Summary
Levin throws himself into farm work with desperate intensity, trying to escape his thoughts about Kitty and his failed proposal. He works alongside his peasants in the fields, finding temporary peace in physical labor and the rhythm of mowing hay. The harder he works, the more he loses himself in the moment - sweat, sun, and the steady swing of his scythe become his world. But even this refuge can't completely silence his inner turmoil. His brother Sergey arrives unexpectedly, bringing the outside world back into Levin's carefully constructed bubble of work and solitude. Levin realizes he's been using farm labor like a drug - something to numb the pain of rejection and his confusion about what he wants from life. This chapter shows how we sometimes throw ourselves into activity to avoid dealing with emotional pain, but also reveals that physical work can genuinely restore us when our minds are spinning out of control. Levin's connection to the land and manual labor represents his search for authentic meaning in a world that often feels artificial and complicated. His peasants accept him working beside them, but there's still a distance - he can play at being a simple farmer, but his education and social position make him fundamentally different. The chapter captures that restless energy we feel when we're trying to outrun our problems, and the bittersweet discovery that while work can heal us temporarily, we eventually have to face what we're running from.
Coming Up in Chapter 108
Sergey's unexpected arrival forces Levin to step away from his physical escape and confront the intellectual and emotional questions he's been avoiding. The brothers will have a conversation that challenges everything Levin thinks he knows about purpose and meaning.
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An excerpt from the original text.(~500 words)
Alexey Alexandrovitch had gained a brilliant victory at the sitting of the Commission of the 17th of August, but in the sequel this victory cut the ground from under his feet. The new commission for the inquiry into the condition of the native tribes in all its branches had been formed and despatched to its destination with an unusual speed and energy inspired by Alexey Alexandrovitch. Within three months a report was presented. The condition of the native tribes was investigated in its political, administrative, economic, ethnographic, material, and religious aspects. To all these questions there were answers admirably stated, and answers admitting no shade of doubt, since they were not a product of human thought, always liable to error, but were all the product of official activity. The answers were all based on official data furnished by governors and heads of churches, and founded on the reports of district magistrates and ecclesiastical superintendents, founded in their turn on the reports of parochial overseers and parish priests; and so all of these answers were unhesitating and certain. All such questions as, for instance, of the cause of failure of crops, of the adherence of certain tribes to their ancient beliefs, etc.—questions which, but for the convenient intervention of the official machine, are not, and cannot be solved for ages—received full, unhesitating solution. And this solution was in favor of Alexey Alexandrovitch’s contention. But Stremov, who had felt stung to the quick at the last sitting, had, on the reception of the commission’s report, resorted to tactics which Alexey Alexandrovitch had not anticipated. Stremov, carrying with him several members, went over to Alexey Alexandrovitch’s side, and not contenting himself with warmly defending the measure proposed by Karenin, proposed other more extreme measures in the same direction. These measures, still further exaggerated in opposition to what was Alexey Alexandrovitch’s fundamental idea, were passed by the commission, and then the aim of Stremov’s tactics became apparent. Carried to an extreme, the measures seemed at once to be so absurd that the highest authorities, and public opinion, and intellectual ladies, and the newspapers, all at the same time fell foul of them, expressing their indignation both with the measures and their nominal father, Alexey Alexandrovitch. Stremov drew back, affecting to have blindly followed Karenin, and to be astounded and distressed at what had been done. This meant the defeat of Alexey Alexandrovitch. But in spite of failing health, in spite of his domestic griefs, he did not give in. There was a split in the commission. Some members, with Stremov at their head, justified their mistake on the ground that they had put faith in the commission of revision, instituted by Alexey Alexandrovitch, and maintained that the report of the commission was rubbish, and simply so much waste paper. Alexey Alexandrovitch, with a following of those who saw the danger of so revolutionary an attitude to official documents, persisted in upholding the statements obtained by the revising commission. In consequence of this, in the...
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Intelligence Amplifier™ Analysis
The Road of Productive Avoidance
Using intense activity or work to escape emotional pain while convincing yourself you're being constructive.
Why This Matters
Connect literature to life
This chapter teaches how to distinguish between healthy productivity and desperate activity used to escape pain.
Practice This Today
This week, notice when you're working with desperate intensity rather than steady purpose—ask yourself what you're not thinking about right now.
Now let's explore the literary elements.
Terms to Know
Scythe mowing
Cutting grass or grain with a long-handled blade in a rhythmic, sweeping motion. In 19th century Russia, this was communal work done by teams of peasants during harvest season. The physical rhythm and shared labor created a meditative, almost spiritual experience.
Modern Usage:
Like getting into 'the zone' during repetitive physical work - running, chopping vegetables, or assembly line jobs where your mind goes quiet and you find peace in the rhythm.
Peasant labor
The agricultural work done by serfs and poor farmers in rural Russia. Though Levin is wealthy, he works alongside his peasants, trying to bridge the class divide through shared physical effort. This was unusual for a landowner.
Modern Usage:
When wealthy people try to connect with working-class culture - like CEOs doing factory shifts or politicians working service jobs for photo ops.
Gentleman farmer
A wealthy landowner who participates in farm work more as a hobby or philosophical choice than necessity. Levin genuinely loves the work, but his education and social position make him different from the peasants he works beside.
Modern Usage:
Like wealthy people who buy small farms or start artisan businesses - they can afford to romanticize manual labor because they have other options.
Work as escape
Using intense physical activity to avoid dealing with emotional pain or difficult decisions. Levin throws himself into mowing to stop thinking about Kitty's rejection and his confusion about his place in society.
Modern Usage:
Workaholics who stay late to avoid going home, or people who hit the gym obsessively after a breakup to stop their minds from racing.
Class consciousness
The awareness of social and economic differences between groups. Even when Levin works alongside peasants, both sides are aware of the gap in education, wealth, and life options that separates them.
Modern Usage:
The awkwardness when a manager tries to be 'one of the team' - everyone knows the power dynamic is still there, even if they're being friendly.
Spiritual through physical
The Russian Orthodox and literary idea that hard physical work can lead to spiritual insight and peace. Tolstoy believed manual labor connected people to God and authentic life in ways that intellectual pursuits couldn't.
Modern Usage:
The runner's high, or how people find meditation in gardening, cooking, or crafting - using their hands to quiet their minds.
Characters in This Chapter
Levin
Protagonist in crisis
Desperately throws himself into mowing hay to escape thoughts of Kitty's rejection. Works with intense focus alongside peasants, finding temporary peace in physical exhaustion. His privileged background makes him different from his workers, but he genuinely loves the labor.
Modern Equivalent:
The heartbroken person who becomes obsessed with CrossFit or takes on extra shifts to avoid dealing with their feelings
Sergey (Levin's brother)
Reality check
Arrives unexpectedly at the farm, breaking Levin's bubble of work-focused isolation. Represents the educated, intellectual world that Levin is trying to escape through manual labor.
Modern Equivalent:
The family member who shows up when you're trying to reinvent yourself and reminds you of who you really are
The peasant workers
Authentic laborers
Accept Levin working beside them but maintain awareness of class differences. They do this work from necessity while Levin does it from choice. Their easy rhythm and acceptance of hardship contrasts with Levin's emotional turmoil.
Modern Equivalent:
The experienced coworkers who let the new person tag along but know they'll probably quit when things get real
Key Quotes & Analysis
"The longer Levin mowed, the oftener he felt the moments of unconsciousness in which it seemed not his hands that swung the scythe, but the scythe mowing of itself."
Context: Levin loses himself completely in the rhythm of cutting hay
This captures the meditative state that comes from repetitive physical work. Levin finds the peace that's been eluding him by surrendering conscious thought and letting his body take over. It's a form of moving meditation.
In Today's Words:
The more he worked, the more he got into that zone where his body just took over and his mind finally went quiet.
"He felt as if some external power were moving him, and he experienced a joy such as he had never known."
Context: Levin discovers unexpected happiness in the simple act of mowing
This spiritual breakthrough comes not from thinking or reasoning, but from surrendering to physical work. Tolstoy suggests that authentic joy comes from connecting with basic human activities, not intellectual pursuits.
In Today's Words:
It felt like something bigger than himself was carrying him along, and he was happier than he'd been in forever.
"The grass cut with a juicy sound, and was laid in high, fragrant rows."
Context: Description of the sensory experience of mowing
Tolstoy focuses on immediate physical sensations - sound, smell, visual beauty. This grounds Levin (and readers) in the present moment, showing how manual work can pull us out of anxious thoughts into simple reality.
In Today's Words:
The grass made that perfect cutting sound and fell into neat, sweet-smelling lines.
Thematic Threads
Authenticity
In This Chapter
Levin seeks authentic connection through manual labor but realizes he's still performing a role rather than being genuine
Development
Evolved from his earlier social awkwardness to active seeking of 'real' experience
In Your Life:
You might find yourself trying to be 'more real' by rejecting your actual background or education.
Class
In This Chapter
Despite working alongside peasants, Levin's education and position create unbridgeable distance
Development
Consistent theme showing how class differences persist even in moments of apparent equality
In Your Life:
You experience this when trying to fit in with people from different economic backgrounds at work or socially.
Emotional Regulation
In This Chapter
Levin uses physical exhaustion to manage his emotional turmoil about Kitty's rejection
Development
New exploration of how characters cope with intense feelings
In Your Life:
You might recognize your own patterns of using exercise, work, or other activities to avoid processing difficult emotions.
Identity
In This Chapter
Levin questions who he really is - landowner, intellectual, or simple farmer
Development
Deepening of his ongoing identity crisis following social rejection
In Your Life:
You face this when major life changes force you to question which version of yourself is 'real.'
Isolation
In This Chapter
Levin creates physical and emotional distance from his social world through farm work
Development
Progression from social awkwardness to active withdrawal from society
In Your Life:
You might retreat into work or hobbies when relationships become too complicated or painful.
You now have the context. Time to form your own thoughts.
Discussion Questions
- 1
What specific activities does Levin throw himself into, and how does his body respond to this intense work?
analysis • surface - 2
Why does Levin choose physical farm work specifically as his escape, rather than other activities he could pursue?
analysis • medium - 3
Where do you see people today using intense activity or work to avoid dealing with emotional problems?
application • medium - 4
How can someone tell the difference between healthy, restorative work and work that's being used as emotional avoidance?
application • deep - 5
What does Levin's experience reveal about the relationship between physical work, mental clarity, and emotional healing?
reflection • deep
Critical Thinking Exercise
Map Your Productive Avoidance Patterns
Think about the last time you felt emotionally overwhelmed or rejected. List three activities you threw yourself into during that period. For each activity, write whether it genuinely helped you process the situation or just helped you avoid thinking about it. Then identify what you were actually avoiding and whether that issue still needs attention.
Consider:
- •Notice the difference between activities that exhaust you versus those that restore you
- •Pay attention to the intensity level - desperate energy versus steady purpose
- •Consider whether your 'productive' activities are addressing the root problem or just the symptoms
Journaling Prompt
Write about a time when you used work or intense activity to avoid emotional pain. What were you really running from, and what would have happened if you had faced it directly instead?
Coming Up Next...
Chapter 108
What lies ahead teaches us key events and character development in this chapter, and shows us thematic elements and literary techniques. These patterns appear in literature and life alike.