An excerpt from the original text.(complete · 764 words)
“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 to find his
sister-in-law, so as to drive home with her.
At the public meeting of the committee there were a great many people,
and almost all the highest society. Levin was in time for the report
which, as everyone said, was very interesting. When the reading of the
report was over, people moved about, and Levin met Sviazhsky, who
invited him very pressingly to come that evening to a meeting of the
Society of Agriculture, where a celebrated lecture was to be delivered,
and Stepan Arkadyevitch, who had only just come from the races, and
many other acquaintances; and Levin heard and uttered various
criticisms on the meeting, on the new fantasia, and on a public trial.
But, probably from the mental fatigue he was beginning to feel, he made
a blunder in speaking of the trial, and this blunder he recalled
several times with vexation. Speaking of the sentence upon a foreigner
who had been condemned in Russia, and of how unfair it would be to
punish him by exile abroad, Levin repeated what he had heard the day
before in conversation from an acquaintance.
“I think sending him abroad is much the same as punishing a carp by
putting it into the water,” said Levin. Then he recollected that this
idea, which he had heard from an acquaintance and uttered as his own,
came from a fable of Krilov’s, and that the acquaintance had picked it
up from a newspaper article.
After driving home with his sister-in-law, and finding Kitty in good
spirits and quite well, Levin drove to the club.
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Let's Analyse the Pattern
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.
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
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.
