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 exhaust himself physically so he won't have mental energy left to think about his overwhelming despair and thoughts of suicide. The harder he works, the more he sweats and aches, the better he feels - but only temporarily. When the work stops, the dark thoughts return immediately. His peasant workers notice something's wrong with their master, seeing him work with an almost frantic intensity that's unusual even for him. Levin realizes that physical exhaustion is just a temporary escape, not a real solution to his spiritual crisis. The chapter shows how grief and existential despair can drive someone to seek relief through extreme physical activity, but also reveals the limits of this coping strategy. Levin's desperate attempt to outrun his thoughts through backbreaking labor reflects a very human response to overwhelming emotional pain - the instinct to do anything, even hurt ourselves physically, to stop psychological suffering. His peasants' concerned observations remind us that others can often see our pain even when we think we're hiding it. The temporary relief Levin finds in exhaustion gives him just enough respite to keep going, but he's beginning to understand that he needs something deeper than physical distraction to address his spiritual emptiness.
Coming Up in Chapter 156
Levin's physical escape strategy hits its limits as he's forced to confront what's really driving his despair. A chance encounter will challenge everything he thinks he knows about finding meaning in life.
Share it with friends
An excerpt from the original text.(~500 words)
As intensely as Anna had longed to see her son, and long as she had been thinking of it and preparing herself for it, she had not in the least expected that seeing him would affect her so deeply. On getting back to her lonely rooms in the hotel she could not for a long while understand why she was there. “Yes, it’s all over, and I am again alone,” she said to herself, and without taking off her hat she sat down in a low chair by the hearth. Fixing her eyes on a bronze clock standing on a table between the windows, she tried to think. The French maid brought from abroad came in to suggest she should dress. She gazed at her wonderingly and said, “Presently.” A footman offered her coffee. “Later on,” she said. The Italian nurse, after having taken the baby out in her best, came in with her, and brought her to Anna. The plump, well-fed little baby, on seeing her mother, as she always did, held out her fat little hands, and with a smile on her toothless mouth, began, like a fish with a float, bobbing her fingers up and down the starched folds of her embroidered skirt, making them rustle. It was impossible not to smile, not to kiss the baby, impossible not to hold out a finger for her to clutch, crowing and prancing all over; impossible not to offer her a lip which she sucked into her little mouth by way of a kiss. And all this Anna did, and took her in her arms and made her dance, and kissed her fresh little cheek and bare little elbows; but at the sight of this child it was plainer than ever to her that the feeling she had for her could not be called love in comparison with what she felt for Seryozha. Everything in this baby was charming, but for some reason all this did not go deep to her heart. On her first child, though the child of an unloved father, had been concentrated all the love that had never found satisfaction. Her baby girl had been born in the most painful circumstances and had not had a hundredth part of the care and thought which had been concentrated on her first child. Besides, in the little girl everything was still in the future, while Seryozha was by now almost a personality, and a personality dearly loved. In him there was a conflict of thought and feeling; he understood her, he loved her, he judged her, she thought, recalling his words and his eyes. And she was forever—not physically only but spiritually—divided from him, and it was impossible to set this right. She gave the baby back to the nurse, let her go, and opened the locket in which there was Seryozha’s portrait when he was almost of the same age as the girl. She got up, and, taking off her hat, took up from a little...
Master this chapter. Complete your experience
Purchase the complete book to access all chapters and support classic literature
As an Amazon Associate, we earn a small commission from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you.
Available in paperback, hardcover, and e-book formats
Intelligence Amplifier™ Analysis
The Exhaustion Escape - When We Run From Pain Into Pain
Using extreme physical activity or overwork as temporary relief from emotional pain, which provides short-term distraction but prevents actual healing.
Why This Matters
Connect literature to life
This chapter teaches how to tell when we're working toward a goal versus running from a problem.
Practice This Today
This week, notice when you suddenly get 'busy' - ask yourself: am I solving something or avoiding something?
Now let's explore the literary elements.
Terms to Know
Physical labor as escape
The practice of throwing yourself into hard physical work to avoid dealing with emotional or mental pain. In 19th century Russia, aristocrats like Levin would work alongside peasants, which was unusual for their social class.
Modern Usage:
We see this when people work excessive overtime, hit the gym obsessively, or take on intense physical projects to avoid processing grief or depression.
Existential crisis
A period of intense questioning about the meaning and purpose of life, often triggered by loss or major life changes. Levin is struggling with whether life has any point at all.
Modern Usage:
This happens during midlife crises, after job loss, divorce, or death of loved ones when people ask 'What's the point of any of this?'
Peasant class dynamics
The relationship between landowners and the workers on their estates in feudal Russia. Peasants were often more observant of their masters' moods than the masters realized.
Modern Usage:
Similar to how employees often notice when their boss is going through something, even when the boss thinks they're hiding it well.
Spiritual emptiness
A feeling that life lacks meaning, purpose, or connection to something greater than yourself. Different from sadness - it's more like feeling hollow inside.
Modern Usage:
Common in our achievement-focused culture when people succeed but still feel empty, leading to the question 'Is this all there is?'
Maladaptive coping
Using strategies to deal with pain that provide temporary relief but don't solve the underlying problem and might even cause harm.
Modern Usage:
Like binge-watching TV to avoid problems, shopping when depressed, or working yourself to exhaustion to avoid dealing with relationship issues.
Social observation
How people around us notice changes in our behavior even when we think we're hiding our struggles. The peasants see Levin's frantic energy isn't normal.
Modern Usage:
When coworkers, family, or friends say 'You seem off lately' even though you thought you were acting normal.
Characters in This Chapter
Levin
Protagonist in crisis
Desperately works in the fields trying to exhaust himself so he won't have energy to think about his suicidal thoughts. His frantic labor reveals how close he is to breaking point.
Modern Equivalent:
The workaholic who stays late every night to avoid going home to an empty house
The peasant workers
Concerned observers
They notice their master is working with unusual intensity and something is wrong with him. Their observations show that Levin's pain is visible to others despite his attempts to hide it.
Modern Equivalent:
Coworkers who notice when someone is going through a rough patch
Key Quotes & Analysis
"The harder he worked, the better he felt, and the work went all the better."
Context: Describing Levin's desperate attempt to lose himself in physical labor
This shows the temporary relief that extreme physical activity can provide from mental anguish. The irony is that his desperation actually makes him more effective at the work, but it's not sustainable.
In Today's Words:
The more I exhaust myself, the less I have to think about what's really bothering me.
"But the moment he stopped working, the moment he began to think, he was seized by that horror."
Context: When Levin pauses from his frantic labor
This reveals the fundamental flaw in using physical exhaustion as escape - it only works while you're actively doing it. The underlying pain remains untouched.
In Today's Words:
As soon as I stop keeping busy, all those dark thoughts come flooding back.
"The peasants noticed that their master was somehow different today."
Context: The workers observing Levin's unusual behavior
This shows how our pain is often more visible to others than we realize. Despite Levin's attempts to hide his crisis through work, his desperation is obvious to those around him.
In Today's Words:
Everyone could tell something was seriously wrong with him, even though he thought he was hiding it.
Thematic Threads
Physical Labor
In This Chapter
Levin works frantically in the fields, pushing his body to extremes to escape mental anguish
Development
Evolved from his earlier appreciation of honest work to desperate self-punishment
In Your Life:
You might recognize this when you clean house obsessively after bad news or work extra shifts to avoid dealing with relationship problems
Class
In This Chapter
His peasant workers notice something wrong with their master's frantic behavior, showing they understand him despite class differences
Development
Continues the theme of mutual observation and understanding across social boundaries
In Your Life:
Your coworkers or neighbors often see your stress before you admit it to yourself
Despair
In This Chapter
Levin's suicidal thoughts drive him to seek any form of temporary relief, even through physical pain
Development
His spiritual crisis has deepened from philosophical questioning to active suffering
In Your Life:
You might find yourself doing anything - even harmful things - to stop overwhelming emotional pain
Temporary Solutions
In This Chapter
Physical exhaustion provides brief respite but the dark thoughts return immediately when work stops
Development
Introduced here as Levin learns the limits of distraction-based coping
In Your Life:
You might notice how binge-watching, shopping sprees, or other distractions only postpone difficult feelings
Human Connection
In This Chapter
The peasants' concerned observations show that isolation during crisis is often an illusion
Development
Continues the theme that others can see our struggles even when we try to hide them
In Your Life:
People around you often notice when you're struggling, even when you think you're hiding it well
You now have the context. Time to form your own thoughts.
Discussion Questions
- 1
What specific strategy does Levin use to try to escape his dark thoughts, and how well does it work?
analysis • surface - 2
Why do you think Levin chooses physical exhaustion rather than other forms of distraction like drinking or socializing?
analysis • medium - 3
Where do you see people today using work or physical activity to avoid dealing with emotional problems?
application • medium - 4
If you had a friend like Levin who was working themselves to exhaustion to avoid painful feelings, what would you actually say or do to help them?
application • deep - 5
What does Levin's discovery that his peasants notice something is wrong teach us about how visible our pain really is to others?
reflection • deep
Critical Thinking Exercise
Map Your Own Escape Routes
Think about the last time you felt overwhelmed by stress, sadness, or anxiety. Write down three things you did to cope with those feelings. For each coping strategy, identify whether it actually addressed the problem or just distracted you from it temporarily. Then brainstorm one direct action you could have taken to face the issue head-on.
Consider:
- •Consider both healthy and unhealthy escape strategies - sometimes even good activities like exercise become problematic when used as avoidance
- •Think about the difference between taking care of yourself versus running away from yourself
- •Notice patterns in how you typically respond to emotional pain - do you tend toward overwork, isolation, shopping, cleaning, or something else?
Journaling Prompt
Write about a time when you worked extra hard or stayed extra busy to avoid dealing with something difficult. What were you really trying not to feel? Looking back, what do you wish you had done differently?
Coming Up Next...
Chapter 156
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.