How Much Land Does a Man Need? Written Summary

How Much Land Does a Man Need? Written Summary

Kelly Jordan

An elder sister, who was married to a tradesman, visits her younger sister in the country, who was married to a peasant in the village. They sit over tea and the elder began to brag about the advantages of living in a town, including how comfortable they are, how they dress and what they ate. The younger gets annoyed and stands up for that of a peasant.  She begins to say that she would not change her way of life for town life. She tells the sister that they may have a rough life, but that they are free from anxiety.  She goes on to say that even though the elder earns more than she does, the elder also is very likely to lose what they have. The younger also says that the town is full of temptations. The master of the house, Pahom, was listening to the sisters talk and agrees with his wife. He says that the only trouble a peasant has is if they have enough land. He goes on to say, “If I had enough land, I shouldn’t fear the devil himself”. However, the Devil was listening behind the oven and heard everything. He says to himself that he will give the man enough land and lure him into his power.

​Near the village, there lived a lady who had an estate of about “120 desyatins”.  She employed a steward who always troubled the people with fines.  Paham was always very careful but somehow always seemed to get fined for various reasons.  During the winter, news got out that the lady was selling her land. When the peasants heard that an innkeeper wanted to buy it, they began to worry because the fines would be worse than now.  They came together to arrange and discuss on how to but the whole estate but the Devil cast discord among them and they could never agree. Thus, they decided to buy the land individually. Pahom heard that a fellow neighbor was buying fifty acres and paying half now and half in year. He felt very envious and scrounged up all he could do to put together half of the money. He ended up purchasing half of a forty acre farm and would pay the remainder in two years. Eventually he was able to pay off all of his debts and became a land owner.

​Pahom was very content until his neighboring peasants began to trespass on his corn-fields and meadows. He pleaded to them civility but it still went on and he kept forgiving the owner without any prosecution.  He finally lost patience and complained to the District Court thinking it will teach them a lesson.  Peasants began to get fined and started to hold a grudge against Pahom.  One peasant got into Pahom’s wood at night and cut down five of his trees for bark. When Pahom found out, he was furious and accused Simon of it.  Pahom complained to the court and Simon was summoned. There was no evidence against Simon so