Summary
Levin throws himself into physical labor on his estate, working alongside his peasants in the fields with an intensity that borders on desperation. He's trying to exhaust himself so completely that he won't have energy left to think about his spiritual crisis and suicidal thoughts. The harder he works, the more he feels temporarily connected to something real and meaningful - the simple rhythm of manual labor, the camaraderie with his workers, the satisfaction of tangible results. But even as his body finds relief in the work, his mind keeps circling back to the same tormenting questions about life's purpose. The peasants around him seem to possess an unshakeable faith and contentment that he envies but can't understand. They work, eat, sleep, and find joy in simple things without questioning the meaning of existence. Levin watches them and wonders how they've found peace while he, with all his education and advantages, feels lost. The physical exhaustion provides only temporary escape - as soon as he stops moving, the dark thoughts return. This chapter shows how even the most privileged people can feel spiritually bankrupt, and how sometimes we try to outrun our problems through busyness rather than facing them directly. Levin's struggle reflects a universal human experience: the search for meaning when life feels empty, and the way we sometimes mistake activity for purpose. His envy of the peasants' simple faith reveals his growing understanding that happiness might not come from intellectual answers but from something deeper and more instinctive.
Coming Up in Chapter 139
An unexpected conversation with an old peasant is about to give Levin a glimpse of the spiritual insight he's been desperately seeking. Sometimes the answers we need come from the most unlikely sources.
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An excerpt from the original text.(~500 words)
Levin had been married three months. He was happy, but not at all in the way he had expected to be. At every step he found his former dreams disappointed, and new, unexpected surprises of happiness. He was happy; but on entering upon family life he saw at every step that it was utterly different from what he had imagined. At every step he experienced what a man would experience who, after admiring the smooth, happy course of a little boat on a lake, should get himself into that little boat. He saw that it was not all sitting still, floating smoothly; that one had to think too, not for an instant to forget where one was floating; and that there was water under one, and that one must row; and that his unaccustomed hands would be sore; and that it was only to look at it that was easy; but that doing it, though very delightful, was very difficult. As a bachelor, when he had watched other people’s married life, seen the petty cares, the squabbles, the jealousy, he had only smiled contemptuously in his heart. In his future married life there could be, he was convinced, nothing of that sort; even the external forms, indeed, he fancied, must be utterly unlike the life of others in everything. And all of a sudden, instead of his life with his wife being made on an individual pattern, it was, on the contrary, entirely made up of the pettiest details, which he had so despised before, but which now, by no will of his own, had gained an extraordinary importance that it was useless to contend against. And Levin saw that the organization of all these details was by no means so easy as he had fancied before. Although Levin believed himself to have the most exact conceptions of domestic life, unconsciously, like all men, he pictured domestic life as the happiest enjoyment of love, with nothing to hinder and no petty cares to distract. He ought, as he conceived the position, to do his work, and to find repose from it in the happiness of love. She ought to be beloved, and nothing more. But, like all men, he forgot that she too would want work. And he was surprised that she, his poetic, exquisite Kitty, could, not merely in the first weeks, but even in the first days of their married life, think, remember, and busy herself about tablecloths, and furniture, about mattresses for visitors, about a tray, about the cook, and the dinner, and so on. While they were still engaged, he had been struck by the definiteness with which she had declined the tour abroad and decided to go into the country, as though she knew of something she wanted, and could still think of something outside her love. This had jarred upon him then, and now her trivial cares and anxieties jarred upon him several times. But he saw that this was essential for her. And,...
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Intelligence Amplifier™ Analysis
The Road of Outrunning Yourself
Using overwhelming activity to avoid confronting uncomfortable truths about your life.
Why This Matters
Connect literature to life
This chapter teaches how to identify when you're using excessive activity to avoid dealing with difficult emotions or decisions.
Practice This Today
This week, notice when you suddenly feel compelled to take on extra tasks or responsibilities—ask yourself what uncomfortable feeling or conversation you might be avoiding.
Now let's explore the literary elements.
Terms to Know
Estate labor
In 19th century Russia, wealthy landowners like Levin owned vast properties worked by peasants. The landowner typically supervised from a distance, but some chose to work alongside their laborers. This was unusual and often seen as eccentric or democratic.
Modern Usage:
Today we see this when wealthy business owners work on the factory floor or CEOs take entry-level shifts to 'stay connected' to their workforce.
Peasant faith
Russian peasants had a simple, unquestioning religious faith rooted in Orthodox Christianity and folk traditions. They accepted life's hardships as God's will and found meaning through community, ritual, and acceptance rather than intellectual questioning.
Modern Usage:
We see this in people who find peace through simple faith traditions, community involvement, or acceptance of 'what is' rather than constantly analyzing life's meaning.
Existential crisis
A period of intense questioning about life's purpose, meaning, and value. Levin is experiencing this - wondering why he exists and whether life has any point. It often strikes people who have material success but feel spiritually empty.
Modern Usage:
The modern 'midlife crisis' or quarter-life crisis where people question their career choices, relationships, and life direction despite outward success.
Physical labor as escape
Using hard physical work to exhaust the body and quiet a troubled mind. Levin works until he's too tired to think about his problems. The repetitive nature of manual labor can provide temporary mental relief from anxiety or depression.
Modern Usage:
People today use intense workouts, manual hobbies, or physically demanding jobs to cope with stress, anxiety, or emotional pain.
Class privilege guilt
The uncomfortable feeling of having advantages others lack, especially when those advantages don't bring happiness. Levin has wealth and education but envies his workers' contentment, creating internal conflict about his position.
Modern Usage:
Today's 'privilege guilt' where people with good jobs, education, or family wealth feel bad about their advantages, especially when they're still unhappy.
Spiritual bankruptcy
Having material wealth or intellectual knowledge but feeling empty inside, lacking purpose or connection to something greater. It's the opposite of being poor in money but rich in spirit.
Modern Usage:
The modern feeling of having 'everything' on paper but still feeling lost, unfulfilled, or questioning what the point of it all is.
Characters in This Chapter
Levin
Protagonist in crisis
He's desperately trying to work himself into exhaustion to escape his suicidal thoughts and spiritual emptiness. Despite his wealth and education, he envies his peasants' simple contentment and struggles to find meaning in his privileged life.
Modern Equivalent:
The successful professional having a breakdown who starts doing manual labor or extreme workouts to cope
The peasant workers
Unwitting mentors
They work alongside Levin with natural contentment and unquestioned faith. Their simple acceptance of life and ability to find joy in basic things serves as both inspiration and frustration for Levin's tortured intellectual searching.
Modern Equivalent:
The coworkers who seem genuinely happy with simple lives while you're stressed about career advancement and life purpose
Key Quotes & Analysis
"He worked and forgot himself, and only when the sun was beginning to go down behind the forest did he remember that it was time for dinner."
Context: Describing how Levin loses himself in physical labor
This shows how manual work provides temporary escape from mental anguish. The phrase 'forgot himself' is key - he's trying to disappear from his own consciousness because his thoughts are too painful to bear.
In Today's Words:
He worked so hard he forgot about all his problems for a while.
"The longer he worked, the more often he felt those moments when he forgot what he was doing."
Context: Levin finding relief in the rhythm of farm work
This describes the meditative state that repetitive physical work can create. It's both blessing and curse - relief from suffering but also avoidance of necessary emotional work.
In Today's Words:
The harder he worked, the more he could zone out and not think about his life.
"These people had a firm, unshakable, unanimous conviction of what was good and what was bad."
Context: Levin observing his peasant workers' certainty
This highlights what Levin desperately wants but lacks - moral certainty and peace. His education has given him questions but taken away simple answers, while these workers have clear values without intellectual torment.
In Today's Words:
These people just knew right from wrong without overthinking everything.
Thematic Threads
Class
In This Chapter
Levin envies the peasants' simple faith and contentment, seeing their lack of education as a blessing rather than a limitation
Development
Evolved from earlier class guilt to now viewing privilege as a burden that prevents peace
In Your Life:
You might find yourself envying people with 'simpler' lives when your own advantages feel like complications
Identity
In This Chapter
Levin's educated, privileged identity feels like a curse preventing him from finding the simple faith he craves
Development
His identity crisis has deepened from social awkwardness to existential despair
In Your Life:
Sometimes the very things that should make you feel successful become sources of isolation and confusion
Purpose
In This Chapter
Physical labor provides temporary sense of meaning through tangible results and shared effort
Development
Introduced here as Levin's desperate search for authentic purpose beyond intellectual pursuits
In Your Life:
You might find more satisfaction in simple, concrete tasks than in complex work that feels meaningless
Avoidance
In This Chapter
Levin uses physical exhaustion as a strategy to silence his tormenting thoughts about life's meaning
Development
Introduced here as his latest coping mechanism for spiritual crisis
In Your Life:
When facing difficult decisions or emotions, you might unconsciously fill your schedule to avoid thinking
Faith
In This Chapter
The peasants possess an unshakeable faith that Levin envies but cannot understand or access
Development
Introduced here as the missing piece Levin believes would solve his existential crisis
In Your Life:
You might find yourself envying others who seem to have certainty about life when you're full of doubts
You now have the context. Time to form your own thoughts.
Discussion Questions
- 1
Why does Levin throw himself into physical labor, and what is he hoping to achieve?
analysis • surface - 2
What does Levin's strategy of exhausting himself reveal about how people handle overwhelming problems?
analysis • medium - 3
Where do you see people today using busyness or activity to avoid dealing with difficult emotions or decisions?
application • medium - 4
If you had a friend who was clearly overworking to avoid facing a personal crisis, how would you approach them?
application • deep - 5
What does Levin's envy of the peasants' simple faith suggest about the relationship between education, privilege, and happiness?
reflection • deep
Critical Thinking Exercise
Map Your Own Exhaustion Escape
Think about a time when you stayed extremely busy to avoid dealing with something difficult. Write down what you were avoiding, what activities you used as escape, and what happened when you finally had to face the issue. Then identify one current situation where you might be using this same pattern.
Consider:
- •Notice the difference between productive activity and avoidance activity
- •Consider how your body felt during the 'busy period' versus after
- •Think about whether the underlying problem got worse or better while you avoided it
Journaling Prompt
Write about a difficult question or decision you've been avoiding. What would happen if you set aside just 15 minutes this week to think about it directly, without distractions?
Coming Up Next...
Chapter 139
Moving forward, we'll examine key events and character development in this chapter, and understand thematic elements and literary techniques. These insights bridge the gap between classic literature and modern experience.