How Much Land Does a Man Need

The Devil is the antagonist. He appears directly in Part 1, sitting behind the stove while Pahóm lies on top of it. The Devil hears Pahóm’s boast that if he had more land, he would not fear even the Devil and decides to bring him down: The Devil will give Pahóm more land and by such means will entrap him. The Devil also appears in Pahóm’s dream; he is chuckling and (in line with traditional Christian depictions) has hoofs and horns. Lying before him is Pahóm’s dead body, foreshadowing the man’s death and implying that the Devil’s bid to claim his soul will succeed.

As the leader of the Bashkirs, the Chief wields great authority over his people, who respect him. The Chief formally agrees to Pahóm’s request for land, and he lays out the details of the agreement, accepting Pahóm’s request for a title-deed and explaining the price. That night Pahóm dreams of the Chief sitting and laughing outside Pahóm’s tent before the figure changes into that of the dealer. The next day, as Pahóm struggles to return to the hillock where the Chief and the other Bashkirs are waiting, he sees the Chief sitting on the ground, laughing, and Pahóm remembers his dream. The story does not explain why the Chief is laughing, but perhaps he is amused by Pahóm’s obsession with acquiring as much land as he possibly can.

The dealer appears in Part 4 when he stops at Pahóm’s house to get feed for his horses. He and Pahóm drink tea and talk. The dealer has just come back from the distant land of the Bashkirs, from whom he bought a lot of high-quality land for less than a penny an acre. All he had to do was ply the Bashkirs with gifts, like silk robes and carpets. He tells Pahóm that there is plenty of land available, almost for nothing.

Pahóm’s sister-in-law visits Pahóm and his wife at the beginning of the story, setting its events in motion. She is the older of the two sisters, and she and her husband, a tradesman, live in the city. She prides herself on the fact that her family is able to eat well and dress well and that the town offers them many entertainments. She mocks her sister because of the humble life she leads, saying that poverty is all she and her children will ever know. Her appearance heightens the story’s irony, as it is Pahóm—the “humble” peasant—who succumbs to temptation.

Pahóm’s wife is content with her life in the country. When her younger sister, who is married to a tradesman in the city, talks about the advantages of city life, Pahóm’s wife says she would not change her way of life for her sister’s: She and her husband may not have much, but they do not have to worry about losing wealth, as prosperous people in cities do. This proves ironic, as the visit marks the beginning of her husband’s restless need to amass more and more property.

Pahóm invites a peasant passing through his village to stay the night at his house. The peasant tells Pahóm that he comes from an area beyond the River Volga. Many people are moving there, the peasant says, and they are granted 25 acres of land each. The land is so good that that the rye grows as high as a horse. As soon as he hears this, Pahóm wants to move there.