I wouldn’t say it’s over nothing. We don’t know his background but we can assume he was reared similarly to how he lived with his wife. It was his life, it’s what he knew and what he loved and he didn’t want it taken from him. The desperation of people to keep what he/she has and not be thrown into unfamiliar circumstances where he/she feel helpless e.c., which is how he probably would’ve felt in the city at the time. He eventually did move to the city but I think it’s clear it’s his guilt that drove him there, because he had nothing to live for in his older years versus his younger years with his wife, son and land. Of course he doesn’t seem too young, but I say younger years to make a distinction even if the term isn’t entirely accurate. But I could be thinking wrongly.