The many pairings in this play make love a prominent theme—Schaaf and Katya, Liza and Shpigelski, Vera and Bolshintsov, Natalya and Rakitin, Natalya and Beliayev, and Natalya and Islayev. The play is not a glowing portrait of loving, stable marriages or relationships, however. Natalya's toying with Rakitin and Beliayev calls her fidelity into question, while Shpigelski's reasons for marrying hardly seem to be related to love (he mostly seems to desire a trustworthy housekeeper/cook). Marriage as such, becomes an institution or a commitment that either binds and inhibits people's freedom or serves a practical purpose.
In no instance is a loving relationship correlated with a passionate romantic relationship between two people. For example, the match between Shpigelski and Liza does not appear to be based on a mutual romantic affinity, nor does.....
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