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
While Semyon has been out of the house, his wife, Matryona, has spent the day completing various household chores. While she waits for her husband to return, she sits at the kitchen table trying to decide whether she should bake another loaf of bread or try to make the final slice of the old loaf last for a few more days. She carefully considers several factors and decides that it will be better for the family to economize and save their flour, which is running out.
In Matryona’s daily routine consists of nervous rationalization brought to an extreme, as she seems to be constantly making tables of pros and cons in her head. Her frugality reinforces the idea that Matryona and Semyon’s poverty is through no fault of their own; they are actually very careful spenders.
Themes
As Matryona mends one of Semyon’s shirts, her thoughts turn to her husband. She worries that Semyon — whom she considers very gullible — will have been swindled by the sheepskin salesman. She remembers how difficult it was to endure the winter last year without a warm coat of her own. With resentment, she also observes that when Semyon left for the village that morning, he took her jacket in addition to his own, leaving her nothing to wear for the whole day. Finally, she wonders why Semyon still hasn’t returned and hopes he hasn’t gone drinking.
In some ways, Matryona seems greedy and resentful in this passage. She is extremely worried about getting scammed, for example, and she seems to expect that Semyon will let her down. However, Matryona is also portrayed as a sympathetic character given the way poverty shapes her daily life. In this way, while the story doesn’t excuse Matryona’s self-interest and bitterness, it suggests that this mindset is natural for someone in Matryona’s position.
Themes
Just then, Semyon and the stranger arrive home. Matryona smells the alcohol on her husband’s breath, and she immediately realizes that he has spent the money on vodka. She is also affronted by her husband’s impudence in bringing this complete stranger to their house. Her anger grows still stronger when she sees that the stranger is wearing her husband’s coat and is naked underneath it. Furthermore, she distrusts the stranger because of his silence and his habit of averting his eyes.
When Semyon arrives home with the naked stranger and no coat, Matryona is angry for all the reasons he expected. Moreover, Matryona’s distrust of Mikhail because of his silence and perceived aloofness suggests that for people who are highly rational and calculating, mystery is very upsetting.
Themes
Semyon suggests that they all have dinner. He can tell by Matryona’s body language that she is upset with him, but he believes that there is nothing he can do about this and pretends not to notice it. He offers food to the stranger and then turns to Matryona, asking her what they will be having for dinner. At this, Matryona loses her temper. She lambasts her husband for failing to buy the sheepskins, getting drunk, wasting their money, and bringing home a “tramp.” She reminds him of similar episodes in the past, including when he sold all of her mother’s linen to buy vodka.
Matryona expresses the itemized list of grievances that had been building internally. Semyon anticipated most of her complaints, but she also references an episode from before the events of the story, suggesting that Semyon’s drinking has been a longstanding problem in their marriage. Matryona’s bitterness toward her life’s misfortune has made her selfish and closed off to the prospect of helping others.
Themes
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Finally, at the height of her outburst, Matryona demands that Semyon return her jacket, which is her only one. She tries to pull it off of his body, but in the process, the sleeve rips. Matryona throws the jacket on the floor and starts to leave the house. However, she stops suddenly in the doorway, and her heart “seem[s] to melt.” She decides that she wants to “banish all those spiteful feelings” and find out who the stranger is.
The violent ripping of the coat epitomizes Matryona’s anger and her selfishness. Her refusal to share her jacket ultimately backfires: instead of having one jacket to herself—as she intended in pulling it from Semyon’s body—she now has nothing to keep her warm. This symbolizes the idea that selfishness hurts both those who need help and those who refuse to give help. Moreover, although the stranger’s mysteriousness initially angered Matryona, curiosity about him is ultimately what compels her to look at him with more compassion.
Themes
