An excerpt from the original text.(complete · 1564 words)
s 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 table an album in which there were photographs of her son at
different ages. She wanted to compare them, and began taking them out
of the album. She took them all out except one, the latest and best
photograph. In it he was in a white smock, sitting astride a chair,
with frowning eyes and smiling lips. It was his best, most
characteristic expression. With her little supple hands, her white,
delicate fingers, that moved with a peculiar intensity today, she
pulled at a corner of the photograph, but the photograph had caught
somewhere, and she could not get it out. There was no paper-knife on
the table, and so, pulling out the photograph that was next to her
son’s (it was a photograph of Vronsky taken at Rome in a round hat and
with long hair), she used it to push out her son’s photograph. “Oh,
here is he!” she said, glancing at the portrait of Vronsky, and she
suddenly recalled that he was the cause of her present misery. She had
not once thought of him all the morning. But now, coming all at once
upon that manly, noble face, so familiar and so dear to her, she felt a
sudden rush of love for him.
“But where is he? How is it he leaves me alone in my misery?” she
thought all at once with a feeling of reproach, forgetting she had
herself kept from him everything concerning her son. She sent to ask
him to come to her immediately; with a throbbing heart she awaited him,
rehearsing to herself the words in which she would tell him all, and
the expressions of love with which he would console her. The messenger
returned with the answer that he had a visitor with him, but that he
would come immediately, and that he asked whether she would let him
bring with him Prince Yashvin, who had just arrived in Petersburg.
“He’s not coming alone, and since dinner yesterday he has not seen me,”
she thought; “he’s not coming so that I could tell him everything, but
coming with Yashvin.” And all at once a strange idea came to her: what
if he had ceased to love her?
And going over the events of the last few days, it seemed to her that
she saw in everything a confirmation of this terrible idea. The fact
that he had not dined at home yesterday, and the fact that he had
insisted on their taking separate sets of rooms in Petersburg, and that
even now he was not coming to her alone, as though he were trying to
avoid meeting her face to face.
“But he ought to tell me so. I must know that it is so. If I knew it,
then I know what I should do,” she said to herself, utterly unable to
picture to herself the position she would be in if she were convinced
of his not caring for her. She thought he had ceased to love her, she
felt close upon despair, and consequently she felt exceptionally alert.
She rang for her maid and went to her dressing-room. As she dressed,
she took more care over her appearance than she had done all those
days, as though he might, if he had grown cold to her, fall in love
with her again because she had dressed and arranged her hair in the way
most becoming to her.
She heard the bell ring before she was ready. When she went into the
drawing-room it was not he, but Yashvin, who met her eyes. Vronsky was
looking through the photographs of her son, which she had forgotten on
the table, and he made no haste to look round at her.
“We have met already,” she said, putting her little hand into the huge
hand of Yashvin, whose bashfulness was so queerly out of keeping with
his immense frame and coarse face. “We met last year at the races. Give
them to me,” she said, with a rapid movement snatching from Vronsky the
photographs of her son, and glancing significantly at him with flashing
eyes. “Were the races good this year? Instead of them I saw the races
in the Corso in Rome. But you don’t care for life abroad,” she said
with a cordial smile. “I know you and all your tastes, though I have
seen so little of you.”
“I’m awfully sorry for that, for my tastes are mostly bad,” said
Yashvin, gnawing at his left mustache.
Having talked a little while, and noticing that Vronsky glanced at the
clock, Yashvin asked her whether she would be staying much longer in
Petersburg, and unbending his huge figure reached after his cap.
“Not long, I think,” she said hesitatingly, glancing at Vronsky.
“So then we shan’t meet again?”
“Come and dine with me,” said Anna resolutely, angry it seemed with
herself for her embarrassment, but flushing as she always did when she
defined her position before a fresh person. “The dinner here is not
good, but at least you will see him. There is no one of his old friends
in the regiment Alexey cares for as he does for you.”
“Delighted,” said Yashvin with a smile, from which Vronsky could see
that he liked Anna very much.
Yashvin said good-bye and went away; Vronsky stayed behind.
“Are you going too?” she said to him.
“I’m late already,” he answered. “Run along! I’ll catch you up in a
moment,” he called to Yashvin.
She took him by the hand, and without taking her eyes off him, gazed at
him while she ransacked her mind for the words to say that would keep
him.
“Wait a minute, there’s something I want to say to you,” and taking his
broad hand she pressed it on her neck. “Oh, was it right my asking him
to dinner?”
“You did quite right,” he said with a serene smile that showed his even
teeth, and he kissed her hand.
“Alexey, you have not changed to me?” she said, pressing his hand in
both of hers. “Alexey, I am miserable here. When are we going away?”
“Soon, soon. You wouldn’t believe how disagreeable our way of living
here is to me too,” he said, and he drew away his hand.
“Well, go, go!” she said in a tone of offense, and she walked quickly
away from him.
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Let's Analyse the Pattern
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.
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
Vronsky returns home to find Anna gone, and her mysterious absence all morning—combined with her strange behavior—begins to worry him. The cracks in their relationship are widening.
