Summary
Levin throws himself into physical labor on his estate, working alongside his peasants in the fields with desperate intensity. He's trying to exhaust himself so completely that he won't have energy left to think about his spiritual crisis and thoughts of suicide. The harder he works, the more he hopes to quiet the torment in his mind. But even as sweat pours down his face and his muscles ache, the fundamental questions that have been haunting him refuse to disappear. Why does life matter? What's the point of anything if we all just die? The physical work provides temporary relief, like a painkiller that wears off too quickly. Levin realizes he's been running from these questions his whole life - first through his relationship with Kitty, then through fatherhood, and now through backbreaking labor. But you can't outrun your own thoughts forever. This chapter shows how people often try to solve internal problems with external solutions. Levin thinks if he just works hard enough, sweats enough, gets tired enough, his existential dread will magically vanish. It's the same logic that drives people to throw themselves into their jobs, their relationships, or their hobbies when they're really struggling with deeper questions about meaning and purpose. Tolstoy understands that these Band-Aid solutions never work for long. The big questions always come back, usually in the quiet moments when you're too exhausted to keep running. Levin's physical exhaustion is starting to strip away his defenses, which might actually be exactly what he needs - even though it terrifies him.
Coming Up in Chapter 188
As Levin's physical defenses crumble, an unexpected conversation with a simple peasant will challenge everything he thinks he knows about finding meaning in life. Sometimes wisdom comes from the most unlikely sources.
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An excerpt from the original text.(~500 words)
Sviazhsky took Levin’s arm, and went with him to his own friends. This time there was no avoiding Vronsky. He was standing with Stepan Arkadyevitch and Sergey Ivanovitch, and looking straight at Levin as he drew near. “Delighted! I believe I’ve had the pleasure of meeting you ... at Princess Shtcherbatskaya’s,” he said, giving Levin his hand. “Yes, I quite remember our meeting,” said Levin, and blushing crimson, he turned away immediately, and began talking to his brother. With a slight smile Vronsky went on talking to Sviazhsky, obviously without the slightest inclination to enter into conversation with Levin. But Levin, as he talked to his brother, was continually looking round at Vronsky, trying to think of something to say to him to gloss over his rudeness. “What are we waiting for now?” asked Levin, looking at Sviazhsky and Vronsky. “For Snetkov. He has to refuse or to consent to stand,” answered Sviazhsky. “Well, and what has he done, consented or not?” “That’s the point, that he’s done neither,” said Vronsky. “And if he refuses, who will stand then?” asked Levin, looking at Vronsky. “Whoever chooses to,” said Sviazhsky. “Shall you?” asked Levin. “Certainly not I,” said Sviazhsky, looking confused, and turning an alarmed glance at the malignant gentleman, who was standing beside Sergey Ivanovitch. “Who then? Nevyedovsky?” said Levin, feeling he was putting his foot into it. But this was worse still. Nevyedovsky and Sviazhsky were the two candidates. “I certainly shall not, under any circumstances,” answered the malignant gentleman. This was Nevyedovsky himself. Sviazhsky introduced him to Levin. “Well, you find it exciting too?” said Stepan Arkadyevitch, winking at Vronsky. “It’s something like a race. One might bet on it.” “Yes, it is keenly exciting,” said Vronsky. “And once taking the thing up, one’s eager to see it through. It’s a fight!” he said, scowling and setting his powerful jaws. “What a capable fellow Sviazhsky is! Sees it all so clearly.” “Oh, yes!” Vronsky assented indifferently. A silence followed, during which Vronsky—since he had to look at something—looked at Levin, at his feet, at his uniform, then at his face, and noticing his gloomy eyes fixed upon him, he said, in order to say something: “How is it that you, living constantly in the country, are not a justice of the peace? You are not in the uniform of one.” “It’s because I consider that the justice of the peace is a silly institution,” Levin answered gloomily. He had been all the time looking for an opportunity to enter into conversation with Vronsky, so as to smooth over his rudeness at their first meeting. “I don’t think so, quite the contrary,” Vronsky said, with quiet surprise. “It’s a plaything,” Levin cut him short. “We don’t want justices of the peace. I’ve never had a single thing to do with them during eight years. And what I have had was decided wrongly by them. The justice of the peace is over thirty miles from me. For some matter of...
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Intelligence Amplifier™ Analysis
The Road of Outrunning Yourself
Using physical or mental exhaustion to temporarily silence deeper emotional or existential questions that demand attention.
Why This Matters
Connect literature to life
This chapter teaches how to recognize when increased activity masks unresolved emotional conflicts.
Practice This Today
This week, notice when you suddenly get 'busy' after difficult conversations or uncomfortable realizations—that's your cue to pause and ask what you're avoiding.
Now let's explore the literary elements.
Terms to Know
Existential crisis
A period of intense questioning about life's meaning, purpose, and value. It often involves feeling lost, wondering why anything matters, and struggling with thoughts about death and meaninglessness.
Modern Usage:
We see this when people hit midlife and suddenly question their career choices, or when someone successful still feels empty inside.
Physical labor as escape
Using demanding physical work to avoid dealing with emotional or mental problems. The idea is that if you exhaust your body completely, your mind won't have energy left to worry.
Modern Usage:
Like people who throw themselves into intense workout routines or work 80-hour weeks to avoid processing grief or depression.
Russian estate system
Wealthy landowners owned vast properties worked by peasants. The landowner was expected to manage the land but rarely did manual labor alongside the workers.
Modern Usage:
Similar to how CEOs don't usually work the factory floor - Levin working with his peasants would be like a company owner doing assembly line work.
Spiritual torment
Deep inner suffering about questions of faith, meaning, and morality. It's not just sadness - it's anguish about fundamental questions of existence and purpose.
Modern Usage:
What people experience during dark nights of the soul, questioning everything they believed about God, purpose, or right and wrong.
Avoidance coping
Trying to solve internal problems by staying constantly busy or distracted. Instead of facing difficult emotions or questions, you throw yourself into activities.
Modern Usage:
Like binge-watching Netflix to avoid thinking about relationship problems, or working overtime to avoid dealing with family issues.
Peasant class
The lowest social class in 19th century Russia - agricultural workers who were bound to the land and lived in poverty. They did all the physical labor while landowners lived comfortably.
Modern Usage:
Similar to today's working class - people doing the essential manual labor while others profit from their work.
Characters in This Chapter
Levin
Tormented protagonist
He's desperately trying to work himself to exhaustion to escape his suicidal thoughts and existential crisis. His choice to labor alongside peasants shows both his desperation and his disconnect from his social class.
Modern Equivalent:
The successful person having a breakdown who suddenly quits their desk job to do construction work
The peasants
Unwitting witnesses
They work alongside Levin, probably confused by their master's sudden need to do manual labor. They represent the simple life Levin thinks might save him from his tortured thoughts.
Modern Equivalent:
The blue-collar workers watching their boss try to prove he's 'one of them' during his midlife crisis
Key Quotes & Analysis
"He wanted to forget himself in sleep, in work, in anything that would make him unconscious."
Context: Describing Levin's desperate attempt to escape his thoughts through physical exhaustion
This shows how Levin is treating his spiritual crisis like a problem that can be solved through avoidance. He's not trying to find answers - he's trying to stop asking questions.
In Today's Words:
He just wanted to work so hard he'd pass out and not have to think about anything.
"The harder he worked, the more clearly he felt that the questions that tormented him were not to be solved by work."
Context: Levin's realization that physical labor isn't actually helping his mental state
Tolstoy shows the futility of trying to solve internal problems with external solutions. The harder Levin runs from his thoughts, the more obvious it becomes that he can't outrun them.
In Today's Words:
The more he tried to stay busy, the more he realized staying busy wasn't going to fix what was really wrong.
"Why live? Why wish for anything, when everything ends in death?"
Context: The fundamental question haunting him despite his attempts to avoid it through work
This is the core of Levin's existential crisis - the feeling that death makes everything meaningless. No amount of physical work can answer this philosophical question.
In Today's Words:
What's the point of anything if we're all just going to die anyway?
Thematic Threads
Avoidance
In This Chapter
Levin uses backbreaking physical labor to escape his spiritual crisis and suicidal thoughts
Development
Escalated from earlier intellectual pursuits and family focus—now desperate physical escape
In Your Life:
You might recognize this when you suddenly feel compelled to deep-clean the house rather than have a difficult conversation.
Class
In This Chapter
Levin works alongside peasants, temporarily dissolving class boundaries through shared physical labor
Development
Continues his ongoing struggle with his privileged position and search for authentic connection
In Your Life:
You might find yourself more comfortable with certain groups when you're all focused on the same immediate task.
Identity
In This Chapter
Levin tries to lose himself in work, hoping to escape the burden of being himself
Development
Deepened from earlier identity confusion—now actively trying to erase his sense of self
In Your Life:
You might recognize this urge when you fantasize about disappearing into a completely different life.
Desperation
In This Chapter
The intensity of Levin's physical labor reflects his mental desperation for relief
Development
New level of urgency—previous attempts at meaning-making have failed
In Your Life:
You might notice this when your usual coping strategies suddenly feel inadequate and you try increasingly extreme solutions.
You now have the context. Time to form your own thoughts.
Discussion Questions
- 1
What specific strategy does Levin use to try to quiet his mental torment, and why does he think physical exhaustion will solve his spiritual crisis?
analysis • surface - 2
Why does Levin's solution of working harder fail to address his deeper questions about life's meaning and purpose?
analysis • medium - 3
Where do you see people today using busyness or exhaustion to avoid dealing with uncomfortable questions about their lives?
application • medium - 4
If you had a friend like Levin who was throwing themselves into work to avoid facing difficult questions, what advice would you give them?
application • deep - 5
What does Levin's pattern of avoidance reveal about how humans typically handle existential anxiety and life's big questions?
reflection • deep
Critical Thinking Exercise
Map Your Own Exhaustion Escapes
Think about a time when you threw yourself into activity to avoid dealing with something difficult - maybe working extra hours to avoid relationship problems, or staying constantly busy to avoid thinking about your future. Write down what you were really trying to avoid, what activity you used as your escape, and whether it actually solved anything long-term.
Consider:
- •Notice the difference between productive activity and avoidance activity
- •Consider what your mind was trying to protect you from facing
- •Think about whether the underlying issue eventually demanded attention anyway
Journaling Prompt
Write about a current area of your life where you might be using busyness to avoid facing something important. What would happen if you scheduled 15 minutes to sit with that uncomfortable question instead of running from it?
Coming Up Next...
Chapter 188
What lies ahead teaches us key events and character development in this chapter, and shows us thematic elements and literary techniques. These patterns appear in literature and life alike.