Q. Comment on Anton Chekhovs The Brute as a social satire. Ans.

Anton Chekhovs The Brute is a one-act farce set in the 1888 rural Russia. The playwright beautifully satirises the norms of behaviour prevalent in the society. Women were supposed to be romantic and creatures of courtly poetry while men were to be machos. The play begins with Mrs. Popov moping the death of her husband, both of whom belonging to the Bourgeois- middle class and Luka- the loyal footman trying unsuccessfully to pull his employer out of her depression. Talking with Luka, she openly criticises her late husbands unfaithful acts. However she is bent on proving to the society her loyalty towards the deceased and hence, continues to moan even after seven months and vehemently insists on continue doing so till death makes them meet. Lukas mention of Toby, the horse reminds Mrs. Popov of her old days when she and her husband would drive to Korchagins and the Vlasovs and she asks him to give Toby an extra portion of oats. She is going even to the extent of showing off of cherishing the memories of her late Beau. The irony in the behaviour becomes clear in the end when after accepting proposal to a new life she asks him to not give Toby any oats which is indicative of the irrelevance of her past. Her depression is interrupted by Smirnov, a seemingly uncivilised frustrated creditor who has come to claim his money from the aggrieving widow. The declining of payment triggers a war of words between the two which later passes on to suggestions of a duel. Smirnov is person who has been jilted and fleeced by the women folk and has been retaliating by jilting them in return left and right. He has a cynical view of the opposite sex and according to him all women are false, petty, vain, cruel, malicious and unreasonable, which is proved to a great extent by the author in Mrs. Popovs fallacious moaning which is clear throughout the act and particularly in Smirnovs statement, You may have buried yourself alive, Mrs. Popov but you havent forgotten to powder your nose. The rude manner in which she talked with Smirnov, the proud way in which she accepts Smirnovs challenge to a duel, the way she asks Smirnov to teach her to fire and the easiness with which she accepts Smirnovs marriage proposal finally reveals her hypocrisy to the audience and puts A.P.Chekhov at his satirical best. However, the author also disproves the fact that it is women alone who are deceitful. This is brought out by the fact that Smirnov who appears to be averse to femme fatale, a complete misogynist and a condemner of poetry and romance in the end becomes so attracted by Mrs.

Popovs proud manner, beautiful eyes and fiery behaviour that he loses all his senses- which is shown by the snipping of the chair, and extends the lady a marriage proposal instead. Also the irony in the title of The Brute extended to Smirnov by Mrs. Popov becomes clear to the reader only after the phoniness in Mrs. Popovs behaviour comes out and the title actually passes on to Mrs. Popov instead. The brutishness is the result of piling up of chained emotions and not letting a life to live the blooms of nature, to listen to the songs of the falling rain drops, to taste the nectar of love, to open its arm and embrace the gift of life bestowed on us humans by the almighty, but letting it die, wither and perish, basking in an everlasting funeral. The frustration with which Mrs.Popov is being forced to live is just a small picture of the larger world of hypocrisy and insensitiveness, which the society at the prevalent time took pride to impose on the fairer sex. But we have to understand that funerals are only for the living and not for the dead and once Ashes are with Ashes and Dust is with Dust the left behind cannot be left to rust.