Everything is going well when Natalya first enters the room. They chat pleasantly about the weather and agriculture. Ivan attempts to bring up the subject of marriage by first stating how he has known her family since childhood. As he touches upon his past he mentions his family's ownership of the Oxen Meadows. Natalya stops the conversation to clarify. She believes that her family has always owned the meadows, and this disagreement ignites a caustic debate, one that sends tempers flaring and Ivan's heart palpitating.
After they yell at each other, Ivan feels dizzy and tries to calm himself down and change the subject back to matrimony, only to get immersed in the argument yet again. Natalya's father joins the battle, siding with his daughter, and angrily demanding that Ivan leave at once.