An excerpt from the original text.(complete · 1060 words)
“ow there is something I want to talk about, and you know what it is.
About Anna,” Stepan Arkadyevitch said, pausing for a brief space, and
shaking off the unpleasant impression.
As soon as Oblonsky uttered Anna’s name, the face of Alexey
Alexandrovitch was completely transformed; all the life was gone out of
it, and it looked weary and dead.
“What is it exactly that you want from me?” he said, moving in his
chair and snapping his pince-nez.
“A definite settlement, Alexey Alexandrovitch, some settlement of the
position. I’m appealing to you” (“not as an injured husband,” Stepan
Arkadyevitch was going to say, but afraid of wrecking his negotiation
by this, he changed the words) “not as a statesman” (which did not
sound à propos), “but simply as a man, and a good-hearted man and a
Christian. You must have pity on her,” he said.
“That is, in what way precisely?” Karenin said softly.
“Yes, pity on her. If you had seen her as I have!—I have been spending
all the winter with her—you would have pity on her. Her position is
awful, simply awful!”
“I had imagined,” answered Alexey Alexandrovitch in a higher, almost
shrill voice, “that Anna Arkadyevna had everything she had desired for
herself.”
“Oh, Alexey Alexandrovitch, for heaven’s sake, don’t let us indulge in
recriminations! What is past is past, and you know what she wants and
is waiting for—divorce.”
“But I believe Anna Arkadyevna refuses a divorce, if I make it a
condition to leave me my son. I replied in that sense, and supposed
that the matter was ended. I consider it at an end,” shrieked Alexey
Alexandrovitch.
“But, for heaven’s sake, don’t get hot!” said Stepan Arkadyevitch,
touching his brother-in-law’s knee. “The matter is not ended. If you
will allow me to recapitulate, it was like this: when you parted, you
were as magnanimous as could possibly be; you were ready to give her
everything—freedom, divorce even. She appreciated that. No, don’t think
that. She did appreciate it—to such a degree that at the first moment,
feeling how she had wronged you, she did not consider and could not
consider everything. She gave up everything. But experience, time, have
shown that her position is unbearable, impossible.”
“The life of Anna Arkadyevna can have no interest for me,” Alexey
Alexandrovitch put in, lifting his eyebrows.
“Allow me to disbelieve that,” Stepan Arkadyevitch replied gently. “Her
position is intolerable for her, and of no benefit to anyone whatever.
She has deserved it, you will say. She knows that and asks you for
nothing; she says plainly that she dare not ask you. But I, all of us,
her relatives, all who love her, beg you, entreat you. Why should she
suffer? Who is any the better for it?”
“Excuse me, you seem to put me in the position of the guilty party,”
observed Alexey Alexandrovitch.
“Oh, no, oh, no, not at all! please understand me,” said Stepan
Arkadyevitch, touching his hand again, as though feeling sure this
physical contact would soften his brother-in-law. “All I say is this:
her position is intolerable, and it might be alleviated by you, and you
will lose nothing by it. I will arrange it all for you, so that you’ll
not notice it. You did promise it, you know.”
“The promise was given before. And I had supposed that the question of
my son had settled the matter. Besides, I had hoped that Anna
Arkadyevna had enough generosity....” Alexey Alexandrovitch articulated
with difficulty, his lips twitching and his face white.
“She leaves it all to your generosity. She begs, she implores one thing
of you—to extricate her from the impossible position in which she is
placed. She does not ask for her son now. Alexey Alexandrovitch, you
are a good man. Put yourself in her position for a minute. The question
of divorce for her in her position is a question of life and death. If
you had not promised it once, she would have reconciled herself to her
position, she would have gone on living in the country. But you
promised it, and she wrote to you, and moved to Moscow. And here she’s
been for six months in Moscow, where every chance meeting cuts her to
the heart, every day expecting an answer. Why, it’s like keeping a
condemned criminal for six months with the rope round his neck,
promising him perhaps death, perhaps mercy. Have pity on her, and I
will undertake to arrange everything. Vos scrupules....”
“I am not talking about that, about that....” Alexey Alexandrovitch
interrupted with disgust. “But, perhaps, I promised what I had no right
to promise.”
“So you go back from your promise?”
“I have never refused to do all that is possible, but I want time to
consider how much of what I promised is possible.”
“No, Alexey Alexandrovitch!” cried Oblonsky, jumping up, “I won’t
believe that! She’s unhappy as only an unhappy woman can be, and you
cannot refuse in such....”
“As much of what I promised as is possible. Vous professez d’être
libre penseur. But I as a believer cannot, in a matter of such
gravity, act in opposition to the Christian law.”
“But in Christian societies and among us, as far as I’m aware, divorce
is allowed,” said Stepan Arkadyevitch. “Divorce is sanctioned even by
our church. And we see....”
“It is allowed, but not in the sense....”
“Alexey Alexandrovitch, you are not like yourself,” said Oblonsky,
after a brief pause. “Wasn’t it you (and didn’t we all appreciate it in
you?) who forgave everything, and moved simply by Christian feeling was
ready to make any sacrifice? You said yourself: if a man take thy coat,
give him thy cloak also, and now....”
“I beg,” said Alexey Alexandrovitch shrilly, getting suddenly onto his
feet, his face white and his jaws twitching, “I beg you to drop this
... to drop ... this subject!”
“Oh, no! Oh, forgive me, forgive me if I have wounded you,” said Stepan
Arkadyevitch, holding out his hand with a smile of embarrassment; “but
like a messenger I have simply performed the commission given me.”
Alexey Alexandrovitch gave him his hand, pondered a little, and said:
“I must think it over and seek for guidance. The day after tomorrow I
will give you a final answer,” he said, after considering a moment.
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Let's Analyse the Pattern
Direct, hands-on experience often provides more accurate knowledge than abstract theories created by those who haven't lived the reality they're analyzing.
Why This Matters
Connect literature to life
This chapter teaches how to evaluate whether someone's advice comes from actual experience or just abstract study.
Practice This Today
This week, notice when someone gives advice—ask yourself: have they actually done what they're recommending, or are they repeating theories they've heard?
Now let's explore the literary elements.
Key Quotes & Analysis
"He felt that the ground was slipping from under his feet, that he could not go on living as he had been living."
Context: When Levin realizes his old way of thinking isn't working anymore
This captures the moment when someone realizes their current path isn't right for them. It's both terrifying and liberating to acknowledge you need to change direction.
In Today's Words:
He knew he couldn't keep pretending his life was working when it clearly wasn't.
"The whole system of culture, the whole system of thought about agriculture was false."
Context: After listening to the intellectuals debate farming theories
Levin rejects the academic approach to agriculture because it doesn't match what he's learned through actual farming. He's choosing practical knowledge over theoretical knowledge.
In Today's Words:
All these fancy ideas about farming are completely wrong because they ignore how things actually work.
"He had always felt that there was something not quite right in his attitude to his work on the land."
Context: Levin reflecting on his relationship with farming
This shows Levin's growing self-awareness. He's been trying to fit into expectations about how a landowner should think, but it never felt natural to him.
In Today's Words:
Something about the way he was supposed to approach his work had always felt off to him.
Thematic Threads
Class
In This Chapter
Levin sees the gap between educated theorists and working people who actually live the problems being discussed
Development
Deepening from earlier exploration of social divisions to focus on knowledge gaps between classes
In Your Life:
You might notice how people who've never worked your job try to tell you how to do it better
Identity
In This Chapter
Levin struggles between wanting intellectual respect and trusting his practical farmer identity
Development
Evolution of Levin's ongoing search for authentic self-expression
In Your Life:
You might feel torn between impressing educated people and staying true to your working-class roots
Social Expectations
In This Chapter
Pressure to value abstract intellectual discussions over practical, hands-on knowledge
Development
Continuing theme of characters feeling pressure to conform to elite standards
In Your Life:
You might feel like your practical skills are less valuable than someone's college degree
Personal Growth
In This Chapter
Levin gains confidence in trusting his own experience over popular intellectual trends
Development
Progression in Levin's journey toward self-acceptance and authentic living
In Your Life:
You might be learning to value your own hard-earned wisdom over what experts tell you
Work
In This Chapter
Physical labor and direct engagement with workers provides deeper understanding than theoretical study
Development
Introduced here as a source of authentic knowledge
In Your Life:
You might find that your hands-on work experience teaches you things no classroom could
You now have the context. Time to form your own thoughts.
Discussion Questions
- 1
What conflict does Levin experience when the educated visitors come to discuss farming theories with him?
analysis • surface - 2
Why does Levin feel more connected to his peasant workers than to the intellectual visitors, even though he shares their education level?
analysis • medium - 3
Where do you see this same tension between book learning and hands-on experience in your own workplace or community?
application • medium - 4
When someone with credentials but no real experience tries to tell you how to do your job, how do you handle that situation while still being respectful?
application • deep - 5
What does Levin's story reveal about the different types of knowledge we value in society, and which ones actually matter most for solving real problems?
reflection • deep
Critical Thinking Exercise
Map Your Experience vs. Their Theory
Think of a time when someone with credentials or authority tried to change how you do something you know well from experience. Write down what they suggested versus what you knew from doing the actual work. Then identify what they missed because they hadn't lived it themselves.
Consider:
- •What practical details did the theorist overlook that you notice from daily experience?
- •How did their background or position affect what they could and couldn't see about the situation?
- •What would you need to show them for them to understand why their theory doesn't work in practice?
Journaling Prompt
Write about a time when you trusted your own experience over expert advice and it turned out you were right. What did that teach you about the value of your own knowledge?
Coming Up Next...
Chapter 208
Levin's newfound clarity about his values will be tested when he faces a major decision about his future. Meanwhile, the contrast between his grounded perspective and the abstract theories of his visitors sets up deeper conflicts to come.
