Summary
Levin finds himself in a profound spiritual crisis as he contemplates the meaninglessness of existence and battles thoughts of suicide. Despite having everything he thought would make him happy - a loving wife, a healthy child, a successful estate - he feels an overwhelming emptiness that terrifies him. He hides ropes and avoids carrying his gun, fearing what he might do in a moment of despair. This isn't about depression in the modern sense, but about a deeper philosophical awakening where Levin realizes that reason and logic can't answer life's fundamental questions about purpose and meaning. His scientific, rational approach to life has led him to a dead end where death seems like the only logical conclusion. The chapter reveals how intellectual understanding without spiritual grounding can become a trap. Levin's crisis represents what happens when we achieve our goals but still feel hollow inside - a situation many working people understand when promotions or raises don't bring the satisfaction we expected. Tolstoy shows us that some of life's most important answers can't be found through thinking alone. This moment of despair is actually the beginning of Levin's spiritual journey, though he doesn't realize it yet. His willingness to acknowledge his emptiness rather than pretend everything is fine shows the kind of honesty required for real growth. The chapter demonstrates that sometimes our darkest moments are actually doorways to deeper understanding, even when we can't see that possibility in the moment.
Coming Up in Chapter 171
Just when Levin feels most lost, an unexpected conversation with a simple peasant begins to crack open new possibilities for understanding life's meaning. Sometimes wisdom comes from the most unlikely sources.
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An excerpt from the original text.(~500 words)
The sportsman’s saying, that if the first beast or the first bird is not missed, the day will be lucky, turned out correct. At ten o’clock Levin, weary, hungry, and happy after a tramp of twenty miles, returned to his night’s lodging with nineteen head of fine game and one duck, which he tied to his belt, as it would not go into the game bag. His companions had long been awake, and had had time to get hungry and have breakfast. “Wait a bit, wait a bit, I know there are nineteen,” said Levin, counting a second time over the grouse and snipe, that looked so much less important now, bent and dry and bloodstained, with heads crooked aside, than they did when they were flying. The number was verified, and Stepan Arkadyevitch’s envy pleased Levin. He was pleased too on returning to find the man sent by Kitty with a note was already there. “I am perfectly well and happy. If you were uneasy about me, you can feel easier than ever. I’ve a new bodyguard, Marya Vlasyevna,”—this was the midwife, a new and important personage in Levin’s domestic life. “She has come to have a look at me. She found me perfectly well, and we have kept her till you are back. All are happy and well, and please, don’t be in a hurry to come back, but, if the sport is good, stay another day.” These two pleasures, his lucky shooting and the letter from his wife, were so great that two slightly disagreeable incidents passed lightly over Levin. One was that the chestnut trace horse, who had been unmistakably overworked on the previous day, was off his feed and out of sorts. The coachman said he was “Overdriven yesterday, Konstantin Dmitrievitch. Yes, indeed! driven ten miles with no sense!” The other unpleasant incident, which for the first minute destroyed his good humor, though later he laughed at it a great deal, was to find that of all the provisions Kitty had provided in such abundance that one would have thought there was enough for a week, nothing was left. On his way back, tired and hungry from shooting, Levin had so distinct a vision of meat-pies that as he approached the hut he seemed to smell and taste them, as Laska had smelt the game, and he immediately told Philip to give him some. It appeared that there were no pies left, nor even any chicken. “Well, this fellow’s appetite!” said Stepan Arkadyevitch, laughing and pointing at Vassenka Veslovsky. “I never suffer from loss of appetite, but he’s really marvelous!...” “Well, it can’t be helped,” said Levin, looking gloomily at Veslovsky. “Well, Philip, give me some beef, then.” “The beef’s been eaten, and the bones given to the dogs,” answered Philip. Levin was so hurt that he said, in a tone of vexation, “You might have left me something!” and he felt ready to cry. “Then put away the game,” he said in a shaking...
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Intelligence Amplifier™ Analysis
The Road of Achieved Emptiness
The devastating realization that external success cannot fill internal emptiness or provide life's meaning.
Why This Matters
Connect literature to life
This chapter teaches how to distinguish between external success and internal fulfillment before the emptiness becomes overwhelming.
Practice This Today
This week, notice when you feel empty after reaching a goal—that's data about what actually matters to you versus what you think should matter.
Now let's explore the literary elements.
Terms to Know
Existential Crisis
A moment of intense questioning about life's meaning and purpose, often triggered by achieving goals that don't bring expected fulfillment. It's when you realize that external success doesn't automatically create internal satisfaction.
Modern Usage:
When someone gets the promotion they wanted but still feels empty, or when people ask 'Is this all there is?' despite having a good life on paper.
Rational Materialism
The belief that science and logic can explain everything and provide all the answers we need for living. It's the idea that if something can't be measured or proven, it doesn't matter.
Modern Usage:
The mindset that says feelings don't matter if the facts look good, or that data and metrics can solve every human problem.
Spiritual Emptiness
A hollow feeling that comes when life lacks deeper meaning beyond daily tasks and achievements. It's not about religion specifically, but about missing a sense of purpose that connects to something larger than yourself.
Modern Usage:
The feeling many people describe as 'going through the motions' or feeling disconnected despite being busy and successful.
Russian Orthodox Peasant Wisdom
The simple, practical faith of common people who find meaning through community, tradition, and acceptance rather than intellectual analysis. These are folks who know how to live without overthinking everything.
Modern Usage:
Like older relatives who give advice based on experience rather than theory, or blue-collar workers who find satisfaction in honest work and family.
Philosophical Suicide
When logical thinking leads to the conclusion that life has no point, making death seem like the most reasonable choice. It's what happens when you think your way into a corner with no way out.
Modern Usage:
The dangerous spiral of overthinking that can happen during depression or major life transitions, where logic becomes the enemy of living.
Aristocratic Leisure
Having enough money and free time to think deeply about abstract problems instead of focusing on survival. It's both a privilege and a burden that can lead to overthinking life's meaning.
Modern Usage:
When people have enough comfort to worry about finding their passion instead of just paying bills - a luxury that can sometimes create its own problems.
Characters in This Chapter
Levin
Protagonist in crisis
He's achieved everything he thought would make him happy but feels completely empty inside. His logical mind has convinced him life is meaningless, and he's actively avoiding ways he might hurt himself.
Modern Equivalent:
The successful person having a midlife crisis despite checking all the boxes
Kitty
Loving wife
She represents the life Levin has but can't appreciate in his current state. Her presence reminds him of what he should be grateful for, but also highlights how his internal crisis affects those who love him.
Modern Equivalent:
The spouse who doesn't understand why their partner is struggling when everything seems fine
Levin's son
Symbol of future hope
The baby represents new life and potential meaning, but Levin can't connect with these feelings because his philosophical despair blocks his natural emotions.
Modern Equivalent:
The blessing you know you should appreciate but somehow can't feel good about
Key Quotes & Analysis
"Without knowing what I am and why I am here, life is impossible."
Context: During his internal struggle with meaninglessness
This captures the heart of existential crisis - when basic questions about identity and purpose become overwhelming obstacles to daily living. Levin has confused intellectual understanding with the ability to live.
In Today's Words:
I can't keep going without knowing who I am and what the point of all this is.
"I shall go on living as I have lived, carried along by the current of life."
Context: His realization that he must continue despite not having answers
This shows the beginning of acceptance - that life can be lived without having all the philosophical answers figured out. Sometimes survival itself is enough while you work things out.
In Today's Words:
I'll just keep putting one foot in front of the other, even when I don't know where I'm going.
"The answers given by faith are the most precise of all."
Context: Contrasting faith with rational analysis
Tolstoy suggests that some truths can't be reasoned into existence but must be felt or experienced. Faith here doesn't mean blind belief, but trust in something beyond pure logic.
In Today's Words:
Sometimes you have to trust your gut instead of trying to think your way through everything.
Thematic Threads
Identity
In This Chapter
Levin's entire sense of self crumbles when his rational, achievement-based identity fails to provide meaning
Development
Evolved from his earlier struggles with class and belonging into this deeper crisis of fundamental purpose
In Your Life:
You might feel this when promotions or life milestones leave you asking 'Is this all there is?'
Social Expectations
In This Chapter
Levin has fulfilled every social expectation of success yet feels completely empty and purposeless
Development
Previously focused on fitting into aristocratic society, now revealing the bankruptcy of social definitions of success
In Your Life:
You see this when doing everything 'right' according to others still leaves you feeling lost or unfulfilled
Personal Growth
In This Chapter
Levin's suicidal thoughts paradoxically represent the beginning of his spiritual awakening and authentic growth
Development
His intellectual approach to self-improvement has reached its limit, forcing a deeper transformation
In Your Life:
Your darkest moments of questioning everything might actually be the start of finding what truly matters to you
Human Relationships
In This Chapter
Despite having loving relationships with Kitty and his child, Levin feels profoundly isolated in his existential crisis
Development
Shows how even genuine love cannot solve the fundamental question of life's meaning
In Your Life:
You might feel this disconnect when surrounded by people who love you but still feeling fundamentally alone with life's big questions
Class
In This Chapter
Levin's privileged position allows him the luxury of existential crisis rather than survival concerns
Development
His class status has freed him from material worries, exposing the spiritual poverty beneath material success
In Your Life:
You see this when achieving financial stability reveals that money problems were masking deeper questions about purpose
You now have the context. Time to form your own thoughts.
Discussion Questions
- 1
What specific things in Levin's life should have made him happy, and why do they leave him feeling empty instead?
analysis • surface - 2
Why does Levin hide ropes and avoid carrying his gun, and what does this tell us about how dangerous his rational thinking has become?
analysis • medium - 3
Where do you see people today achieving their goals but still feeling hollow or unfulfilled?
application • medium - 4
If someone you cared about was in Levin's situation—successful but suicidal—how would you help them find meaning beyond their achievements?
application • deep - 5
What does Levin's crisis reveal about the difference between having a good life and having a meaningful life?
reflection • deep
Critical Thinking Exercise
Map Your Achievement vs. Meaning Gap
Create two columns on paper. In the left column, list your major achievements or goals you've reached in the past five years. In the right column, write what activities or moments in your life feel most meaningful to you, regardless of external recognition. Look for patterns: What's the gap between what you've achieved and what actually matters to you?
Consider:
- •Notice if your meaningful moments involve other people, creativity, or helping someone
- •Consider whether your achievements brought temporary satisfaction or lasting fulfillment
- •Think about what you'd pursue if no one was keeping score or giving you credit
Journaling Prompt
Write about a time when you achieved something important but felt surprisingly empty afterward. What was missing? What would have made that achievement more meaningful to you personally?
Coming Up Next...
Chapter 171
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.