Summary
Levin throws himself into physical labor on his estate, working alongside his peasants in the fields under the scorching sun. He's desperately trying to exhaust himself physically so he won't think about Kitty's rejection and his failed proposal. The harder he works, the more he hopes to quiet the storm in his mind. But even as sweat pours down his face and his muscles ache, thoughts of Kitty keep breaking through. He watches his workers and envies their simple, uncomplicated lives - they seem to know their place in the world while he feels completely lost. The physical work does provide some temporary relief, like a drug that numbs emotional pain, but it's not a real solution. This chapter shows us how people often try to run from heartbreak through extreme behavior, whether it's overworking, drinking, or other forms of self-punishment. Levin's attempt to lose himself in manual labor reveals both his privilege (he can choose to work like a peasant when peasants have no choice) and his genuine desperation. Tolstoy is exploring how the wealthy often romanticize simple living when they're in pain, seeing it as somehow more 'authentic' than their complicated emotional lives. But Levin is learning that you can't outrun your feelings, no matter how tired you make your body. The chapter also highlights the class divide - while Levin sees peasant life as potentially peaceful, the reality is these workers face struggles he can't even imagine. His idealization of their existence shows how disconnected he is from the harsh realities of their daily survival.
Coming Up in Chapter 68
Levin's physical exhaustion finally catches up with him, but his emotional turmoil is far from over. A conversation with his brother Nikolai threatens to shatter what little peace he's managed to find through backbreaking labor.
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An excerpt from the original text.(~500 words)
Kitty made the acquaintance of Madame Stahl too, and this acquaintance, together with her friendship with Varenka, did not merely exercise a great influence on her, it also comforted her in her mental distress. She found this comfort through a completely new world being opened to her by means of this acquaintance, a world having nothing in common with her past, an exalted, noble world, from the height of which she could contemplate her past calmly. It was revealed to her that besides the instinctive life to which Kitty had given herself up hitherto there was a spiritual life. This life was disclosed in religion, but a religion having nothing in common with that one which Kitty had known from childhood, and which found expression in litanies and all-night services at the Widow’s Home, where one might meet one’s friends, and in learning by heart Slavonic texts with the priest. This was a lofty, mysterious religion connected with a whole series of noble thoughts and feelings, which one could do more than merely believe because one was told to, which one could love. Kitty found all this out not from words. Madame Stahl talked to Kitty as to a charming child that one looks on with pleasure as on the memory of one’s youth, and only once she said in passing that in all human sorrows nothing gives comfort but love and faith, and that in the sight of Christ’s compassion for us no sorrow is trifling—and immediately talked of other things. But in every gesture of Madame Stahl, in every word, in every heavenly—as Kitty called it—look, and above all in the whole story of her life, which she heard from Varenka, Kitty recognized that something “that was important,” of which, till then, she had known nothing. Yet, elevated as Madame Stahl’s character was, touching as was her story, and exalted and moving as was her speech, Kitty could not help detecting in her some traits which perplexed her. She noticed that when questioning her about her family, Madame Stahl had smiled contemptuously, which was not in accord with Christian meekness. She noticed, too, that when she had found a Catholic priest with her, Madame Stahl had studiously kept her face in the shadow of the lamp-shade and had smiled in a peculiar way. Trivial as these two observations were, they perplexed her, and she had her doubts as to Madame Stahl. But on the other hand Varenka, alone in the world, without friends or relations, with a melancholy disappointment in the past, desiring nothing, regretting nothing, was just that perfection of which Kitty dared hardly dream. In Varenka she realized that one has but to forget oneself and love others, and one will be calm, happy, and noble. And that was what Kitty longed to be. Seeing now clearly what was _the most important_, Kitty was not satisfied with being enthusiastic over it; she at once gave herself up with her whole soul to the new life that...
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Intelligence Amplifier™ Analysis
The Road of Physical Escape
The belief that we can resolve emotional pain through physical exhaustion or extreme activity.
Why This Matters
Connect literature to life
This chapter teaches how desperation can make us idealize lives we don't understand, revealing our own privilege even in our lowest moments.
Practice This Today
Next time you find yourself thinking someone else has it 'easier' or 'simpler,' ask what struggles you might not see and what choices you have that they don't.
Now let's explore the literary elements.
Terms to Know
Scything
Cutting grain crops with a long-handled blade called a scythe. This was backbreaking manual labor that required skill and endurance. In Tolstoy's time, it was the primary way to harvest crops.
Modern Usage:
Today we might say someone is 'grinding it out' at a physically demanding job to cope with stress
Peasant Labor
The agricultural workers who were tied to the land and worked for wealthy landowners like Levin. They had little choice in their work and lived in poverty. Their lives were governed by seasons and survival.
Modern Usage:
Similar to today's essential workers who do the physical jobs that keep society running while often being overlooked
Romanticizing Poverty
When wealthy people idealize the lives of the poor, seeing their struggles as somehow more 'authentic' or meaningful. It's a form of privilege blindness that ignores real hardship.
Modern Usage:
Like when celebrities talk about wanting a 'simple life' while having millions in the bank
Physical Escapism
Using intense physical activity to avoid dealing with emotional pain. The idea that if you exhaust your body, you can quiet your mind and forget your problems.
Modern Usage:
Today's version is hitting the gym obsessively after a breakup or working 80-hour weeks to avoid grief
Class Guilt
The uncomfortable feeling wealthy people get when they realize their privilege. Levin feels guilty that he can choose to do peasant work while real peasants have no choice.
Modern Usage:
Like when someone feels bad about their comfortable life while others struggle, leading to performative 'slumming'
Estate Management
Running a large agricultural property with multiple workers and crops. In 19th century Russia, this was how the wealthy made their money and maintained their status.
Modern Usage:
Similar to running any large business today, but with more direct control over workers' lives
Characters in This Chapter
Levin
Protagonist in emotional crisis
He's desperately trying to work himself to exhaustion to forget about Kitty's rejection. His attempt to join the peasants reveals both his privilege and his genuine pain.
Modern Equivalent:
The guy who throws himself into extreme workouts or projects after a devastating breakup
Peasant Workers
Supporting characters representing reality
They continue their backbreaking labor while Levin romanticizes their lives. They represent the harsh reality that Levin can't truly escape into.
Modern Equivalent:
Essential workers whose real struggles get overlooked by people having midlife crises
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 repetitive physical work
This shows how physical exhaustion can create a meditative state where pain temporarily disappears. But it's also an illusion - the problems are still there when the work stops.
In Today's Words:
The harder I worked out, the more I got into that zone where I forgot everything else
"He envied them their health and strength, their good spirits, their simplicity."
Context: Levin watching the peasants work
Levin is projecting his own desires onto the workers, seeing what he wants to see rather than their actual lives. This reveals his privilege and disconnection from reality.
In Today's Words:
He wished he could trade places with them and not have to think so much
"Work was the one thing that saved him, and he clutched at it as a drowning man clutches at a straw."
Context: Describing Levin's desperate need for distraction
This metaphor shows how desperate Levin is and how temporary his solution really is. You can't actually save yourself by clutching at straws.
In Today's Words:
Work was his only escape, and he grabbed onto it like it could actually fix everything
Thematic Threads
Class
In This Chapter
Levin can choose to work like a peasant while peasants have no choice, highlighting his privilege even in desperation
Development
Evolved from earlier social climbing themes to show how class affects even personal crisis responses
In Your Life:
Notice when you have options others don't, even in your worst moments.
Identity
In This Chapter
Levin feels completely lost and envies workers who 'know their place' in the world
Development
Continues his ongoing identity crisis, now intensified by romantic rejection
In Your Life:
When you're questioning everything about yourself, you might idealize others' seemingly simple lives.
Escapism
In This Chapter
Using physical labor as a drug to numb emotional pain from Kitty's rejection
Development
Introduced here as Levin's coping mechanism for heartbreak
In Your Life:
You might throw yourself into work, exercise, or projects to avoid dealing with difficult feelings.
Privilege
In This Chapter
Levin can romanticize peasant life because he's never actually lived it
Development
Shows how his earlier social observations were filtered through privilege
In Your Life:
Be careful about idealizing lifestyles you've never actually experienced during tough times.
Healing
In This Chapter
Physical exhaustion provides temporary relief but isn't a real solution to heartbreak
Development
Introduced here as exploration of healthy vs. unhealthy coping mechanisms
In Your Life:
Motion and busyness can feel like healing, but real processing requires stillness and facing the pain.
You now have the context. Time to form your own thoughts.
Discussion Questions
- 1
What does Levin hope to achieve by working in the fields with his peasants, and does his strategy work?
analysis • surface - 2
Why does Levin envy the simple lives of his workers, and what does this reveal about his emotional state?
analysis • medium - 3
Where do you see people today trying to escape emotional pain through physical exhaustion or extreme activity?
application • medium - 4
How can someone distinguish between healthy physical activity and using work or exercise to avoid dealing with problems?
application • deep - 5
What does Levin's romanticizing of peasant life teach us about how privilege affects our understanding of others' struggles?
reflection • deep
Critical Thinking Exercise
Track Your Escape Patterns
Think about the last time you felt overwhelmed or heartbroken. Write down what you did with your body - did you clean obsessively, work extra hours, exercise until exhausted, or throw yourself into projects? Map out your personal Physical Escape Pattern and identify what you were really trying to avoid feeling.
Consider:
- •Notice the difference between healthy coping (a walk to clear your head) versus escape behavior (working until you collapse)
- •Consider how your privilege or circumstances affect what escape options are available to you
- •Think about whether your physical activities helped you process emotions or just postponed dealing with them
Journaling Prompt
Write about a time when you used physical activity to avoid emotional pain. What were you really running from, and what might have happened if you had sat with those feelings instead?
Coming Up Next...
Chapter 68
What lies ahead teaches us key events and character development in this chapter, and shows us thematic elements and literary techniques. These patterns appear in literature and life alike.