How Much Land Does a Man Need

“‘All right,’ thought the Devil. ‘We will have a tussle. I’ll give you land enough; and by means of that land I will get you into my power.’”

This is the key moment that sets the plot in motion. The Devil happens to have been sitting behind the stove when Pahóm was thinking boastfully about how, if he had more land, he would not fear anything—even the Devil. The Devil, however, can read his thoughts, and the “tussle” turns out to be one-sided; Pahóm, ignorant of the Devil’s plan, does not resist it. Pahóm is not exactly selling his soul to the Devil since he does not know what the Devil has decided. However, Pahóm quickly gives in to materialism, which the Devil implies has a corrupting influence, leading almost inevitably to damnation.

“When he went out to plough his fields, or to look at his growing corn, or at his grass-meadow, his heart would fill with joy. The grass that grew and the flowers that bloomed there seemed to him unlike any that grew elsewhere. Formerly, when he had passed by that land, it had appeared the same as any other land, but now it seemed quite different.”

These are Pahóm’s thoughts after he has purchased his first 40 acres. For the first time, he has land of his own, and his thoughts show how ownership influences his perception. There is something special about the grass and the flowers now, just because he can call them his own. Pride of ownership is so pleasurable and meaningful to him that he soon wants more. The seeds of his downfall have already been planted.