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 escape the crushing weight of his thoughts about death and the meaninglessness of existence that have been consuming him. The harder he works, the more he hopes to quiet his mind, but even exhaustion can't silence his existential torment. As he swings his scythe and loads hay, Levin finds brief moments where his body takes over and his mind goes quiet, but these reprieves are temporary. His workers notice his intensity and dedication, respecting his willingness to do the same backbreaking work they do every day. Yet even as sweat pours down his face and his muscles ache, the fundamental questions that have been plaguing him refuse to disappear. What's the point of all this effort if everyone dies anyway? Why does any of it matter? The physical exhaustion provides some relief, but Levin realizes that throwing himself into work is just another form of running away from the deeper spiritual crisis he's facing. His attempt to find meaning through labor mirrors how many people try to outrun their problems through busyness, but the underlying issues remain. This chapter shows how even the most honest, hardworking approach to life can feel hollow when you're grappling with questions about mortality and purpose. Levin's struggle represents the universal human experience of trying to find solid ground when everything feels uncertain and temporary.
Coming Up in Chapter 210
An unexpected conversation with one of his peasants will offer Levin a completely different way of looking at his spiritual crisis. Sometimes wisdom comes from the most surprising sources.
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An excerpt from the original text.(~500 words)
Stepan Arkadyevitch, as usual, did not waste his time in Petersburg. In Petersburg, besides business, his sister’s divorce, and his coveted appointment, he wanted, as he always did, to freshen himself up, as he said, after the mustiness of Moscow. In spite of its _cafés chantants_ and its omnibuses, Moscow was yet a stagnant bog. Stepan Arkadyevitch always felt it. After living for some time in Moscow, especially in close relations with his family, he was conscious of a depression of spirits. After being a long time in Moscow without a change, he reached a point when he positively began to be worrying himself over his wife’s ill-humor and reproaches, over his children’s health and education, and the petty details of his official work; even the fact of being in debt worried him. But he had only to go and stay a little while in Petersburg, in the circle there in which he moved, where people lived—really lived—instead of vegetating as in Moscow, and all such ideas vanished and melted away at once, like wax before the fire. His wife?... Only that day he had been talking to Prince Tchetchensky. Prince Tchetchensky had a wife and family, grown-up pages in the corps, ... and he had another illegitimate family of children also. Though the first family was very nice too, Prince Tchetchensky felt happier in his second family; and he used to take his eldest son with him to his second family, and told Stepan Arkadyevitch that he thought it good for his son, enlarging his ideas. What would have been said to that in Moscow? His children? In Petersburg children did not prevent their parents from enjoying life. The children were brought up in schools, and there was no trace of the wild idea that prevailed in Moscow, in Lvov’s household, for instance, that all the luxuries of life were for the children, while the parents have nothing but work and anxiety. Here people understood that a man is in duty bound to live for himself, as every man of culture should live. His official duties? Official work here was not the stiff, hopeless drudgery that it was in Moscow. Here there was some interest in official life. A chance meeting, a service rendered, a happy phrase, a knack of facetious mimicry, and a man’s career might be made in a trice. So it had been with Bryantsev, whom Stepan Arkadyevitch had met the previous day, and who was one of the highest functionaries in government now. There was some interest in official work like that. The Petersburg attitude on pecuniary matters had an especially soothing effect on Stepan Arkadyevitch. Bartnyansky, who must spend at least fifty thousand to judge by the style he lived in, had made an interesting comment the day before on that subject. As they were talking before dinner, Stepan Arkadyevitch said to Bartnyansky: “You’re friendly, I fancy, with Mordvinsky; you might do me a favor: say a word to him, please, for me. There’s...
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Intelligence Amplifier™ Analysis
The Road of Productive Avoidance
Using legitimate work and activity to escape from deeper emotional or existential questions that need to be faced.
Why This Matters
Connect literature to life
This chapter teaches how to distinguish between genuine productivity and using work to escape difficult decisions.
Practice This Today
This week, notice when you suddenly feel compelled to clean, work late, or take on extra tasks—ask yourself what uncomfortable feeling or decision you might be avoiding.
Now let's explore the literary elements.
Terms to Know
Existential crisis
A moment of intense questioning about the meaning and purpose of life, often triggered by awareness of mortality. Levin is experiencing this as he grapples with whether anything matters if we all die anyway.
Modern Usage:
When people have midlife crises or feel overwhelmed asking 'What's the point?' during major life transitions.
Scythe
A long-handled farming tool with a curved blade used to cut grain and grass. In Levin's time, all harvesting was done by hand with these tools, requiring incredible physical stamina.
Modern Usage:
Like any manual labor tool that's been replaced by machines - represents honest, physical work that connects you to the land.
Peasant class
In 19th century Russia, these were poor agricultural workers who lived on and worked the land owned by nobles like Levin. They had little education but deep practical wisdom about farming and life.
Modern Usage:
Similar to today's working class - people who do the essential physical labor that keeps society running.
Estate labor
The system where landowners managed large agricultural properties using peasant workers. Levin is unusual because he works alongside his workers rather than just supervising them.
Modern Usage:
Like a CEO who works on the factory floor - breaking down class barriers through shared work experience.
Spiritual emptiness
The feeling that life lacks deeper meaning or connection to something greater than yourself. Levin can't find peace even through honest work because he's lost his sense of purpose.
Modern Usage:
What people feel when success, money, or achievements don't bring the fulfillment they expected.
Work as escape
Using physical or mental busyness to avoid dealing with emotional or spiritual problems. Levin hopes exhausting labor will silence his troubling thoughts about death and meaninglessness.
Modern Usage:
Workaholics who stay busy to avoid facing relationship problems, depression, or life decisions.
Characters in This Chapter
Levin
Protagonist in crisis
Throws himself into backbreaking farm work, hoping physical exhaustion will quiet his existential torment about death and meaninglessness. His desperate attempt to find peace through labor shows both his integrity and his spiritual desperation.
Modern Equivalent:
The successful person having a breakdown who quits their office job to work construction
The peasant workers
Levin's coworkers
They respect Levin for doing the same hard work they do, but they represent a simpler acceptance of life that he envies. Their presence highlights how Levin's education has made him overthink what they accept naturally.
Modern Equivalent:
Blue-collar workers who accept their boss working alongside them but wonder why he's trying so hard
Key Quotes & Analysis
"The longer Levin mowed, the more often 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 your body takes over and your mind goes quiet. It's the closest Levin gets to peace from his existential torment.
In Today's Words:
When you're so focused on physical work that you stop overthinking and just flow with it.
"Work was the one thing that saved him, and he threw himself into it with desperate energy."
Context: Describing Levin's motivation for the intense physical labor
Shows how Levin is using work as a drug to numb his spiritual pain. The word 'desperate' reveals this isn't healthy coping but frantic avoidance of his deeper problems.
In Today's Words:
He worked himself to exhaustion because it was the only thing that stopped him from falling apart.
"But still the terrible question remained: What for? Why?"
Context: Even after hours of exhausting work, his existential questions return
No amount of honest work can answer the fundamental questions about life's meaning. This shows that external activity can't solve internal spiritual crises - you can't outrun your own mind.
In Today's Words:
Even when he worked himself to death, he still couldn't stop asking 'What's the point of any of this?'
Thematic Threads
Existential Crisis
In This Chapter
Levin desperately tries to escape thoughts of death and meaninglessness through backbreaking physical labor
Development
Deepening from earlier spiritual questioning into full crisis requiring active avoidance
In Your Life:
You might recognize this when you find yourself staying busy to avoid thinking about big life questions that scare you.
Class
In This Chapter
Levin works alongside peasants, earning their respect through shared physical labor rather than social position
Development
Evolution from class anxiety to finding authentic connection through honest work
In Your Life:
You see this when you gain more respect from colleagues through rolling up your sleeves than from your job title.
Escape
In This Chapter
Physical exhaustion becomes Levin's preferred method of quieting his tormented mind
Development
New manifestation of his ongoing struggle to find peace and meaning
In Your Life:
You might use exercise, work, or other activities to avoid dealing with difficult emotions or decisions.
Authenticity
In This Chapter
Levin finds brief moments of genuine peace when his body takes over and his overthinking mind goes quiet
Development
Glimpses of the authentic self he's been seeking throughout his journey
In Your Life:
You experience this during activities that fully absorb you and quiet your inner critic or anxiety.
Mortality
In This Chapter
Questions about death and the temporary nature of all effort plague Levin even during intense physical work
Development
The death theme has evolved from abstract fear to concrete daily torment
In Your Life:
You face this when wondering whether your daily efforts matter in the face of life's uncertainty and brevity.
You now have the context. Time to form your own thoughts.
Discussion Questions
- 1
Why does Levin throw himself into physical labor, and what is he hoping it will accomplish?
analysis • surface - 2
Why does physical exhaustion provide only temporary relief from Levin's existential questions?
analysis • medium - 3
Where do you see people today using busyness or work to avoid dealing with deeper problems?
application • medium - 4
How can someone tell the difference between productive work and productive avoidance in their own life?
application • deep - 5
What does Levin's struggle reveal about the relationship between physical activity and mental peace?
reflection • deep
Critical Thinking Exercise
Map Your Avoidance Patterns
Think about the last month of your life. Write down the times you felt most busy or overwhelmed. For each instance, ask yourself what difficult thought or conversation you might have been avoiding. Look for patterns in when you add extra work or activities to your schedule.
Consider:
- •Notice the difference between chosen productivity and escape productivity
- •Pay attention to timing - when do you get busiest emotionally?
- •Consider what specific fears or questions you might be running from
Journaling Prompt
Write about a time when you used work or busyness to avoid dealing with something important. What were you afraid would happen if you slowed down and faced it directly?
Coming Up Next...
Chapter 210
In the next chapter, you'll discover key events and character development in this chapter, and learn thematic elements and literary techniques. These insights reveal timeless patterns that resonate in our own lives and relationships.