Summary
Levin throws himself into physical farm work with desperate intensity, trying to exhaust his body so his mind will stop torturing him with thoughts of Kitty's rejection. He works alongside his peasants in the fields, mowing hay under the blazing sun until his muscles scream and sweat pours down his face. The harder he works, the more his thoughts seem to quiet, and for brief moments he finds something like peace in the rhythm of the scythe and the simple satisfaction of physical labor. But even as his body finds relief in exhaustion, his heart remains heavy with disappointment and self-doubt. The peasants working beside him notice his unusual intensity but say nothing, understanding that sometimes a man needs to work through his pain. Levin discovers that there's something healing about losing himself in honest work - it connects him to something larger than his own suffering and reminds him that life continues even when love fails. This chapter shows how people cope with heartbreak in different ways, and how sometimes the most basic human activities - working with our hands, being part of a community, connecting with the earth - can provide comfort when our emotional world falls apart. Tolstoy reveals that healing doesn't always come from thinking our way through problems, but sometimes from simply putting one foot in front of the other and doing the work in front of us. For Levin, the fields become both refuge and teacher, showing him that his worth isn't determined by whether one person loves him back.
Coming Up in Chapter 206
As Levin finds temporary peace in physical work, Anna's world grows increasingly unstable. The consequences of her choices begin to close in around her, threatening everything she thought she could control.
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An excerpt from the original text.(~500 words)
At ten o’clock the old prince, Sergey Ivanovitch, and Stepan Arkadyevitch were sitting at Levin’s. Having inquired after Kitty, they had dropped into conversation upon other subjects. Levin heard them, and unconsciously, as they talked, going over the past, over what had been up to that morning, he thought of himself as he had been yesterday till that point. It was as though a hundred years had passed since then. He felt himself exalted to unattainable heights, from which he studiously lowered himself so as not to wound the people he was talking to. He talked, and was all the time thinking of his wife, of her condition now, of his son, in whose existence he tried to school himself into believing. The whole world of woman, which had taken for him since his marriage a new value he had never suspected before, was now so exalted that he could not take it in in his imagination. He heard them talk of yesterday’s dinner at the club, and thought: “What is happening with her now? Is she asleep? How is she? What is she thinking of? Is he crying, my son Dmitri?” And in the middle of the conversation, in the middle of a sentence, he jumped up and went out of the room. “Send me word if I can see her,” said the prince. “Very well, in a minute,” answered Levin, and without stopping, he went to her room. She was not asleep, she was talking gently with her mother, making plans about the christening. Carefully set to rights, with hair well-brushed, in a smart little cap with some blue in it, her arms out on the quilt, she was lying on her back. Meeting his eyes, her eyes drew him to her. Her face, bright before, brightened still more as he drew near her. There was the same change in it from earthly to unearthly that is seen in the face of the dead. But then it means farewell, here it meant welcome. Again a rush of emotion, such as he had felt at the moment of the child’s birth, flooded his heart. She took his hand and asked him if he had slept. He could not answer, and turned away, struggling with his weakness. “I have had a nap, Kostya!” she said to him; “and I am so comfortable now.” She looked at him, but suddenly her expression changed. “Give him to me,” she said, hearing the baby’s cry. “Give him to me, Lizaveta Petrovna, and he shall look at him.” “To be sure, his papa shall look at him,” said Lizaveta Petrovna, getting up and bringing something red, and queer, and wriggling. “Wait a minute, we’ll make him tidy first,” and Lizaveta Petrovna laid the red wobbling thing on the bed, began untrussing and trussing up the baby, lifting it up and turning it over with one finger and powdering it with something. Levin, looking at the tiny, pitiful creature, made strenuous efforts to discover in...
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Intelligence Amplifier™ Analysis
The Road of Productive Grief
Using physical work and community engagement to process emotional pain when thinking becomes counterproductive.
Why This Matters
Connect literature to life
This chapter teaches how to distinguish between coping mechanisms that heal through action versus those that compound suffering through avoidance.
Practice This Today
This week, notice when you're overwhelmed—ask yourself: 'Is this activity building something or just burning time?' Choose work that engages your hands and serves others.
Now let's explore the literary elements.
Terms to Know
Physical labor as therapy
The idea that hard physical work can heal emotional pain by exhausting the body and quieting mental anguish. In 19th century Russia, this was often the only form of mental health treatment available to working people.
Modern Usage:
We see this today when people hit the gym after a breakup or throw themselves into home improvement projects during divorce.
Peasant solidarity
The unspoken understanding among working people that sometimes you don't ask questions when someone is struggling - you just let them work through it. Russian peasants had an intuitive grasp of communal support.
Modern Usage:
Like when coworkers don't pry when someone's clearly having a rough time but needs to keep working.
Scythe work
Cutting grain or grass with a long curved blade - backbreaking agricultural work that required rhythm and endurance. It was considered skilled labor that connected men to the land and seasons.
Modern Usage:
Any repetitive physical work that puts you 'in the zone' - like running, chopping wood, or even washing dishes.
Gentleman farmer
A wealthy landowner who actually worked his own fields rather than just collecting rent. Unusual in Tolstoy's time when upper-class men typically avoided manual labor entirely.
Modern Usage:
Like a CEO who still works on the factory floor or a successful contractor who still swings a hammer.
Rejection aftermath
The period after being turned down romantically when someone questions their entire worth and tries to find ways to cope with the humiliation and disappointment.
Modern Usage:
The same spiral we go through after getting ghosted or having someone say they just want to be friends.
Work as escape
Using demanding physical activity to avoid dealing with emotional problems. Common coping mechanism when talking through feelings wasn't culturally acceptable for men.
Modern Usage:
Workaholism, over-exercising, or any behavior where people bury themselves in activity to avoid processing pain.
Characters in This Chapter
Levin
Heartbroken protagonist
Throws himself into exhausting farm work to cope with Kitty's rejection. His desperate physical labor reveals both his pain and his need to prove his worth through honest work rather than social status.
Modern Equivalent:
The guy who works double shifts after a breakup
The peasant workers
Silent witnesses and companions
Work alongside Levin without judgment, understanding intuitively that he needs to work through his pain. They represent the wisdom of letting someone process grief in their own way.
Modern Equivalent:
The coworkers who don't ask questions but have your back
Key Quotes & Analysis
"The longer Levin mowed, the oftener he felt those moments of unconsciousness in which it seemed not his hands that swung the scythe, but the scythe mowing of itself."
Context: As Levin loses himself in the rhythm of farm work
This describes the meditative state that comes from repetitive physical work - when the mind finally stops racing and the body takes over. It's Tolstoy showing how manual labor can be a form of healing.
In Today's Words:
He got so into the work that he wasn't even thinking anymore - his hands just knew what to do.
"He felt that this grief was purifying him, freeing him from all that had been petty and superficial in his former life."
Context: Levin reflecting on how his heartbreak is changing him
Shows how rejection can strip away pretense and force someone to examine what really matters. The pain is doing necessary work on his character.
In Today's Words:
Getting his heart broken was actually cleaning out all the fake stuff he used to care about.
"What he had regarded as important before seemed to him now contemptibly petty."
Context: Levin's perspective shifting as he works through his pain
Heartbreak often provides brutal clarity about what actually matters versus what we thought mattered. Physical work is helping him see his life more clearly.
In Today's Words:
All the stuff he used to stress about suddenly seemed like total nonsense.
Thematic Threads
Class
In This Chapter
Levin finds unexpected solidarity working alongside peasants, discovering that shared labor breaks down social barriers
Development
Continues Tolstoy's exploration of how authentic connection transcends artificial class divisions
In Your Life:
You might find your most genuine connections happen when you're working toward common goals rather than trying to impress people.
Identity
In This Chapter
Levin's worth isn't tied to Kitty's acceptance but to his capacity for honest work and contribution
Development
Builds on his ongoing struggle to define himself outside social expectations
In Your Life:
Your value as a person isn't determined by who accepts or rejects you, but by how you show up in the world.
Personal Growth
In This Chapter
Pain becomes a teacher, showing Levin that healing comes through action rather than analysis
Development
Marks a turning point in his emotional maturity and self-understanding
In Your Life:
Sometimes the best way to grow through difficult experiences is to stop overthinking and start doing.
Human Relationships
In This Chapter
The unspoken understanding between Levin and the peasants shows how community supports without judgment
Development
Contrasts with the complex social games of aristocratic relationships
In Your Life:
The people who truly care about you will give you space to work through your pain without demanding explanations.
Social Expectations
In This Chapter
Levin rejects the aristocratic expectation to suffer elegantly, choosing instead honest physical labor
Development
Continues his pattern of choosing authenticity over social performance
In Your Life:
There's no 'right' way to handle heartbreak—do what actually helps you heal, not what looks appropriate to others.
You now have the context. Time to form your own thoughts.
Discussion Questions
- 1
What specific method does Levin use to cope with his emotional pain, and what physical effects does he experience?
analysis • surface - 2
Why does physical exhaustion help quiet Levin's tormented thoughts when mental reasoning couldn't?
analysis • medium - 3
Where do you see people today using physical work or activity to process difficult emotions like heartbreak, job loss, or grief?
application • medium - 4
When you're dealing with emotional pain that won't stop cycling through your mind, what type of physical activity or productive work might help you process it more effectively?
application • deep - 5
What does Levin's experience reveal about the relationship between our bodies, our minds, and our healing process?
reflection • deep
Critical Thinking Exercise
Design Your Emergency Toolkit
Create a personal action plan for the next time overwhelming emotions threaten to consume your thoughts. List three specific physical activities you could do immediately, three types of productive work that would engage your hands and body, and one way you could connect with your community. Consider what's actually available to you - your schedule, resources, and physical abilities.
Consider:
- •Choose activities that match your fitness level and available time
- •Include options for different seasons and situations (indoor/outdoor, alone/with others)
- •Think about activities that produce visible results you can feel proud of
Journaling Prompt
Write about a time when you successfully worked through difficult emotions by staying busy or active. What did that teach you about your own healing process, and how can you apply that knowledge to future challenges?
Coming Up Next...
Chapter 206
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.