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 physically so he won't have the energy to think about his spiritual crisis and suicidal thoughts. The harder he works, the more he loses himself in the rhythm of mowing, plowing, and harvesting. But even as his body finds relief in the work, his mind keeps circling back to the same tormenting questions: What's the point of living? Why do we suffer? What happens after death? The peasants around him seem to have an unshakable faith and contentment that he envies but can't understand. They work the same fields, face the same hardships, yet they don't seem tortured by existential doubt. Levin watches them and wonders what they know that he doesn't. This chapter shows how depression can make even the simplest activities feel meaningless, while also revealing Levin's growing awareness that maybe the answers he's seeking aren't found in books or philosophy, but in something more fundamental. His physical exhaustion provides temporary relief, but it's becoming clear that he can't outrun his thoughts forever. The contrast between his educated despair and the peasants' simple faith sets up a crucial realization that's coming. Tolstoy is showing us how sometimes the people we think have less might actually understand more about what makes life worth living.
Coming Up in Chapter 196
A chance conversation with an old peasant about living 'for one's soul' stops Levin in his tracks. Sometimes the most profound truths come from the most unexpected sources.
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An excerpt from the original text.(~500 words)
P“erhaps they’re not at home?” said Levin, as he went into the hall of Countess Bola’s house. “At home; please walk in,” said the porter, resolutely removing his overcoat. “How annoying!” thought Levin with a sigh, taking off one glove and stroking his hat. “What did I come for? What have I to say to them?” As he passed through the first drawing-room Levin met in the doorway Countess Bola, giving some order to a servant with a care-worn and severe face. On seeing Levin she smiled, and asked him to come into the little drawing-room, where he heard voices. In this room there were sitting in armchairs the two daughters of the countess, and a Moscow colonel, whom Levin knew. Levin went up, greeted them, and sat down beside the sofa with his hat on his knees. “How is your wife? Have you been at the concert? We couldn’t go. Mamma had to be at the funeral service.” “Yes, I heard.... What a sudden death!” said Levin. The countess came in, sat down on the sofa, and she too asked after his wife and inquired about the concert. Levin answered, and repeated an inquiry about Madame Apraksina’s sudden death. “But she was always in weak health.” “Were you at the opera yesterday?” “Yes, I was.” “Lucca was very good.” “Yes, very good,” he said, and as it was utterly of no consequence to him what they thought of him, he began repeating what they had heard a hundred times about the characteristics of the singer’s talent. Countess Bola pretended to be listening. Then, when he had said enough and paused, the colonel, who had been silent till then, began to talk. The colonel too talked of the opera, and about culture. At last, after speaking of the proposed _folle journée_ at Turin’s, the colonel laughed, got up noisily, and went away. Levin too rose, but he saw by the face of the countess that it was not yet time for him to go. He must stay two minutes longer. He sat down. But as he was thinking all the while how stupid it was, he could not find a subject for conversation, and sat silent. “You are not going to the public meeting? They say it will be very interesting,” began the countess. “No, I promised my _belle-sœur_ to fetch her from it,” said Levin. A silence followed. The mother once more exchanged glances with a daughter. “Well, now I think the time has come,” thought Levin, and he got up. The ladies shook hands with him, and begged him to say _mille choses_ to his wife for them. The porter asked him, as he gave him his coat, “Where is your honor staying?” and immediately wrote down his address in a big handsomely bound book. “Of course I don’t care, but still I feel ashamed and awfully stupid,” thought Levin, consoling himself with the reflection that everyone does it. He drove to the public meeting, where he was...
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Intelligence Amplifier™ Analysis
The Road of Running From Yourself
Using physical exhaustion or busyness to avoid confronting deeper emotional or spiritual pain.
Why This Matters
Connect literature to life
This chapter teaches how to spot when you're using activity as emotional anesthesia instead of addressing core problems.
Practice This Today
This week, notice when you suddenly get 'busy' after difficult conversations or decisions—that's usually your mind trying to escape something important.
Now let's explore the literary elements.
Terms to Know
Physical labor as therapy
The practice of using demanding physical work to quiet mental anguish and overwhelming thoughts. In 19th century Russia, this was often the only form of mental health treatment available to people struggling with depression or anxiety.
Modern Usage:
Today we call this 'exercise therapy' or recognize it in people who hit the gym hard when stressed, or throw themselves into home improvement projects during difficult times.
Peasant wisdom
The idea that people with less formal education might possess deeper understanding about life's fundamental questions through lived experience and faith. Tolstoy believed the working class often had more authentic relationships with meaning and purpose.
Modern Usage:
We see this when someone with a PhD feels lost while their grandmother or a blue-collar friend seems to have life figured out through simple principles and strong values.
Existential crisis
A period of intense questioning about life's meaning, purpose, and value that can lead to depression and despair. This philosophical suffering was common among educated Russians of Tolstoy's era who had lost traditional religious faith.
Modern Usage:
The modern 'quarter-life crisis' or 'midlife crisis' where people question whether their career, relationships, or life choices have any real meaning.
Class consciousness
Awareness of the differences between social classes and how education, wealth, and privilege can sometimes create more problems than they solve. Levin represents the educated elite questioning whether knowledge brings happiness.
Modern Usage:
Today's discussions about how college debt and corporate careers don't guarantee fulfillment, while trade workers often report higher job satisfaction.
Simple faith
Uncomplicated religious or spiritual belief that provides stability and meaning without requiring complex theological understanding. The peasants' faith sustains them through hardship without philosophical torment.
Modern Usage:
People who find peace through basic spiritual practices, AA's 'higher power' concept, or those who say 'everything happens for a reason' without needing detailed explanations.
Work as escape
Using constant activity to avoid confronting painful thoughts or emotions. Levin hopes physical exhaustion will quiet his suicidal ideation and spiritual despair.
Modern Usage:
Workaholism, binge-watching TV, or staying constantly busy to avoid dealing with depression, grief, or major life decisions.
Characters in This Chapter
Levin
Tormented protagonist
Desperately works in the fields trying to exhaust himself so he can't think about his suicidal thoughts and spiritual crisis. His educated mind won't let him find the simple peace that his peasant workers seem to possess naturally.
Modern Equivalent:
The burned-out executive who quits to become a carpenter but still can't find peace
The peasant workers
Unwitting teachers
They work alongside Levin with apparent contentment and unshakeable faith. Their simple acceptance of life's hardships contrasts sharply with Levin's educated despair and shows him what he's missing.
Modern Equivalent:
The coworker who seems genuinely happy despite having less money and education
Key Quotes & Analysis
"He wanted to forget himself in sleep, in work, in anything that would prevent him from thinking."
Context: Describing Levin's desperate attempt to use physical labor to escape his suicidal thoughts
This shows how depression makes people seek any form of mental numbness. Levin's privileged position means he has time to think, which becomes a curse rather than a blessing.
In Today's Words:
He just wanted to stay so busy that his brain would shut up for five minutes.
"The harder he worked, the more his body ached, the more his mind found peace."
Context: As Levin loses himself in the rhythm of field work
Physical exhaustion temporarily quiets mental anguish, but this is only a temporary solution. The quote reveals both the power and limitations of using work as therapy.
In Today's Words:
The more his body hurt, the less his heart did.
"They knew something he didn't, something that made life bearable."
Context: Levin observing the peasants' apparent contentment despite their hard lives
This captures the central irony - that education and privilege haven't brought Levin wisdom, while the supposedly 'simple' peasants possess something profound he lacks.
In Today's Words:
They had figured out some secret to being okay that he was completely missing.
Thematic Threads
Class
In This Chapter
Levin envies the peasants' simple faith and contentment, recognizing his education has become a burden rather than a blessing
Development
Evolved from earlier class tensions to show how privilege can create rather than solve problems
In Your Life:
You might notice how sometimes people with fewer advantages seem happier or more grounded than you.
Identity
In This Chapter
Levin loses himself in physical labor, trying to escape his intellectual identity that brings him pain
Development
Deepened from his earlier identity struggles to show how we can reject parts of ourselves
In Your Life:
You might try to become someone else when being yourself feels too difficult or painful.
Personal Growth
In This Chapter
Levin begins to realize that answers might come from simple faith rather than complex philosophy
Development
Shifted from seeking external validation to recognizing internal wisdom
In Your Life:
You might discover that the solutions you need are simpler than the problems you're creating.
Human Relationships
In This Chapter
Levin observes the peasants' community and shared understanding, feeling isolated by his educated doubt
Development
Evolved from romantic relationships to show how spiritual connection differs from intellectual connection
In Your Life:
You might feel most alone when surrounded by people who seem to understand something you don't.
You now have the context. Time to form your own thoughts.
Discussion Questions
- 1
Why does Levin throw himself into physical farm work, and what is he hoping to achieve?
analysis • surface - 2
What's the difference between how Levin experiences life and how the peasants around him seem to experience it?
analysis • medium - 3
Where do you see people today using busyness or exhaustion to avoid dealing with deeper problems?
application • medium - 4
If you were Levin's friend, what advice would you give him about finding meaning without burning himself out?
application • deep - 5
Why might simple faith or contentment be harder for educated, analytical people to achieve?
reflection • deep
Critical Thinking Exercise
Map Your Own Escape Routes
Think about the last month of your life. When you felt stressed, overwhelmed, or emotionally uncomfortable, what did you do to cope? Make a list of your go-to escape methods - extra work, Netflix binges, social media scrolling, shopping, exercise, cleaning, helping others. Then identify which ones actually solve problems versus which ones just delay dealing with them.
Consider:
- •Some escapes are healthy in moderation but harmful when they become the only coping strategy
- •The most socially acceptable escapes (like overworking) can be the hardest to recognize as problems
- •Notice if you judge yourself for 'lazy' escapes but praise yourself for 'productive' ones that serve the same avoidance function
Journaling Prompt
Write about a time when staying busy helped you avoid a difficult conversation or decision. What was the real issue you were avoiding, and how did the delay affect the situation?
Coming Up Next...
Chapter 196
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.