Summary
Levin throws himself into physical labor on his estate, working alongside his peasants in the fields from dawn to dusk. He's desperately 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 hopes to quiet the voice in his head asking what the point of living is. But even as he sweats and aches, cutting hay and hauling grain, the questions follow him. His body gets tired, but his mind keeps churning. The peasants around him seem to have a natural acceptance of life that he envies - they work, they eat, they sleep, they don't seem tortured by questions about meaning and purpose. Levin watches them and wonders how they do it, how they find contentment in simple routines. He's looking for their secret, hoping that if he works hard enough alongside them, some of their peace will rub off on him. This chapter shows how people sometimes try to outrun their problems through busyness and physical exhaustion. Levin thinks he can work his way out of depression, but internal struggles can't be solved with external solutions. His attempt to find meaning through labor reflects a very human tendency to believe that if we just try hard enough, push ourselves far enough, we can escape our own thoughts. The irony is that the harder he works to avoid thinking, the more aware he becomes of what he's trying to avoid.
Coming Up in Chapter 176
Despite his exhaustion, Levin's questions about life's meaning refuse to stay buried. A chance conversation with one of his workers might offer the perspective he's been desperately seeking.
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An excerpt from the original text.(~500 words)
Anna looked at Dolly’s thin, care-worn face, with its wrinkles filled with dust from the road, and she was on the point of saying what she was thinking, that is, that Dolly had got thinner. But, conscious that she herself had grown handsomer, and that Dolly’s eyes were telling her so, she sighed and began to speak about herself. “You are looking at me,” she said, “and wondering how I can be happy in my position? Well! it’s shameful to confess, but I ... I’m inexcusably happy. Something magical has happened to me, like a dream, when you’re frightened, panic-stricken, and all of a sudden you wake up and all the horrors are no more. I have waked up. I have lived through the misery, the dread, and now for a long while past, especially since we’ve been here, I’ve been so happy!...” she said, with a timid smile of inquiry looking at Dolly. “How glad I am!” said Dolly smiling, involuntarily speaking more coldly than she wanted to. “I’m very glad for you. Why haven’t you written to me?” “Why?... Because I hadn’t the courage.... You forget my position....” “To me? Hadn’t the courage? If you knew how I ... I look at....” Darya Alexandrovna wanted to express her thoughts of the morning, but for some reason it seemed to her now out of place to do so. “But of that we’ll talk later. What’s this, what are all these buildings?” she asked, wanting to change the conversation and pointing to the red and green roofs that came into view behind the green hedges of acacia and lilac. “Quite a little town.” But Anna did not answer. “No, no! How do you look at my position, what do you think of it?” she asked. “I consider....” Darya Alexandrovna was beginning, but at that instant Vassenka Veslovsky, having brought the cob to gallop with the right leg foremost, galloped past them, bumping heavily up and down in his short jacket on the chamois leather of the side saddle. “He’s doing it, Anna Arkadyevna!” he shouted. Anna did not even glance at him; but again it seemed to Darya Alexandrovna out of place to enter upon such a long conversation in the carriage, and so she cut short her thought. “I don’t think anything,” she said, “but I always loved you, and if one loves anyone, one loves the whole person, just as they are and not as one would like them to be....” Anna, taking her eyes off her friend’s face and dropping her eyelids (this was a new habit Dolly had not seen in her before), pondered, trying to penetrate the full significance of the words. And obviously interpreting them as she would have wished, she glanced at Dolly. “If you had any sins,” she said, “they would all be forgiven you for your coming to see me and these words.” And Dolly saw that tears stood in her eyes. She pressed Anna’s hand in silence. “Well, what are...
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Intelligence Amplifier™ Analysis
The Road of Outrunning Yourself
The belief that physical exhaustion can silence emotional or mental turmoil.
Why This Matters
Connect literature to life
This chapter teaches how to identify when excessive busyness is actually emotional avoidance in disguise.
Practice This Today
This week, notice when you suddenly get 'too busy' to deal with something—that's often your mind trying to outrun a problem that needs direct attention.
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 behavior by the upper class.
Modern Usage:
Today we see this when wealthy CEOs try to work on the factory floor or when privileged people attempt manual labor to 'find themselves.'
Peasant class
The rural working class in Russia who farmed the land for landowners. They lived simple lives focused on survival and seasonal work. Many were serfs (essentially slaves) until 1861, just before this novel was written.
Modern Usage:
Similar to today's working-class people who do physical jobs - construction workers, farm hands, factory workers who focus on getting through each day.
Spiritual crisis
A period when someone questions the meaning and purpose of life, often triggered by loss, depression, or major life changes. In Tolstoy's time, this was often framed in religious terms but could include broader existential doubt.
Modern Usage:
What we now call depression, anxiety, or a 'quarter-life crisis' - when people feel lost and question what they're doing with their lives.
Physical labor as therapy
The belief that hard physical work can cure mental or emotional problems by exhausting the body and occupying the mind. This was a common 19th-century approach to treating melancholy or nervous disorders.
Modern Usage:
Like people today who throw themselves into the gym, work overtime, or stay constantly busy to avoid dealing with their problems.
Class consciousness
Awareness of social and economic differences between groups of people. Levin is acutely aware that he belongs to a different class than his workers, which creates distance even when he tries to connect with them.
Modern Usage:
The awkwardness when wealthy people try to relate to working-class experiences, or when management tries to be 'one of the team.'
Existential questioning
Deep thoughts about why we exist, what our purpose is, and whether life has meaning. This type of philosophical thinking was becoming more common in the 19th century as traditional religious certainties were challenged.
Modern Usage:
The 3 AM thoughts about 'What's the point of it all?' that hit people during tough times or major life transitions.
Characters in This Chapter
Levin
Protagonist in crisis
He's desperately trying to work himself out of depression and suicidal thoughts by doing manual labor alongside his peasants. His attempts to find peace through physical exhaustion show how he's grasping for any solution to his mental anguish.
Modern Equivalent:
The burned-out executive who quits to become a carpenter, thinking manual work will fix their existential crisis
The peasants
Unwitting teachers
They work naturally and seem content with simple routines, which Levin envies and tries to emulate. They represent a way of living that doesn't involve constant self-questioning and doubt about life's meaning.
Modern Equivalent:
Coworkers who seem genuinely happy with their simple jobs while you're having a quarter-life crisis
Key Quotes & Analysis
"He wanted to forget himself in sleep, in the work, in anything that would prevent him from thinking."
Context: As Levin pushes himself harder in the fields
This reveals the desperate nature of his attempt to escape his thoughts. He's not working to accomplish something positive, but to run away from his inner turmoil. The phrase 'forget himself' shows how completely he wants to disappear from his own consciousness.
In Today's Words:
He just wanted to stay so busy he couldn't think about his problems.
"The old peasant worked on steadily, without haste, without rest, as if play."
Context: Levin observing how naturally the peasants work
This contrast highlights what Levin is missing - the ability to work without internal struggle. The peasant's work flows like play because he's not fighting himself mentally while doing it. This natural rhythm is what Levin desperately wants but can't achieve.
In Today's Words:
The old guy just worked steadily, like it was no big deal, while Levin was making it way too complicated.
"The harder he worked, the more clearly he felt that the questions that tormented him remained unanswered."
Context: After hours of exhausting labor
This is the crushing realization that his strategy isn't working. Physical exhaustion can't solve mental problems. The irony is that his desperate attempt to not think actually makes him more aware of what he's trying to avoid.
In Today's Words:
No matter how tired he got, the thoughts that were eating at him wouldn't go away.
Thematic Threads
Class
In This Chapter
Levin envies the peasants' apparent contentment and natural acceptance of life's routines
Development
Continues his idealization of working-class simplicity as solution to aristocratic overthinking
In Your Life:
You might romanticize others' lives, thinking they have some secret to happiness you lack
Identity
In This Chapter
Levin tries to transform himself through physical labor, hoping to become someone who doesn't question existence
Development
His identity crisis deepens as he attempts to escape rather than integrate his intellectual nature
In Your Life:
You might try to become a completely different person instead of working with who you actually are
Personal Growth
In This Chapter
Levin mistakes avoidance for progress, believing that working harder equals growing stronger
Development
Shows how growth often requires facing discomfort rather than fleeing from it
In Your Life:
You might confuse staying busy with making actual progress on your problems
Human Relationships
In This Chapter
Levin observes the peasants from the outside, seeking their peace but remaining fundamentally separate
Development
Highlights how isolation compounds suffering and how connection might offer real solutions
In Your Life:
You might try to solve internal struggles alone when reaching out to others could provide perspective
You now have the context. Time to form your own thoughts.
Discussion Questions
- 1
What is Levin trying to accomplish by throwing himself into physical labor with the peasants?
analysis • surface - 2
Why does Levin believe that exhausting his body will quiet his mind, and why doesn't this strategy work?
analysis • medium - 3
Where do you see people today using busyness or physical exhaustion to avoid dealing with emotional problems?
application • medium - 4
When you're trying to avoid difficult thoughts or feelings, what healthier strategies could you use instead of just staying busy?
application • deep - 5
What does Levin's failed attempt to outwork his problems reveal about the difference between physical and emotional healing?
reflection • deep
Critical Thinking Exercise
Map Your Avoidance Patterns
Think about the last time you felt overwhelmed or upset about something important. Write down what you did instead of addressing the problem directly. Did you clean obsessively? Work extra hours? Binge-watch shows? Exercise until you dropped? Now trace the pattern: What were you really trying not to think about?
Consider:
- •Notice the difference between productive activity and avoidance activity
- •Consider whether your 'solution' actually made the original problem better or worse
- •Think about how much energy you spent avoiding versus how much it would have taken to face the issue directly
Journaling Prompt
Write about a time when you successfully faced a difficult situation head-on instead of trying to outrun it. What made the difference in your approach, and what did you learn about yourself?
Coming Up Next...
Chapter 176
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.