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The Role of Choice in Courtship: Anton Chekhov’s A Marriage Proposal and David Ives’ Sure Thing The word courtship is a loaded one. The reason being, it suggests a certain level of seriousness on the part of the participants. Gentlemen and ladies who are truly in love engage in courtship. Common individuals, with their questionable motives and shallow goals, do not engage in courtship. The ritual is reserved for a specific level of society. These are the ideas and images that cause the word courtship to become so loaded. These are also the ideas and images that suggest that courtship should be understood as more of a myth, rather than a truth. The mythic foundation of courtship is evident in two plays: Anton Chekhov’s A Marriage Proposal...The end:
.....he open conflict between the two classes is reflective of how unstable the entire social landscape actually is. Ives, on the other hand, is concerned with courtship in modern North American society. Here the choices are far too great for any meaningful connection to take place. In each case, the myth of courtship is challenged and ultimately demonstrated to be false. The goals of all the characters are practical ones that are shaped by unique social and historical circumstances. Works Cited Chekhov, Anton. “A Marriage Proposal” Project Gutenberg. Web. 20 February 2011.http://www.gutenberg.org. Ives, David. “Sure Thing.” All in the Timing. New York: Dramatist Play Services, Inc., 1994: 9-22. Web. 20 February 2011. http://www.books.google.ca.