Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in What Men Live By, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Mystery
Rationality vs. Generosity
Selfless Love
Summary
Analysis
Getting closer to the stranger, Semyon sees that he looks young, healthy, and uninjured. As Semyon approaches, the naked man seems to “wake as if from a trance.” He looks at Semyon, and something about his gaze suddenly inspires Semyon to take off his jacket and give it to the man. Semyon helps the man to his feet and is surprised to find that he needs no help getting up. He actually seems perfectly strong and bears no visible wounds.
Semyon immediately notices something very odd and mysterious about the stranger. Not only does he seem perfectly healthy—which is unexpected in light of his vulnerable position—but something in his gaze affects Semyon almost magically, compelling him to act without thinking rationally.
Themes
Semyon reaches to take his hat off his head and give it to the stranger. But his head feels cold, and he reasons that the young man has a full head of hair, while Semyon himself is bald. He decides to give the stranger his boots instead of his hat. The man looks at Semyon tenderly but appears unable to speak. Walking down the road with the stranger, Semyon is once again surprised by the man’s strength and speed.
Although Semyon has decided to help the stranger, his generosity still contains elements both of rational calculation and self-interest.He decides not to give the stranger his hat because he reasons that he himself needs it more. However, so that he can still feel that he is being generous, he gives the man his boots. In this way, even when Semyon is being generous, he is still motivated by selfishness. Meanwhile, as the men begin to walk together, Semyon is again mystified by the stranger’s seemingly good health.
Themes
As they walk, Semyon asks the stranger where he is from. The man responds vaguely that he is “not from these parts.” Then Semyon asks how he ended up behind the church, and the man replies that he cannot tell Semyon that. Next, Semyon asks if someone harmed the man, and the man responds that no one harmed him; it was God who punished him. Semyon asks if the man has somewhere to go, and the man says he doesn’t. So, Semyon invites the man to come home with him.
The mystery of the man’s wound-free body is made still stranger by Semyon’s conversation with him: the man refuses to answer even very simple questions about himself. In fact, he claims that he is unable to tell Semyon what happened to him. Rather than continuing to press the stranger, Semyon impulsively decides to help the man regardless of who he is or what happened to him. It seems that his compassion for the stranger has usurped his usual rational mode of thinking and his desire for answers.
Themes
Continuing on the road with the stranger, Semyon begins to feel cold. He starts to think again about his unsuccessful expedition: not only did he fail to acquire materials for a new coat, but he is actually returning home wearing one jacket fewer than when he left (since the stranger is now wearing one). He recognizes that his wife will be angry with him, and he feels depressed by this thought. When he looks at the stranger beside him, however, he feels inexplicably joyful.
The physical sensation of coldness returns Semyon temporarily to his emotionally “cold” and calculating mindset. However, looking at the stranger makes Semyon’s worries melt away. Thinking rationally is depressing, while irrational generosity is enlivening. For Semyon, the spiritual warmth of selfless love outweighs the physical discomfort of having one jacket fewer.
Themes
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