An excerpt from the original text.(complete · 1468 words)
was bright and sunny. A fine rain had been falling all the morning,
and now it had not long cleared up. The iron roofs, the flags of the
roads, the flints of the pavements, the wheels and leather, the brass
and the tinplate of the carriages—all glistened brightly in the May
sunshine. It was three o’clock, and the very liveliest time in the
streets.
As she sat in a corner of the comfortable carriage, that hardly swayed
on its supple springs, while the grays trotted swiftly, in the midst of
the unceasing rattle of wheels and the changing impressions in the pure
air, Anna ran over the events of the last days, and she saw her
position quite differently from how it had seemed at home. Now the
thought of death seemed no longer so terrible and so clear to her, and
death itself no longer seemed so inevitable. Now she blamed herself for
the humiliation to which she had lowered herself. “I entreat him to
forgive me. I have given in to him. I have owned myself in fault. What
for? Can’t I live without him?” And leaving unanswered the question how
she was going to live without him, she fell to reading the signs on the
shops. “Office and warehouse. Dental surgeon. Yes, I’ll tell Dolly all
about it. She doesn’t like Vronsky. I shall be sick and ashamed, but
I’ll tell her. She loves me, and I’ll follow her advice. I won’t give
in to him; I won’t let him train me as he pleases. Filippov, bun shop.
They say they send their dough to Petersburg. The Moscow water is so
good for it. Ah, the springs at Mitishtchen, and the pancakes!”
And she remembered how, long, long ago, when she was a girl of
seventeen, she had gone with her aunt to Troitsa. “Riding, too. Was
that really me, with red hands? How much that seemed to me then
splendid and out of reach has become worthless, while what I had then
has gone out of my reach forever! Could I ever have believed then that
I could come to such humiliation? How conceited and self-satisfied he
will be when he gets my note! But I will show him.... How horrid that
paint smells! Why is it they’re always painting and building? Modes et
robes, she read. A man bowed to her. It was Annushka’s husband. “Our
parasites”; she remembered how Vronsky had said that. “Our? Why our?
What’s so awful is that one can’t tear up the past by its roots. One
can’t tear it out, but one can hide one’s memory of it. And I’ll hide
it.” And then she thought of her past with Alexey Alexandrovitch, of
how she had blotted the memory of it out of her life. “Dolly will think
I’m leaving my second husband, and so I certainly must be in the wrong.
As if I cared to be right! I can’t help it!” she said, and she wanted
to cry. But at once she fell to wondering what those two girls could be
smiling about. “Love, most likely. They don’t know how dreary it is,
how low.... The boulevard and the children. Three boys running, playing
at horses. Seryozha! And I’m losing everything and not getting him
back. Yes, I’m losing everything, if he doesn’t return. Perhaps he was
late for the train and has come back by now. Longing for humiliation
again!” she said to herself. “No, I’ll go to Dolly, and say straight
out to her, I’m unhappy, I deserve this, I’m to blame, but still I’m
unhappy, help me. These horses, this carriage—how loathsome I am to
myself in this carriage—all his; but I won’t see them again.”
Thinking over the words in which she would tell Dolly, and mentally
working her heart up to great bitterness, Anna went upstairs.
“Is there anyone with her?” she asked in the hall.
“Katerina Alexandrovna Levin,” answered the footman.
“Kitty! Kitty, whom Vronsky was in love with!” thought Anna, “the girl
he thinks of with love. He’s sorry he didn’t marry her. But me he
thinks of with hatred, and is sorry he had anything to do with me.”
The sisters were having a consultation about nursing when Anna called.
Dolly went down alone to see the visitor who had interrupted their
conversation.
“Well, so you’ve not gone away yet? I meant to have come to you,” she
said; “I had a letter from Stiva today.”
“We had a telegram too,” answered Anna, looking round for Kitty.
“He writes that he can’t make out quite what Alexey Alexandrovitch
wants, but he won’t go away without a decisive answer.”
“I thought you had someone with you. Can I see the letter?”
“Yes; Kitty,” said Dolly, embarrassed. “She stayed in the nursery. She
has been very ill.”
“So I heard. May I see the letter?”
“I’ll get it directly. But he doesn’t refuse; on the contrary, Stiva
has hopes,” said Dolly, stopping in the doorway.
“I haven’t, and indeed I don’t wish it,” said Anna.
“What’s this? Does Kitty consider it degrading to meet me?” thought
Anna when she was alone. “Perhaps she’s right, too. But it’s not for
her, the girl who was in love with Vronsky, it’s not for her to show me
that, even if it is true. I know that in my position I can’t be
received by any decent woman. I knew that from the first moment I
sacrificed everything to him. And this is my reward! Oh, how I hate
him! And what did I come here for? I’m worse here, more miserable.” She
heard from the next room the sisters’ voices in consultation. “And what
am I going to say to Dolly now? Amuse Kitty by the sight of my
wretchedness, submit to her patronizing? No; and besides, Dolly
wouldn’t understand. And it would be no good my telling her. It would
only be interesting to see Kitty, to show her how I despise everyone
and everything, how nothing matters to me now.”
Dolly came in with the letter. Anna read it and handed it back in
silence.
“I knew all that,” she said, “and it doesn’t interest me in the least.”
“Oh, why so? On the contrary, I have hopes,” said Dolly, looking
inquisitively at Anna. She had never seen her in such a strangely
irritable condition. “When are you going away?” she asked.
Anna, half-closing her eyes, looked straight before her and did not
answer.
“Why does Kitty shrink from me?” she said, looking at the door and
flushing red.
“Oh, what nonsense! She’s nursing, and things aren’t going right with
her, and I’ve been advising her.... She’s delighted. She’ll be here in
a minute,” said Dolly awkwardly, not clever at lying. “Yes, here she
is.”
Hearing that Anna had called, Kitty had wanted not to appear, but Dolly
persuaded her. Rallying her forces, Kitty went in, walked up to her,
blushing, and shook hands.
“I am so glad to see you,” she said with a trembling voice.
Kitty had been thrown into confusion by the inward conflict between her
antagonism to this bad woman and her desire to be nice to her. But as
soon as she saw Anna’s lovely and attractive face, all feeling of
antagonism disappeared.
“I should not have been surprised if you had not cared to meet me. I’m
used to everything. You have been ill? Yes, you are changed,” said
Anna.
Kitty felt that Anna was looking at her with hostile eyes. She ascribed
this hostility to the awkward position in which Anna, who had once
patronized her, must feel with her now, and she felt sorry for her.
They talked of Kitty’s illness, of the baby, of Stiva, but it was
obvious that nothing interested Anna.
“I came to say good-bye to you,” she said, getting up.
“Oh, when are you going?”
But again not answering, Anna turned to Kitty.
“Yes, I am very glad to have seen you,” she said with a smile. “I have
heard so much of you from everyone, even from your husband. He came to
see me, and I liked him exceedingly,” she said, unmistakably with
malicious intent. “Where is he?”
“He has gone back to the country,” said Kitty, blushing.
“Remember me to him, be sure you do.”
“I’ll be sure to!” Kitty said naïvely, looking compassionately into her
eyes.
“So good-bye, Dolly.” And kissing Dolly and shaking hands with Kitty,
Anna went out hurriedly.
“She’s just the same and just as charming! She’s very lovely!” said
Kitty, when she was alone with her sister. “But there’s something
piteous about her. Awfully piteous!”
“Yes, there’s something unusual about her today,” said Dolly. “When I
went with her into the hall, I fancied she was almost crying.”
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Let's Analyse the Pattern
When mental spiraling overwhelms us, purposeful physical activity can restore emotional stability and mental clarity.
Why This Matters
Connect literature to life
This chapter teaches how to identify when mental analysis shifts from helpful to harmful, and when to redirect to physical engagement.
Practice This Today
This week, notice when your thoughts start looping without progress—then immediately engage your hands in concrete work like cleaning, cooking, or organizing.
Now let's explore the literary elements.
Key Quotes & Analysis
"The longer Levin went on mowing, the oftener he experienced those moments of oblivion when his arms no longer seemed to swing the scythe, but the scythe itself his whole body, so conscious and full of life; and as if by magic, regularly and definitely without a thought being given to it, the work accomplished itself of its own accord."
Context: As Levin gets into the rhythm of mowing with the scythe
This describes the meditative state that comes from repetitive physical work. Levin's mind stops racing and he enters a flow state where the work happens automatically. This is the peace he's been desperately seeking.
In Today's Words:
The work became so automatic that his body just took over and his mind finally got quiet.
"He felt a pleasant coolness and at the same time a peculiar feeling of freshness, not only physical but spiritual."
Context: After hours of hard physical labor in the fields
The physical exhaustion brings unexpected spiritual renewal. This suggests that sometimes the body can heal what the mind cannot solve through thinking alone.
In Today's Words:
The hard work didn't just tire out his body - it refreshed his whole spirit.
"Work, he thought, work with one's hands, work that one could see the results of, work that tired the body and gave peace to the soul."
Context: Reflecting on why the physical labor brings him such relief
Levin realizes that tangible, productive work provides what his intellectual searching couldn't - actual peace. There's something healing about work you can see and touch.
In Today's Words:
Real work that you can actually see getting done - that's what finally gives you peace.
Thematic Threads
Class
In This Chapter
Levin finds genuine connection working alongside peasants, breaking down social barriers through shared labor
Development
Evolution from his earlier awkwardness around servants to authentic partnership with workers
In Your Life:
You might discover that working alongside people you normally don't interact with reveals shared humanity beyond job titles or education levels
Identity
In This Chapter
Through physical work, Levin reconnects with a core part of himself that intellectual searching had obscured
Development
Continuation of his journey from confused aristocrat toward integrated person grounded in authentic experience
In Your Life:
You might find that your truest self emerges not through thinking about who you are, but through engaging in work that feels genuinely meaningful
Personal Growth
In This Chapter
Levin learns that growth sometimes requires stepping away from analysis and into action
Development
Shift from his earlier pattern of trying to think his way to enlightenment toward embodied learning
In Your Life:
You might discover that the breakthrough you need comes through changing what you do, not what you think
Human Relationships
In This Chapter
Working alongside others creates natural bonds based on shared effort rather than social positioning
Development
Builds on earlier themes about authentic connection versus performative relationships
In Your Life:
You might find deeper connections through doing meaningful work together rather than just talking
You now have the context. Time to form your own thoughts.
Discussion Questions
- 1
What specific changes happen to Levin when he starts working in the fields with his hands?
analysis • surface - 2
Why does physical labor succeed in calming Levin's mind when all his thinking and reading failed?
analysis • medium - 3
Where do you see people today using physical work or activity to handle stress or overwhelming thoughts?
application • medium - 4
When your mind is racing with problems, what type of physical activity helps you think more clearly, and why do you think it works?
application • deep - 5
What does Levin's experience teach us about the relationship between our bodies and our emotional well-being?
reflection • deep
Critical Thinking Exercise
Create Your Body Wisdom Toolkit
List three physical activities that help quiet your mind when you're stressed or overwhelmed. For each activity, write down when you could realistically do it and what makes it effective for you. Then identify one new physical activity you could try the next time your thoughts are spinning out of control.
Consider:
- •Think about activities that require just enough focus to engage your body without overwhelming your mind
- •Consider what's actually available to you - time, space, and resources you have right now
- •Notice which activities work best for different types of mental stress
Journaling Prompt
Write about a time when physical work or activity helped you through a difficult period. What was happening in your life, what did you do with your body, and how did it change your mental state?
Coming Up Next...
Chapter 218
A conversation with one of his workers opens an unexpected door in Levin's thinking. Sometimes wisdom comes from the most unlikely sources, and Levin is about to discover that the answer he's been seeking might have been right in front of him all along.
