Hello friends today we are discuss this question, the question is -“I’ve been hoping for it for a long time.” Who is the speaker? What does ‘It’ refer to ? How did the speaker come to know about ‘It’? What more did the speaker say in this context ?
Chubukov is the speaker. “It’ refers to Lomov’s marriage proposal for Chubukov’s daughter, Natalya Stepanovna. Chubukov came to know about the marriage proposal when Lomov visited his house to ask for his daughter Natalya’s hand in marriage. When Chubukov heard about Lomov’s wish to marry Natalya, he became excited. He embraced and kissed Lomov and said that he had been hoping ‘it’, (marriage proposal) for a long time and it had been his continual desire. He declared that he loved Lomov as if he was his own son. He shed tear and blessed Lomov. He failed to find proper reason for his idiotic behaviour but ultimately came to the conclusion that his joy was making him lose his balance.