because at an unconscious level, both of them are looking for someone to love. In this essay I will be analyzing the resemblances of our main characters, their divergent points, and also, how I imagen their life would be after the wedding.

As a first point, the resemblances I noticed in Mrs. Popov and Mr. Smirnov, broadly speaking, are that they have a strong character, a fixed mind set, they are stubborn and not fooled by anyone. In more detail, they are both single without someone to love, she by a tragic event, the death of her husband, and him, by choice. They are both resigned to live their life as it has been until now; she as a forever widow who mourns her husband persistently, and him, is a womanizer who thinks all women are vain, unreasonable, dumb but also angels and poetry.

As a second point, the diverging points I find in Mrs. Popov and Mr. Smirnov are, initially, the different social classes, she is rich, which sets her in an upper class, and he is a farmer, which sets him in a lower class than hers. Secondly, she is a landowner and seems she has inherited family money, making her in absolutely no need to work for a living; on the other hand, he is a farmer, and may or may not to own the land in which he grows oat that later sells, and seem like he is in great debt with the bank.

As a last point, I picture them having a lavish wedding, she will put the money and her house for the ceremony, and may not invite all her acquaintances because she was married once; and he will invite everyone he knows, since this is his first, and hopefully, only marriage. He will have some trouble accommodating himself into her refine world; and she will definitely find annoying her new husbands’ habits and manners. Given that, they both have experience in heartbreak, and since she is a faithful woman, he will do his best to honor his vows to her, because he never found a woman like her before, so, he must treasure her.

To sum up, our heroes’ main likeness is both of them are in equal proportions stubborn. The distinction that is most noticeable is their financial capacity, she has no need to work and he finds it necessary to ask for loans to the bank. Finally, after the wedding, it will take some time to get accustomed to each other. The preliminary discrepancies between them, were not an impediment to let each other in, in fact, that was the initial spark that ignited their love; so, they will both try to have a strong marriage, because at an unconscious level, they both are craving for someone to comfort their hearts and souls.

 

 

 

 

 Select oneof the following topics:

1. Write the next act.
2. A farce is a kind of comedy that most of us are familiar with, since farces are standard fare in movies and on television.
3. How does Mrs. Popov character change over the course of the play? Support your opinion with specific examples from the play.
4. How are Mrs. Popov and Smirnov alike? And how do they differ? How will this affect the ending of the story?
   

  

Hasta la próxima,

By Warrior Princess

http://wp-shetalks.blogspot.com/