“How Much Land Does a Man Need?” is one of Leo Tolstoy’s most gripping and affecting short stories. Published in 1886, the story examines the futility of chasing wealth, depicts the perils of greed and pride, and condemns corrupt economic structures.
The story employs skaz, a Russian narrative form that emulates the dialect and expressions of oral speech. Using unsophisticated, informal language typical of skaz, an omniscient narrator begins the story with a peasant named Pahom eavesdropping on an argument between his wife and her elder sister. Married to a merchant, the elder sister proclaims city life as superior to country life, while Pahom’s wife defends the self-sufficiency and dignity of peasantry. Thinking to himself, Pahom shares his wife’s position, yet proceeds to declare, “If I had plenty of land, I shouldn’t fear the Devil!” (5). Sure enough, the Devil himself is crouched in the oven behind Pahom and overhears his inner proclamation. He vows to grant Pahom the land he desires, at the cost of instilling a insatiable avarice that grows over the course of the story—and can only end tragically.
Russian’s socioeconomic structures were on the brink of collapse at the time of publication of “How Much Land Does a Man Need?” In 1861, Emperor Alexander II abolished serfdom, a form of indentured servitude that subjugated tens of millions of peasants. The newly free were no longer bound to rich landowners and could purchase private pieces of property for themselves. However, serfdom's abolishment did not dismantle entrenched stark class divisions between the rich and poor. The number of ostensibly free serfs exceeded the amount of available land, which limited their opportunities to become landowners. Existing landlords, meanwhile, granted peasants small amounts of land—which still technically belonged to a commune, or peasant village community—in exchange for their labor. Exploitation, social and economic upheaval, and class inequality still reverberated for generations.
In the latter part of his career, Tolstoy experienced a moral and spiritual epiphany, becoming a radical Christian anarchist and pacifist. He adopted a peasant way of life and rejected material possessions, land, and other markers of worth, wealth, and status. Tolstoy criticized the inequities that persisted after serfdom abolishment, which forms the social and economic backdrop of “How Much Land Does a Man Need?” The story expresses Tolstoy's contempt for economic systems that equate material wealth with fulfillment, as well as cyclically disadvantage and marginalize the poor. The result is an incisive social critique revered by many notable literary figures, including James Joyce, who hailed “How Much Land Does a Man Need?” as "the greatest story that the literature of the world knows."
