A ridiculous figure befitting farce, Ivan Vassilievich
Lomov is a personnage whose defining character is his lack of character. For his
attempts to prove his manliness fail as he seeks a wife to care for
him,
"I must
live a well regulated life. I have a weak heart, continual pappitations, and I am
very sensitive and always getting excited...But the worst of all is sleep! I hardly lie
down and begin to doze before....I jump up like a madman, walk about a little , lie down
again.... And so it is all night
long!"
A hypochodriac, Lomov
is a ridiculous fellow. When he attempts to propose, he sputters and murmurs about the
coldness of the air. Then, when he mentions the meadows, Natalia overpowers him in
argument and he reaches fearfully for water as the argument degenerates into family
name-calling.
After he departs, Natalia has her father
call Lomov back; although he returns he complains of his leg and side and his heart
palpitations. Then, with his disputatious procliviity, he recommences his arguing and
name-calling with Natalia, not realizing that such confrontations will increase after
they marry.
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