"What Men Live By" (also translated as "What People Live By"
Boston, D. Lothrop and Company (c1886)
/ref>) is a short story
A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...
written by Russian
Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including:
*Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
author Leo Tolstoy
Count Lev Nikolayevich TolstoyTolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; russian: link=no, Лев Николаевич Толстой,In Tolstoy's day, his name was written as in pre-refor ...
in 1885. It is one of the short stories included in his collection ''What Men Live By, and Other Tales'', published in 1885. The compilation also included the written pieces "The Three Questions
"The Three Questions" is a 1903 short story by Russian author Leo Tolstoy as part of the collection ''What Men Live By, and Other Tales''. The story takes the form of a parable, and it concerns a king who wants to find the answers to what he consi ...
", "The Coffee-House of Surat
"The Coffee-House of Surat" (''Суратская кофейная'') (AKA: ''A Surat Café'') is a short story by Leo Tolstoy written in 1891, first published in Russian in 1893, and first published in English in 1901. Like several other of Tolst ...
", and "How Much Land Does a Man Need?
"How Much Land Does a Man Require?" (Russian: Много ли человеку земли нужно?, ''Mnogo li cheloveku zemli nuzhno?'') is an 1886 short story by Leo Tolstoy about a man who, in his lust for land, forfeits everything.
Synopsi ...
".
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn. (11 December 1918 – 3 August 2008) was a Russian novelist. One of the most famous Soviet dissidents, Solzhenitsyn was an outspoken critic of communism and helped to raise global awareness of political repress ...
refers to the story in ''Cancer Ward
''Cancer Ward'' (russian: links=no, italics=yes, Раковый корпус, Rakovy korpus) is a semi-autobiographical novel by Nobel Prize-winning Russian author Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. Completed in 1966, the novel was distributed in Russia t ...
''.
Characters
Simon – A humble and poor shoemaker.
Matryona – Simon's wife.
Michael – An angel punished by God
In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...
for his disobedience and turned into a mortal.
Plot
A kind, humble and poor shoemaker
Shoemaking is the process of making footwear.
Originally, shoes were made one at a time by hand, often by groups of shoemakers, or cobblers (also known as '' cordwainers''). In the 18th century, dozens or even hundreds of masters, journeymen ...
named Simon goes out one day to purchase sheep-skins in order to sew a winter coat for his wife and himself to share. Usually, the little money which Simon earns would be spent to purchase food for his family. However, Simon decides that in order to afford the skins he must go on a collection to receive the five ruble
The ruble (American English) or rouble (Commonwealth English) (; rus, рубль, p=rublʲ) is the currency unit of Belarus and Russia. Historically, it was the currency of the Russian Empire and of the Soviet Union.
, currencies named ''rub ...
s and twenty kopeks owed to him by his customers. As he heads out to collect the money he also borrows a three-rouble note from his wife's money box. While going on his collection he only manages to collect the twenty kopeks rather than the full amount. Feeling disheartened by this, Simon rashly spends the twenty kopeks on vodka
Vodka ( pl, wódka , russian: водка , sv, vodka ) is a clear distilled alcoholic beverage. Different varieties originated in Poland, Russia, and Sweden. Vodka is composed mainly of water and ethanol but sometimes with traces of impuritie ...
and starts to head back home drunkenly, stumbling and talking to himself, cursing the coat dealer. He states that he is warm without the vodka and that he won't make it through the winter without a fur coat.
While approaching the chapel at the end of the road, Simon stops and notices something pale-looking leaning against it. He looks closer and notices that it is a naked man who appears poor of health. Initially, he is suspicious and fears that the man may have bad intentions if he is in such a state, assuming Simon to be a drunkard. He proceeds to pass the man until he sees that the man has lifted his head and is looking towards him. After some contemplation, Simon feels ashamed for his disregard and heads back to help the man.
Simon takes off his cloth coat and wraps it around the stranger. He also gives him the extra pair of boots he was carrying. He aids him as they both walk toward Simon's home. Though they walk together side by side, the stranger barely speaks and when Simon asks how he was left in that situation the only answers the man would give are: "I cannot tell" and "God has punished me." Meanwhile, Simon's wife Matryona contemplates whether or not to bake more bread for the night's meal so that there is enough for the following morning's breakfast. She decides that the loaf of bread that they have left would be ample enough to last until the next morning. As she sees Simon approaching the door she is angered to see him with a strange man who is wrapped in Simon's clothing.
Matryona immediately expresses her displeasure with Simon, accusing them both to be drunkards and harassing Simon for not returning with the sheep-skin needed to make a new coat. Once the tension settles down, she bids that the stranger sit down and have dinner with them. After seeing the stranger take bites at the bread she placed for him on his plate, she begins to feel pity and shows so in her face. When the stranger notices this, his grim expression lights up immediately and he smiles for one brief moment. After hearing the stranger's story of Simon's kind behavior towards him, Matryona grabs more of Simon's old clothing and gives it to the stranger.
The following morning Simon addresses the stranger and asks his name. The stranger reveals his name to be Michael. Simon explains to Michael that he can stay in his household as long as he can earn his keep by working as an assistant for Simon in his shoemaking business. Michael agrees to these terms and for a few years he remains a very faithful assistant.
One winter day a nobleman comes in their shop. The nobleman outlines strict conditions for the construction of a pair of thick leather boots: they should not lose shape nor become loose at the seams for a year, or else he would have Simon arrested. When Simon gives to Michael the leather that the nobleman had given them to use, Michael appears to stare beyond the nobleman's shoulder and smiles for the second time since he has been there. As Michael cuts and sews the leather, instead of making thick leather boots, he makes a pair of soft leather slippers. Simon is too late when he notices this and cries to Michael asking why he would do such a foolish thing. Before Michael can answer, a messenger arrives at their door and gives the news that the nobleman has died and asks if they could change the order to slippers for him to wear on his death bed. Simon is astounded by this and watches as Michael gives the messenger the already-made leather slippers. Time continues to go by and Simon is very grateful for Michael's faithful assistance.
In the sixth year, another customer comes in who happens to be a woman with two girls, one of which is crippled. The woman requests if she could order a pair of leather shoes for each of the girls — three shoes of the same size, since they both share the same shoe size, and another shoe for the crippled girl's lame foot. As they are preparing to fill the order Michael stares intently at the girls and Simon wonders why he is doing so. As Simon takes the girls' measurements he asks the woman if they are her own children and how was the girl with the lame foot crippled. The woman explains that she has no relation to them and that the actual mother on her deathbed accidentally crushed the leg of the crippled girl. She expresses that she could not find it in her heart to leave them in a safe home or orphanage and adopted
Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting of another, usually a child, from that person's biological or legal parent or parents. Legal adoptions permanently transfer all rights and responsibilities, along with filiation, from ...
them as her own. When Michael hears this, he smiles for the third time since he has been there.
After the woman and the two children finally left, Michael approaches Simon and bids him farewell explaining that God has finally forgiven him. As Michael does this he begins to be surrounded by a heavenly glow and Simon acknowledges that he is not an ordinary man. Simon asks him why light emits from him and why did he smile only those three times. Michael explains that he is an angel
In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God.
Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles include ...
who was given the task to take away a woman's life so she could pass on to the next life. He allowed the woman to live because she begged that she must take care of her children for no one other than their mother could care for them. When he did this God punished him for his disobedience and commanded that he must find the answers to the following questions in order to be an angel again: ''What dwells in man?'', ''What is not given to man?'', and ''What do men live by?'' After Michael returned to earth to take the woman's soul, the woman's lifeless body rolled over and crushed the leg of the now crippled girl. Then Michael's wings left him and he became a naked and mortal man. When Simon rescued him he knew that he must start finding the answers to those questions. He learned the answer to the first question when Matryona felt pity for him, thus smiling and realizing that what dwells in man is "love". The answer to the second question came to him when he realized that the angel of death was looming over the nobleman who was making preparations for a year though he would not live till sunset; thus Michael smiled, realizing that what is not given to man is "to know his own needs." Lastly, he comprehended the answer to the final question when he saw the woman with the two girls from the mother, whose soul he previously did not take, thus smiling and realizing that regardless of being a stranger or a relation to each other, "all men live not by care for themselves but by love." Michael concludes, saying, "I have now understood that though it seems to men that they live by care for themselves, in truth it is love alone by which they live. He who has love, is in God, and God is in him, for God is love." When Michael finishes, he sings praises to God as wings appear on his back and he rises to return to heaven
Heaven or the heavens, is a common religious cosmological or transcendent supernatural place where beings such as deities, angels, souls, saints, or venerated ancestors are said to originate, be enthroned, or reside. According to the belie ...
.
Adaptations
It was turned into a short British film in 1938 directed by Vernon Sewell
Vernon Campbell Sewell (4 July 1903 – 21 June 2001) was a British film director, writer, producer and, briefly, an actor.
Sewell was born in London, England, and was educated at Marlborough College. He directed more than 30 films during his c ...
.
See also
*Bibliography of Leo Tolstoy
This is a list of works by Russian writer Leo Tolstoy (1828–1910), including his novels, novellas, short stories, fables and parables, plays, and nonfiction.
Prose Fiction
Novels
*''War and Peace'' (Война и мир 'Voyna i mir'' 1869 ...
*Twenty-Three Tales
''Twenty-Three Tales'' is a popular compilation of short stories by Leo Tolstoy. According to its publisher, Oxford University Press, the collection is about contemporary classes in Russia during Tolstoy's time, written in a brief, morality play, ...
References
External links
* English Text
*
What Men Live By
at RevoltLib.com
*
at Marxists.org
*
What Men Live By
at TheAnarchistLibrary.org
* English Audio
*
What Men Live By
at Archive.org
**
{{Leo Tolstoy
1885 short stories
Short stories by Leo Tolstoy
Parables
Angels in popular culture