Act 2, Part 1 Summary

Act 2 is set in the garden. Matvey, a servant, tries to convince Katya, another servant, that she should marry him. When Katya says she wants to wait, Matvey tells her that there's no reason to wait. He says that there will be no one more considerate of her than he, that he's not a drinker and that he has a good relationship with the master and mistress. When Katya continues to hesitate, Matvey says that she never treated him this way before. She tells him that Schaaf is coming, and he goes out, saying he'll talk to her again. Schaaf appears, and after some small talk about how Katya is going to pick raspberries and Schaaf is going fishing, he proclaims his love. She tells him he should be ashamed of himself, says Natalya's coming and runs away. Natalya comes in...