The Bear

Notes on the play 'The Bear'

“The Bear” which is a one-act play was written by Anton Chekhov during the Victorian era. When we go through the play we easily find that it is a farce. A farce is full of absurd situation and remark. These make readers laugh with the silly actions and absurd comments. 

At the beginning Luka, the footman advises her to leave from mourning.
“Instead of talking like that you ought to go and have a walk in the garden”


He gives the example of the cat, midges, and spider. But Popova seriously looks at husband’s photo and talks to him. In the meanwhile Smirnov the intruder who enters into the dining hall. The sole purpose of him is to get the money 1200 roubles owned by Popova's husband. He behaves rudely however he comes to get the money. Popova also becomes rude when she hears the reason for the arrival. They speak again each other using insulting words.

Popova thinks that he has been insulted Popova thinks that she is badly teased. Smirnov challenges her to fight a ‘duel’. Popova brings her to husband’s revolver. Though she doesn’t know how to fire. This incident makes the audience laugh.

By and by the situation changes. Smirnov expresses his love for her. All first Popova insist on fighting but this poor lady decides to marry him. Luka who comes back with the help of gardener & coachman to help to chase the bear like Smirnov, surprise to see the intimacy. This action obviously reveals that both of him have the same quality. Both are rude, romantic, quarrelsome & hot tempered.

Further, in this play desire panics are created by utilizing the human feeling and emotions. Events that are take part suddenly that are out of the expectation of the audience. Here the effect of the comedy enhanced significantly. Indeed the unpredictable results give a surprise to the audience.

Chekov makes the fun of the basic mistakes that we all made. We would see our self of the action of the character. They both claim the superior of the gender and blame the other. They never realized the folly. The understanding between them comes rather late. Both are coarse and unintentionally bear like in the action. But both are trying to bottle up the very basic emotion of the human of love. Anyway, all their claims die with the overpower of emotions of love. Though Smirnov was claiming her with full enforce of insulting and humiliating words come down from his superior state. He was showing what a real man by his action. But we see the real man begs of the hands of Popova. We look at the same person who stubborn, getting money was letting it go. He may consider himself wise while he keeps on making fun and irritating the widow. But we all understand his position that ultimately falls him.

On the whole, the play has only one act written to amuse the audience of general human fallacies and errors that we are prone to. All the mistakes and follies showed in the character help us laugh at our self and realize how fools we are when we tried to assert things too rigidly