An excerpt from the original text.(complete · 1897 words)
evin came back to the house only when they sent to summon him to
supper. On the stairs were standing Kitty and Agafea Mihalovna,
consulting about wines for supper.
“But why are you making all this fuss? Have what we usually do.”
“No, Stiva doesn’t drink ... Kostya, stop, what’s the matter?” Kitty
began, hurrying after him, but he strode ruthlessly away to the
dining-room without waiting for her, and at once joined in the lively
general conversation which was being maintained there by Vassenka
Veslovsky and Stepan Arkadyevitch.
“Well, what do you say, are we going shooting tomorrow?” said Stepan
Arkadyevitch.
“Please, do let’s go,” said Veslovsky, moving to another chair, where
he sat down sideways, with one fat leg crossed under him.
“I shall be delighted, we will go. And have you had any shooting yet
this year?” said Levin to Veslovsky, looking intently at his leg, but
speaking with that forced amiability that Kitty knew so well in him,
and that was so out of keeping with him. “I can’t answer for our
finding grouse, but there are plenty of snipe. Only we ought to start
early. You’re not tired? Aren’t you tired, Stiva?”
“Me tired? I’ve never been tired yet. Suppose we stay up all night.
Let’s go for a walk!”
“Yes, really, let’s not go to bed at all! Capital!” Veslovsky chimed
in.
“Oh, we all know you can do without sleep, and keep other people up
too,” Dolly said to her husband, with that faint note of irony in her
voice which she almost always had now with her husband. “But to my
thinking, it’s time for bed now.... I’m going, I don’t want supper.”
“No, do stay a little, Dolly,” said Stepan Arkadyevitch, going round to
her side behind the table where they were having supper. “I’ve so much
still to tell you.”
“Nothing really, I suppose.”
“Do you know Veslovsky has been at Anna’s, and he’s going to them
again? You know they’re hardly fifty miles from you, and I too must
certainly go over there. Veslovsky, come here!”
Vassenka crossed over to the ladies, and sat down beside Kitty.
“Ah, do tell me, please; you have stayed with her? How was she?” Darya
Alexandrovna appealed to him.
Levin was left at the other end of the table, and though never pausing
in his conversation with the princess and Varenka, he saw that there
was an eager and mysterious conversation going on between Stepan
Arkadyevitch, Dolly, Kitty, and Veslovsky. And that was not all. He saw
on his wife’s face an expression of real feeling as she gazed with
fixed eyes on the handsome face of Vassenka, who was telling them
something with great animation.
“It’s exceedingly nice at their place,” Veslovsky was telling them
about Vronsky and Anna. “I can’t, of course, take it upon myself to
judge, but in their house you feel the real feeling of home.”
“What do they intend doing?”
“I believe they think of going to Moscow.”
“How jolly it would be for us all to go over to them together! When are
you going there?” Stepan Arkadyevitch asked Vassenka.
“I’m spending July there.”
“Will you go?” Stepan Arkadyevitch said to his wife.
“I’ve been wanting to a long while; I shall certainly go,” said Dolly.
“I am sorry for her, and I know her. She’s a splendid woman. I will go
alone, when you go back, and then I shall be in no one’s way. And it
will be better indeed without you.”
“To be sure,” said Stepan Arkadyevitch. “And you, Kitty?”
“I? Why should I go?” Kitty said, flushing all over, and she glanced
round at her husband.
“Do you know Anna Arkadyevna, then?” Veslovsky asked her. “She’s a very
fascinating woman.”
“Yes,” she answered Veslovsky, crimsoning still more. She got up and
walked across to her husband.
“Are you going shooting, then, tomorrow?” she said.
His jealousy had in these few moments, especially at the flush that had
overspread her cheeks while she was talking to Veslovsky, gone far
indeed. Now as he heard her words, he construed them in his own
fashion. Strange as it was to him afterwards to recall it, it seemed to
him at the moment clear that in asking whether he was going shooting,
all she cared to know was whether he would give that pleasure to
Vassenka Veslovsky, with whom, as he fancied, she was in love.
“Yes, I’m going,” he answered her in an unnatural voice, disagreeable
to himself.
“No, better spend the day here tomorrow, or Dolly won’t see anything of
her husband, and set off the day after,” said Kitty.
The motive of Kitty’s words was interpreted by Levin thus: “Don’t
separate me from him. I don’t care about your going, but do let me
enjoy the society of this delightful young man.”
“Oh, if you wish, we’ll stay here tomorrow,” Levin answered, with
peculiar amiability.
Vassenka meanwhile, utterly unsuspecting the misery his presence had
occasioned, got up from the table after Kitty, and watching her with
smiling and admiring eyes, he followed her.
Levin saw that look. He turned white, and for a minute he could hardly
breathe. “How dare he look at my wife like that!” was the feeling that
boiled within him.
“Tomorrow, then? Do, please, let us go,” said Vassenka, sitting down on
a chair, and again crossing his leg as his habit was.
Levin’s jealousy went further still. Already he saw himself a deceived
husband, looked upon by his wife and her lover as simply necessary to
provide them with the conveniences and pleasures of life.... But in
spite of that he made polite and hospitable inquiries of Vassenka about
his shooting, his gun, and his boots, and agreed to go shooting next
day.
Happily for Levin, the old princess cut short his agonies by getting up
herself and advising Kitty to go to bed. But even at this point Levin
could not escape another agony. As he said good-night to his hostess,
Vassenka would again have kissed her hand, but Kitty, reddening, drew
back her hand and said with a naïve bluntness, for which the old
princess scolded her afterwards:
“We don’t like that fashion.”
In Levin’s eyes she was to blame for having allowed such relations to
arise, and still more to blame for showing so awkwardly that she did
not like them.
“Why, how can one want to go to bed!” said Stepan Arkadyevitch, who,
after drinking several glasses of wine at supper, was now in his most
charming and sentimental humor. “Look, Kitty,” he said, pointing to the
moon, which had just risen behind the lime trees—“how exquisite!
Veslovsky, this is the time for a serenade. You know, he has a splendid
voice; we practiced songs together along the road. He has brought some
lovely songs with him, two new ones. Varvara Andreevna and he must sing
some duets.”
When the party had broken up, Stepan Arkadyevitch walked a long while
about the avenue with Veslovsky; their voices could be heard singing
one of the new songs.
Levin hearing these voices sat scowling in an easy-chair in his wife’s
bedroom, and maintained an obstinate silence when she asked him what
was wrong. But when at last with a timid glance she hazarded the
question: “Was there perhaps something you disliked about
Veslovsky?”—it all burst out, and he told her all. He was humiliated
himself at what he was saying, and that exasperated him all the more.
He stood facing her with his eyes glittering menacingly under his
scowling brows, and he squeezed his strong arms across his chest, as
though he were straining every nerve to hold himself in. The expression
of his face would have been grim, and even cruel, if it had not at the
same time had a look of suffering which touched her. His jaws were
twitching, and his voice kept breaking.
“You must understand that I’m not jealous, that’s a nasty word. I can’t
be jealous, and believe that.... I can’t say what I feel, but this is
awful.... I’m not jealous, but I’m wounded, humiliated that anybody
dare think, that anybody dare look at you with eyes like that.”
“Eyes like what?” said Kitty, trying as conscientiously as possible to
recall every word and gesture of that evening and every shade implied
in them.
At the very bottom of her heart she did think there had been something
precisely at the moment when he had crossed over after her to the other
end of the table; but she dared not own it even to herself, and would
have been even more unable to bring herself to say so to him, and so
increase his suffering.
“And what can there possibly be attractive about me as I am now?...”
“Ah!” he cried, clutching at his head, “you shouldn’t say that!... If
you had been attractive then....”
“Oh, no, Kostya, oh, wait a minute, oh, do listen!” she said, looking
at him with an expression of pained commiseration. “Why, what can you
be thinking about! When for me there’s no one in the world, no one, no
one!... Would you like me never to see anyone?”
For the first minute she had been offended at his jealousy; she was
angry that the slightest amusement, even the most innocent, should be
forbidden her; but now she would readily have sacrificed, not merely
such trifles, but everything, for his peace of mind, to save him from
the agony he was suffering.
“You must understand the horror and comedy of my position,” he went on
in a desperate whisper; “that he’s in my house, that he’s done nothing
improper positively except his free and easy airs and the way he sits
on his legs. He thinks it’s the best possible form, and so I’m obliged
to be civil to him.”
“But, Kostya, you’re exaggerating,” said Kitty, at the bottom of her
heart rejoicing at the depth of his love for her, shown now in his
jealousy.
“The most awful part of it all is that you’re just as you always are,
and especially now when to me you’re something sacred, and we’re so
happy, so particularly happy—and all of a sudden a little wretch....
He’s not a little wretch; why should I abuse him? I have nothing to do
with him. But why should my, and your, happiness....”
“Do you know, I understand now what it’s all come from,” Kitty was
beginning.
“Well, what? what?”
“I saw how you looked while we were talking at supper.”
“Well, well!” Levin said in dismay.
She told him what they had been talking about. And as she told him, she
was breathless with emotion. Levin was silent for a space, then he
scanned her pale and distressed face, and suddenly he clutched at his
head.
“Katya, I’ve been worrying you! Darling, forgive me! It’s madness!
Katya, I’m a criminal. And how could you be so distressed at such
idiocy?”
“Oh, I was sorry for you.”
“For me? for me? How mad I am!... But why make you miserable? It’s
awful to think that any outsider can shatter our happiness.”
“It’s humiliating too, of course.”
“Oh, then I’ll keep him here all the summer, and will overwhelm him
with civility,” said Levin, kissing her hands. “You shall see.
Tomorrow.... Oh, yes, we are going tomorrow.”
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
Let's Analyse the Pattern
The Work Escape - When Busyness Becomes Avoidance
Using physical activity or busyness to avoid confronting difficult emotions or existential questions.
Why This Matters
Connect literature to life
This chapter teaches how to identify when we're using activity to avoid confronting difficult emotions or situations.
Practice This Today
This week, notice when you suddenly feel compelled to clean, work, exercise, or stay busy during emotional stress - pause and ask what you might be avoiding.
Now let's explore the literary elements.
Key Quotes & Analysis
"The longer Levin went on mowing, the oftener he experienced those moments of oblivion when his arms no longer seemed to swing the scythe, but the scythe itself his whole body, so conscious and full of life."
Context: When Levin loses himself in the rhythm of physical work
This describes the meditative state that comes from repetitive physical work. Levin finds temporary peace when his mind stops racing and he becomes one with the task.
In Today's Words:
The work was so rhythmic that he stopped thinking and just moved on autopilot, feeling completely in the zone.
"He envied them their health and strength, their good spirits and their simple acceptance of life."
Context: Levin observing his workers during a break
This reveals how education and privilege can sometimes be a burden. Levin's ability to question everything makes him miserable while the workers' simple acceptance brings them peace.
In Today's Words:
He wished he could be as happy and carefree as they were, not constantly worrying about the meaning of everything.
"But as soon as he began to think, he felt that old familiar ache in his heart."
Context: When Levin's mind wanders from work back to his existential questions
Shows that physical work only provides temporary relief from spiritual crisis. The moment his mind is free to wander, the pain returns, suggesting that action alone cannot solve deeper problems.
In Today's Words:
The second he stopped being busy, all his worries and sadness came flooding back.
Thematic Threads
Class
In This Chapter
Levin envies the peasants' simple faith and apparent contentment, seeing his education as a burden that creates doubt
Development
Evolved from earlier class tensions - now showing how privilege can create psychological suffering
In Your Life:
You might catch yourself romanticizing others' 'simpler' lives when your own feels complicated
Identity
In This Chapter
Levin tries to find himself through physical labor, seeking identity in work rather than thought
Development
His identity crisis deepens as intellectual pursuits fail to provide meaning
In Your Life:
You might define yourself entirely by your job or role, losing sense of who you are underneath
Personal Growth
In This Chapter
Levin's spiritual crisis forces him to confront fundamental questions about life's purpose
Development
His growth journey intensifies as external solutions prove inadequate
In Your Life:
You might resist personal growth because it requires sitting with uncomfortable uncertainty
Social Expectations
In This Chapter
Levin feels pressure to find meaning in socially acceptable ways - work, productivity, purpose
Development
Continues theme of characters struggling against societal definitions of fulfillment
In Your Life:
You might feel guilty for questioning whether the prescribed path to happiness actually works for you
You now have the context. Time to form your own thoughts.
Discussion Questions
- 1
Why does Levin choose to work in the fields with his peasants instead of dealing with his spiritual crisis directly?
analysis • surface - 2
What makes physical labor temporarily effective at silencing Levin's existential questions, and why doesn't this solution last?
analysis • medium - 3
Where do you see people using work or busyness to avoid dealing with difficult emotions or life questions in your own community?
application • medium - 4
How can someone tell the difference between healthy, purposeful work and using work as emotional avoidance?
application • deep - 5
What does Levin's envy of the peasants' simple faith reveal about the relationship between education, privilege, and happiness?
reflection • deep
Critical Thinking Exercise
Track Your Own Work Escape Patterns
For the next week, notice when you dive into work or busyness during stressful moments. Keep a simple log: What triggered the busyness? What were you avoiding? How did you feel before, during, and after the work session? Look for patterns in your own behavior that mirror Levin's response to his spiritual crisis.
Consider:
- •Pay attention to the difference between work that energizes you and work that numbs you
- •Notice if certain types of stress consistently drive you toward specific activities
- •Consider whether your busyness actually solves problems or just postpones them
Journaling Prompt
Write about a time when you threw yourself into work or activity to avoid dealing with something difficult. What were you really running from, and what might have happened if you had faced it directly instead?
Coming Up Next...
Chapter 165
The shooting party departs. Will Levin's resolve to 'overwhelm Veslovsky with civility' last beyond morning?
