28 pages • 56 minutes read
Leo TolstoyWhat Men Live By
Fiction | Short Story | Adult | Published in 1885A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Themes
The Unknowable Nature of Divine Power
God’s plan for and involvement with humanity is central to the story’s plot. Michael’s failure to follow God’s plan leads to his fall, which is orchestrated to teach him not only the inevitability of God’s will but the truth behind it. People are shown to be united in certain uncertainties, such as what the next day will bring and when death will come. Individuals who act as though they are above such uncertainties, like the gentleman who orders the boots, do not keep God’s plan from acting upon them. However, providence and the uncertainty that accompanies its existence do not exclusively control life’s ills; the mystery behind good events is also a result of God’s incomprehensible plan. Within “What Men Live By,” when one trusts in providence to provide and uses that trust as motivation to help others, the world becomes a better place.
The night that Michael is found, Matryona asks “We give; but why does nobody give us anything?” (Part 4, paragraph 30). Unknowingly, she has already been given an enormous gift in the form of Michael, who will vastly improve their circumstances. Simon states earlier in the chapter that “God sent me to him, or he would have perished” (Part 4, paragraph 2). At the time, Simon’s statement about God’s will guiding him implies that the purpose of his and Michael’s meeting was only to save Michael’s life, and it is only later that the mutually beneficial nature of the relationship is exposed. That first instance of trust in God’s plan must occur for the blessings to come. Similarly, when the twin girls are adopted, it seems at first that the burden is on their adoptive mother, and they are the exclusive beneficiaries of the relationship. But their adoptive mother, having lost her own child, benefits greatly from their presence, proclaiming to Simon and Matryona, “How can I help loving them! They are the joy of my life!” (Part 9, Paragraph 2). In the story’s world, good or selfless deeds benefit the doer in unforeseen ways.
These strokes of providence are accomplished by divine will and human kindness working in tandem. One good act that is enabled by a chance meeting or untimely death leads, in turn, to many more. Tolstoy mirrors this view of divine power in his writing style—every individual scene expresses a variety of meanings and truths. The presence and incomprehensibility of providence support the story’s argument that people should act morally toward each other before any other concerns, as they do not know how to prevent their deaths or what exactly they need, but they do each have the capacity to be kind. Though myriad difficulties exist for these characters, by caring for others, they engage in a divine practice. The mutual care and exchange of aid between people is a gift from God because “He who has love, is in God, and God is in him, for God is love” (Part 12, paragraph 7).
Generosity Versus Pragmatism
Both Simon and Matryona have to balance their material concerns with their conscience, overcoming pragmatic impulses to instead offer from what little they have. Upon seeing Michael, Simon fears physical injury, robbery, and that even if he isn’t attacked, “[Michael would] still be a burden” (Part 1, paragraph 4). Matryona worries over how little bread they have, their lack of clothing, and “what sort of a man” Michael is (Part 3, paragraph 13). Though their concerns are not baseless, their generosity wins out. Indeed, it is how little they have that motivates Simon—“Have you grown so rich as to be afraid of robbers?” he asks himself as he goes to help Michael (Part 1, paragraph 5). Later, after taking him in, Simon soothes Matryona by saying, “If we’re alive we shall find something to eat” (Part 4, paragraph 16). The problem of bread can still be solved for all three of them, whereas had Michael been thrown out, some would not be alive and able to eat.
Though Simon and Matryona initially deprive themselves to help Michael, their actions are rewarded. Matryona’s fears over bread are solved the next day by the generosity of a neighbor. The assistance Michael offers to Simon causes his business to grow, and Michael himself is good, quiet, and hard-working. Each fear is dispelled, and generosity is rewarded in kind. Though harsher, more selfish aspects of humanity are shown—the men who avoid paying Simon or the sheepskin dealer who refuses to sell on credit—acts of generosity are shown to be just as present, if not more so. The villagers who wash the woman’s body, care for her after death, and ensure that her children are cared for are kinder than she believed they would be. Both impulses are present in people, but generosity regardless of circumstance is the one that is rewarded, even if the reward is only initially that one has soothed their conscience.
Living by rationality gives no such reward. The gentleman who comes to buy boots attempts to obtain the best material goods for himself, unconcerned with others. He threatens Simon with prison if his boots wear over the course of a year, even though he could easily pay to have them repaired. Neither his threats nor his demands serve him: His death comes without regard to reason or planning. Even Michael’s initial error is caused by him giving in to rational fears. Though he tries to be helpful by sparing the woman’s life, he is operating on her belief that the town will not be generous and that babies must have a parent to survive. The struggle between substantive circumstantial needs and spiritual conscience is portrayed as so difficult to judge that even an angel could choose incorrectly. By the end of the story, the rewards of generosity are shown to be a fundamental truth.
Human Connection as Divine
Michael’s purpose on Earth is to learn three truths that will give him a greater understanding of humanity. The truths ultimately teach Michael not only their individual lessons but that God wants humanity to love and be around each other. Over and over, care for others not only leads to everyone’s circumstances improving but also brings people what they did not realize they needed. Hostile action toward others, be it from anger or distrust, hurts all involved and prevents the good that could have stemmed from connecting with others.
A lack of understanding causes much of the strife within the story. The sheepskin dealer’s distrust of selling on credit, Matryona’s sorrow and anger at Simon when she misunderstands what he has done, and Michael and the mother’s concern that the twins will not be cared for; each negative assumption causes pain to others. Instead of saying that these concerns are baseless, the story is almost ironically compassionate toward these moments of distrust. It is shown that it is hard to collect on debts, that Simon does appear to have drunk away all their money, and that the twins will be left without a blood relative if their mother dies. However, reacting in anger and desperation instead of trying to understand leaves all parties the lesser for it.
If distrust and antipathy create barriers to joy and connection, the opposite is true of faith and understanding. The twins’ adoptive mother, trusting that she can produce enough milk to feed all three children, allows both twins to survive. Matryona, trusting Michael’s knowledge when she sees him making the slippers, keeps the leather from being turned into the unneeded boots. When Simon and Matryona both help, Michael is saved, showing the collective good people can accomplish. If, as Michael learns, “He who has love, is in God, and God is in him, for God is love” (Part 12, paragraph 7), then sharing love and trust between two people connects them through God’s communal presence.
Humans require each other. God conceals men’s true needs from themselves because He “does not wish men to live apart, and therefore he does not reveal to them what each one needs for himself; but he wishes them to live united, and therefore reveals to each of them what is necessary for all.” (Part 12, paragraph 6). Both distrusting others and self-isolation prevents people from learning this truth. For these characters, faith begets faith. Michael connects with and puts his life in Simon’s hands, who in turn trusts Michael with his work and home despite his odd circumstances. Both gain material and spiritual benefits from this connection. Human beings find God within each other, and the importance of this human connection reinforces the mystery of God’s plan and the need for generosity among people. Living in harmony with other humans allows everyone to help each other and, with the support of this connection, more easily embrace life’s unknowns.
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