In his short story "How Much Land Does a Man Need?" author Leo Tolstoy certainly characterizes Pahom's wife as being content, but Pahom is discontented from the start. That being the case, one can say it is unlikely Pahom would have ever become happy with what he had.
In the opening chapter of the short story, Pahom's wife is characterized as being very content with her life in her conversation with her elder sister. Her older sister brags about the wealth and prosperity she has in the city, mocking her sister's life as a country peasant. In retort, Pahom's wife argues that the peasant's life is far more secure because it does not depend on monetary gain. Pahom's wife further explains that, at any moment, her sister's husband could be tempted by the Devil "with cards, wine, or women," leading her husband to lose everything they have. In contrast, she asserts that Pahom could never lose all he has because his life is filled with too much hard work for him to be tempted like that by the Devil. As a result, Pahom's wife declares that though they will never be wealthy, they will "always have enough to eat."
Though Pahom's wife expresses contentment with her life, Pahom soon expresses discontent. Although he agrees with his wife that the peasant is always working far too hard to be distracted by the Devil, he also sees that there is no reason why the peasant can't also desire financial security and prosperity. For the farmer, financial security and prosperity comes from owning enough land that a profit can be earned. Pahom's desire to earn a profit leads him to say, "Our only trouble is that we haven't land enough." Since Pahom thinks so discontentedly from the start of the story about what he owns and because he desires to own more, we know that, no matter what, Pahom will never learn to be content with what he has.
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