How Much Land Does a Man Need

As one might expect of a story with origins in a folktale, the plot is a simple one, and Tolstoy had no interest in making it more complex. He was writing for the common people, and he wanted a straightforward story with a clear moral. He clearly lays out the basic conflict in the first part: Although Pahóm, the main character, does not yet know it, his careless words about how he would not fear the Devil if he had more land initiate a contest with the Devil. The story then moves economically to its grim conclusion.

The basic elements of the plot repeat several times: Pahóm the peasant is dissatisfied and wants more land (Part 1). He acquires more land but again becomes dissatisfied (Parts 2 and 3). In Part 4, the same pattern repeats itself. For Pahóm, there is always something about his present situation that is not to his liking. He envies those he thinks are in a better position than he is, and he wants to catch up with them. Thus, greed and acquisitiveness take hold of him. If owning land is good, he thinks, owning more land must surely be better. More land will make him and his family more comfortable, more secure, and happier. Since over the years he becomes a shrewd businessman, he knows how to bargain and secure a good deal for himself and his family. The only problem is that his pattern of thinking turns out to be wrong: More land does not quell his restlessness and dissatisfaction. Worse yet, it has a corrupting influence on his character, as he begins to consider himself better than others—especially those who, like the Bashkirs, do not share his preoccupation with wealth and property. Without Pahóm realizing it, his greed leads him to his downfall. The recurring cycle ends only when his reach exceeds his grasp, with fatal results.

The element of folktale is also evident in the way Tolstoy presents his characters. Pahóm is the only character who is individualized and whose thought processes and actions are explored in any detail. He thus carries the whole burden of the story’s theme of envy and greed. With the exception of Simon, Pahóm is the only character who is even named. The other characters are generic types: the sisters, the lady landowner, the peasant, the dealer, the Chief. Furthermore, unlike 19th-century realist fiction, the story wastes no time describing what people look like—not even Pahóm. His height, build, facial features, the sound of his voice, his individual mannerisms, and so on are passed over in silence.

Thus Pahóm too is in a sense merely a type: a man in the grip of greed who all the time thinks he is behaving rationally and sensibly. Pahóm is not presented as a bad man or even someone who might strike others as greedy; he is just trying to improve his lot in life. The story shows that even this common and apparently innocuous (if not virtuous) pursuit of betterment is not what it seems and can lead to disaster. This is the irony at the heart of the story: In wanting more and more, Pahóm ends up with less and less. Tolstoy describes in detail Pahóm’s physical discomfort and ebbing strength as he desperately tries to secure the square of Bashkir land he has set his heart on. By describing the relaxed, easygoing lifestyle of the Bashkirs, the story suggests an alternative to Pahóm’s monomaniacal desire to acquire more and more. In their good humor, friendliness, and satisfaction with their lifestyle, the Bashkirs have a lot to teach Pahóm, but caught up in his own remorseless quest, he is in no position to learn from them—another of the story’s ironies.

In the end, then, the Devil wins. The presence of the Devil gives the story a Christian framework: As Christian scripture makes clear, the Devil loses no opportunity to tempt and deceive and lead a man astray. Here too is irony: Pahóm acquires more and more land not, as he thinks, through his determination and ambition but only with the assistance of the Devil. (The Devil makes this very clear in Part 1.) Pahóm’s gains are really only way stations on his path to destruction.