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 escape the crushing weight of his thoughts about death and meaninglessness that have been consuming him. The harder he works, the more he hopes to find some peace or purpose, but even exhaustion can't silence the questions that torment him. His workers notice his intensity but don't understand why their master is driving himself like a common laborer. Levin finds brief moments of relief in the rhythm of the work - the swing of the scythe, the loading of hay, the simple focus required for each task. But as soon as he stops, the dark thoughts return with full force. He realizes that physical work alone isn't the answer he's seeking. The chapter shows Levin at his lowest point, grasping for anything that might give his life meaning. His crisis reflects the broader human struggle to find purpose when faced with mortality. Tolstoy uses Levin's manual labor as both an escape attempt and a metaphor for the honest, grounded life that might hold answers. The contrast between Levin's philosophical torment and the peasants' acceptance of their daily work highlights different approaches to existence. This moment sets up Levin's continued search for meaning, showing that running from existential questions through work or distraction ultimately fails. The chapter captures the universal experience of trying to outrun our deepest fears and uncertainties through activity and busyness.
Coming Up in Chapter 182
Levin's physical exhaustion brings an unexpected encounter that might offer the spiritual insight he's been desperately seeking. A simple conversation is about to change everything he thought he knew about finding meaning in life.
Share it with friends
An excerpt from the original text.(~500 words)
T“hen there is all the more reason for you to legalize your position, if possible,” said Dolly. “Yes, if possible,” said Anna, speaking all at once in an utterly different tone, subdued and mournful. “Surely you don’t mean a divorce is impossible? I was told your husband had consented to it.” “Dolly, I don’t want to talk about that.” “Oh, we won’t then,” Darya Alexandrovna hastened to say, noticing the expression of suffering on Anna’s face. “All I see is that you take too gloomy a view of things.” “I? Not at all! I’m always bright and happy. You see, _je fais des passions._ Veslovsky....” “Yes, to tell the truth, I don’t like Veslovsky’s tone,” said Darya Alexandrovna, anxious to change the subject. “Oh, that’s nonsense! It amuses Alexey, and that’s all; but he’s a boy, and quite under my control. You know, I turn him as I please. It’s just as it might be with your Grisha.... Dolly!”—she suddenly changed the subject—“you say I take too gloomy a view of things. You can’t understand. It’s too awful! I try not to take any view of it at all.” “But I think you ought to. You ought to do all you can.” “But what can I do? Nothing. You tell me to marry Alexey, and say I don’t think about it. I don’t think about it!” she repeated, and a flush rose into her face. She got up, straightening her chest, and sighed heavily. With her light step she began pacing up and down the room, stopping now and then. “I don’t think of it? Not a day, not an hour passes that I don’t think of it, and blame myself for thinking of it ... because thinking of that may drive me mad. Drive me mad!” she repeated. “When I think of it, I can’t sleep without morphine. But never mind. Let us talk quietly. They tell me, divorce. In the first place, he won’t give me a divorce. He’s under the influence of Countess Lidia Ivanovna now.” Darya Alexandrovna, sitting erect on a chair, turned her head, following Anna with a face of sympathetic suffering. “You ought to make the attempt,” she said softly. “Suppose I make the attempt. What does it mean?” she said, evidently giving utterance to a thought, a thousand times thought over and learned by heart. “It means that I, hating him, but still recognizing that I have wronged him—and I consider him magnanimous—that I humiliate myself to write to him.... Well, suppose I make the effort; I do it. Either I receive a humiliating refusal or consent.... Well, I have received his consent, say....” Anna was at that moment at the furthest end of the room, and she stopped there, doing something to the curtain at the window. “I receive his consent, but my ... my son? They won’t give him up to me. He will grow up despising me, with his father, whom I’ve abandoned. Do you see, I love ... equally,...
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 Road of Running from Yourself
The futile attempt to escape life's deepest questions through frantic activity and busyness.
Why This Matters
Connect literature to life
This chapter teaches how to identify when frantic activity masks deeper emotional or existential struggles.
Practice This Today
This week, notice when you feel compelled to stay extremely busy—ask yourself what thoughts or feelings you might be trying to avoid.
Now let's explore the literary elements.
Terms to Know
Estate labor
In 19th-century Russia, wealthy landowners managed vast properties worked by peasants. The landowner typically supervised rather than participated in physical labor. Levin's choice to work alongside his peasants was unusual and socially awkward.
Modern Usage:
Like when a CEO suddenly starts working the warehouse floor - technically their right, but it makes everyone uncomfortable and raises questions about their motives.
Scythe work
Cutting grain or grass with a long-handled blade in rhythmic, sweeping motions. This was skilled physical labor requiring technique, stamina, and coordination. The repetitive nature could be meditative but also exhausting.
Modern Usage:
Any repetitive physical work we use to clear our heads - chopping wood, running, cleaning - activities that occupy the body while trying to quiet the mind.
Existential crisis
The crushing realization that life might be meaningless, especially when confronted with mortality. Levin is experiencing the terror of wondering if nothing we do matters in the face of death.
Modern Usage:
The 3am panic about whether your life has any point, often triggered by major life changes, deaths, or milestone birthdays.
Class boundaries
The invisible but rigid social divisions between landowners and peasants in Russian society. Levin crossing these boundaries by doing manual labor creates tension and confusion for everyone involved.
Modern Usage:
When someone steps outside their expected role - like a boss cleaning toilets or a wealthy person shopping at dollar stores - it makes others uncomfortable.
Work as escape
Using physical labor or busyness to avoid dealing with emotional or psychological pain. Levin hopes that exhausting his body will quiet his tormented mind about life's meaninglessness.
Modern Usage:
Throwing yourself into work, exercise, or projects to avoid dealing with depression, grief, or major life questions.
Peasant acceptance
The working class's practical approach to life, focused on daily survival rather than philosophical questioning. They accept their circumstances without the luxury of existential angst that troubles the wealthy.
Modern Usage:
How people working multiple jobs to survive don't have time for life coaching or self-help - they're too busy living.
Characters in This Chapter
Levin
Tormented protagonist
Desperately throws himself into manual labor, trying to escape his existential crisis through physical exhaustion. His intensity puzzles his workers and shows how privilege can create its own form of suffering.
Modern Equivalent:
The stressed executive who suddenly starts doing manual labor to find meaning
The peasant workers
Practical observers
They work alongside Levin but don't understand his desperate intensity. Their acceptance of daily labor contrasts sharply with Levin's philosophical torment about life's meaning.
Modern Equivalent:
Coworkers who just want to do their job and go home while the boss has a midlife crisis
Key Quotes & Analysis
"Only work could drown out the thoughts that tormented him."
Context: As Levin drives himself harder in the fields
Shows how people try to use physical exhaustion to silence psychological pain. Reveals that Levin's labor isn't about productivity but about escape from his own mind.
In Today's Words:
If I stay busy enough, maybe I won't have to think about how messed up everything is.
"The harder he worked, the more clearly he felt that the questions that tormented him were insoluble."
Context: Levin realizes his escape strategy isn't working
Demonstrates that running from our problems through activity only postpones the reckoning. Physical work can't solve spiritual or emotional crises.
In Today's Words:
No matter how much I grind, the big questions about my life won't go away.
"He envied the peasants their unquestioning acceptance of life."
Context: Levin observing his workers' simple approach to existence
Highlights how privilege can be a burden - having time to think deeply can lead to paralyzing questions about meaning and purpose that those focused on survival don't face.
In Today's Words:
Sometimes I wish I could just live day to day without overthinking everything.
Thematic Threads
Class
In This Chapter
Levin works alongside peasants, temporarily abandoning his aristocratic role to find meaning in manual labor
Development
Evolution from earlier class consciousness—now class boundaries blur in his desperation
In Your Life:
You might find yourself envying people whose lives seem simpler or more grounded than your own
Identity
In This Chapter
Levin's identity crisis drives him to adopt the role of common laborer, seeking authenticity through physical work
Development
Deepening from previous identity struggles—now questioning his very essence and purpose
In Your Life:
You might try on different versions of yourself when your current identity feels hollow or meaningless
Personal Growth
In This Chapter
Levin's attempt to grow through labor reveals that external changes can't solve internal crises
Development
Critical turning point—showing that growth requires facing rather than fleeing difficult truths
In Your Life:
You might discover that changing your circumstances doesn't automatically change how you feel inside
Human Relationships
In This Chapter
Levin's isolation from his workers despite physical proximity—they don't understand his existential desperation
Development
Highlighting how crisis can create barriers even when seeking connection through shared activity
In Your Life:
You might feel most alone when surrounded by people who can't understand what you're going through
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, and does it work?
analysis • surface - 2
Why does Levin's strategy of working harder make his existential crisis worse instead of better?
analysis • medium - 3
Where do you see people today using busyness or activity to avoid dealing with difficult emotions or questions?
application • medium - 4
When you're facing a problem that can't be solved by working harder or staying busy, what approach would you take instead?
application • deep - 5
What does Levin's experience reveal about the difference between problems that can be solved through action versus those that require reflection?
reflection • deep
Critical Thinking Exercise
Track Your Avoidance Patterns
For the next three days, notice when you automatically reach for busyness, your phone, TV, or extra work when feeling uncomfortable emotions. Write down what you were avoiding thinking about each time. Look for patterns in what triggers your need to stay busy and what specific thoughts or feelings you're trying to outrun.
Consider:
- •Pay attention to the moment right before you grab your phone or dive into a task
- •Notice if certain times of day or situations make you more likely to avoid through busyness
- •Consider whether the activity you choose actually helps or just postpones the feeling
Journaling Prompt
Write about a time when staying busy actually prevented you from dealing with something important. What would have happened if you had faced the situation directly instead of avoiding it?
Coming Up Next...
Chapter 182
The coming pages reveal key events and character development in this chapter, and teach us thematic elements and literary techniques. These discoveries help us navigate similar situations in our own lives.