Summary
Levin throws himself into physical labor on his estate, working alongside his peasants in the fields under the blazing sun. He's desperately trying to escape the torment of his thoughts about Kitty's rejection and his overall sense of life's meaninglessness. The harder he works, the more he hopes to exhaust himself into peace. But even as sweat pours down his face and his muscles ache, his mind won't quiet. He watches the peasants around him - they seem to have a natural rhythm with the land, a purpose he envies but can't quite grasp. This chapter shows Levin at his lowest point, using backbreaking work as both punishment and attempted cure for his emotional pain. Tolstoy reveals how physical labor can be both escape and confrontation - Levin thinks he's running from his problems, but the repetitive work actually forces him deeper into himself. The contrast between Levin's tortured intellectualizing and the peasants' simple acceptance of their work highlights one of the novel's central themes: the search for authentic meaning in life. While the peasants seem naturally connected to their purpose, Levin struggles with the modern burden of having to create meaning rather than inherit it. His desperate attempt to lose himself in manual labor shows how privileged people often romanticize working-class life as somehow more 'real' or meaningful, not understanding that meaning comes from within, not from the type of work you do. This moment captures the universal experience of trying to outrun emotional pain through exhaustion, and the futility of seeking external solutions to internal struggles.
Coming Up in Chapter 126
Levin's physical exhaustion finally catches up with him, but instead of the peace he sought, he faces an unexpected encounter that will force him to confront the very thoughts he's been trying to escape. Sometimes the universe has other plans for our attempts at avoidance.
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An excerpt from the original text.(~500 words)
Princess Shtcherbatskaya considered that it was out of the question for the wedding to take place before Lent, just five weeks off, since not half the trousseau could possibly be ready by that time. But she could not but agree with Levin that to fix it for after Lent would be putting it off too late, as an old aunt of Prince Shtcherbatsky’s was seriously ill and might die, and then the mourning would delay the wedding still longer. And therefore, deciding to divide the trousseau into two parts—a larger and smaller trousseau—the princess consented to have the wedding before Lent. She determined that she would get the smaller part of the trousseau all ready now, and the larger part should be made later, and she was much vexed with Levin because he was incapable of giving her a serious answer to the question whether he agreed to this arrangement or not. The arrangement was the more suitable as, immediately after the wedding, the young people were to go to the country, where the more important part of the trousseau would not be wanted. Levin still continued in the same delirious condition in which it seemed to him that he and his happiness constituted the chief and sole aim of all existence, and that he need not now think or care about anything, that everything was being done and would be done for him by others. He had not even plans and aims for the future, he left its arrangement to others, knowing that everything would be delightful. His brother Sergey Ivanovitch, Stepan Arkadyevitch, and the princess guided him in doing what he had to do. All he did was to agree entirely with everything suggested to him. His brother raised money for him, the princess advised him to leave Moscow after the wedding. Stepan Arkadyevitch advised him to go abroad. He agreed to everything. “Do what you choose, if it amuses you. I’m happy, and my happiness can be no greater and no less for anything you do,” he thought. When he told Kitty of Stepan Arkadyevitch’s advice that they should go abroad, he was much surprised that she did not agree to this, and had some definite requirements of her own in regard to their future. She knew Levin had work he loved in the country. She did not, as he saw, understand this work, she did not even care to understand it. But that did not prevent her from regarding it as a matter of great importance. And then she knew their home would be in the country, and she wanted to go, not abroad where she was not going to live, but to the place where their home would be. This definitely expressed purpose astonished Levin. But since he did not care either way, he immediately asked Stepan Arkadyevitch, as though it were his duty, to go down to the country and to arrange everything there to the best of his ability with the taste of...
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Intelligence Amplifier™ Analysis
The Road of Outrunning Yourself
Using physical exhaustion or busyness to avoid processing emotional pain or difficult life transitions.
Why This Matters
Connect literature to life
This chapter teaches how to identify when busyness or physical activity becomes a substitute for emotional processing.
Practice This Today
This week, notice when you reach for extra work or activities during emotional stress—ask yourself what you're really trying to avoid facing.
Now let's explore the literary elements.
Terms to Know
Estate labor
In 19th-century Russia, wealthy landowners managed large agricultural properties worked by peasants. The landowner typically supervised from a distance, making Levin's choice to work alongside his peasants unusual and socially awkward.
Modern Usage:
Like a CEO who suddenly starts working on the factory floor - well-meaning but often misguided and uncomfortable for everyone involved.
Peasant class
Rural agricultural workers who were bound to the land and lived in poverty. They had a deep connection to seasonal rhythms and physical work that educated nobles often romanticized as more 'authentic' than intellectual pursuits.
Modern Usage:
Similar to how office workers sometimes idealize blue-collar jobs as more 'real' or meaningful than desk work.
Physical labor as therapy
The belief that hard manual work can cure emotional or mental distress by exhausting the body and quieting the mind. This was a common 19th-century idea among the educated classes who rarely did such work themselves.
Modern Usage:
Like hitting the gym hard after a breakup or throwing yourself into home renovation projects when you're depressed.
Existential crisis
A period of intense questioning about life's meaning and purpose, often triggered by rejection, failure, or major life changes. Levin represents the modern condition of having to create meaning rather than inherit it from tradition.
Modern Usage:
The quarter-life or mid-life crisis where you question everything about your choices and wonder what the point of it all is.
Class guilt
The uncomfortable awareness of privilege and the attempt to bridge class differences through shared physical experience. Wealthy people often feel guilty about their advantages and try to connect with working people through manual labor.
Modern Usage:
Like when privileged people volunteer at soup kitchens or work manual jobs to feel more connected to 'real' people.
Romantic rejection aftermath
The period of intense emotional pain, self-doubt, and desperate attempts to distract oneself following romantic rejection. In Tolstoy's time, men were expected to suffer nobly and find productive outlets for their pain.
Modern Usage:
The post-breakup phase where you throw yourself into work, exercise, or new hobbies to avoid dealing with your feelings.
Characters in This Chapter
Levin
Tormented protagonist
He's desperately trying to escape his emotional pain through backbreaking physical labor, working alongside peasants in the fields. His attempt to lose himself in manual work reveals both his privilege and his genuine search for meaning and connection.
Modern Equivalent:
The guy who starts doing CrossFit obsessively after his girlfriend dumps him
The peasants
Unwitting teachers
They work with natural rhythm and apparent contentment that Levin envies but can't achieve. Their presence highlights the difference between inherited purpose and the modern burden of creating meaning for yourself.
Modern Equivalent:
Coworkers who seem naturally happy with jobs you find meaningless
Key Quotes & Analysis
"He felt that this work was the only thing that could save him from despair."
Context: As Levin throws himself into physical labor in the fields
This reveals how people often mistake external action for internal healing. Levin believes that if he can just work hard enough, he can escape his emotional pain, but he's really just avoiding the real work of processing his feelings.
In Today's Words:
If I just keep myself busy enough, maybe I won't have to deal with how much this hurts.
"The harder he worked, the more he felt that he was achieving nothing."
Context: Despite his physical exhaustion, Levin finds no peace
This captures the futility of trying to solve internal problems with external solutions. Physical exhaustion can't cure heartbreak or existential emptiness - it just postpones the reckoning.
In Today's Words:
No matter how hard I grind, I still feel empty inside.
"The peasants worked with a rhythm he could not master, a peace he could not find."
Context: Levin observing the natural flow of the workers around him
This shows how privileged people often romanticize working-class life as somehow more authentic or meaningful. Levin assumes the peasants have found something he's missing, not understanding that meaning comes from within, not from the type of work you do.
In Today's Words:
Everyone else seems to have it figured out while I'm just faking it.
Thematic Threads
Class
In This Chapter
Levin romanticizes the peasants' simple relationship with their work, envying what he sees as their natural purpose while missing that meaning comes from within, not from job type
Development
Builds on earlier class tensions, now showing how privilege can create existential burden—having choices can be harder than having none
In Your Life:
You might catch yourself thinking other people's jobs or lives look 'simpler' or more meaningful when you're struggling with your own path
Identity
In This Chapter
Levin tries to lose his tortured intellectual self in physical labor, attempting to become someone else rather than work with who he is
Development
Continues Levin's identity crisis from earlier rejections and philosophical struggles
In Your Life:
You might try to completely reinvent yourself during difficult times instead of integrating painful experiences into who you already are
Escape
In This Chapter
Physical labor becomes both punishment for his failures and attempted cure for his emotional pain
Development
Introduced here as Levin's coping mechanism for his lowest point
In Your Life:
You might use work, exercise, or other activities to avoid dealing with relationship problems or major life decisions
Meaning
In This Chapter
Levin searches for purpose through mimicking others' work rather than finding authentic meaning within himself
Development
Deepens the ongoing theme of characters seeking external validation for internal worth
In Your Life:
You might look for life's meaning in your job title or daily tasks instead of in your relationships and personal growth
You now have the context. Time to form your own thoughts.
Discussion Questions
- 1
What specific actions does Levin take to try to escape his emotional pain, and what does he hope to achieve?
analysis • surface - 2
Why does Levin believe that working alongside the peasants will solve his problems, and what does this reveal about his assumptions?
analysis • medium - 3
Where do you see people today using physical exhaustion or extreme busyness to avoid dealing with emotional problems?
application • medium - 4
When you recognize someone (including yourself) falling into this exhaustion pattern, what would be a more effective approach to help them process their real issues?
application • deep - 5
What does Levin's failed attempt to find meaning through manual labor teach us about the difference between motion and progress in personal growth?
reflection • deep
Critical Thinking Exercise
Track Your Own Escape Patterns
Think of a recent time when you felt emotionally overwhelmed or hurt. Write down what you did to cope - did you throw yourself into work, cleaning, exercise, or other activities? Map out the pattern: what were you avoiding, what did you do instead, and did it actually solve the underlying problem?
Consider:
- •Notice the difference between healthy coping (processing emotions while staying active) and escape coping (using activity to avoid emotions entirely)
- •Consider whether your 'productive' activities during emotional stress actually addressed the root cause or just postponed dealing with it
- •Identify what emotions or conversations you tend to avoid through busyness
Journaling Prompt
Write about a time when you successfully faced an emotional problem directly instead of trying to outrun it. What made the difference? How can you apply that approach to current challenges?
Coming Up Next...
Chapter 126
As the story unfolds, you'll explore key events and character development in this chapter, while uncovering thematic elements and literary techniques. These lessons connect the classic to contemporary challenges we all face.