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 exhaust himself physically so he won't have the energy to think about his spiritual crisis and suicidal thoughts. The harder he works, the more he hopes to quiet the torment in his mind. But even as he sweats and strains, cutting hay and hauling grain, the fundamental questions that have been eating at him refuse to go away. Why does life matter? What's the point of anything if we all just die? His body may be tired, but his mind keeps circling back to these dark thoughts. The peasants around him seem content with their simple lives, focused on immediate needs like food, shelter, and family. Levin envies their apparent peace but can't figure out how to achieve it himself. He's caught between his educated, analytical mind that demands answers and his desperate need for the kind of unquestioning faith that seems to sustain the working people around him. This chapter shows how even the most privileged person can feel completely lost when facing life's biggest questions. Levin's attempt to find meaning through physical work reflects a very human impulse - when we can't solve our problems mentally, we often try to work them out physically. But Tolstoy suggests that you can't outrun existential questions through exhaustion alone. The contrast between Levin's tortured intellectualism and the peasants' simple acceptance highlights different ways people cope with life's uncertainties.
Coming Up in Chapter 85
Levin's physical exhaustion finally catches up with him, but instead of the peace he's seeking, an unexpected encounter forces him to confront his crisis head-on. Sometimes the answers we're looking for come from the most unlikely sources.
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An excerpt from the original text.(~500 words)
Though Anna had obstinately and with exasperation contradicted Vronsky when he told her their position was impossible, at the bottom of her heart she regarded her own position as false and dishonorable, and she longed with her whole soul to change it. On the way home from the races she had told her husband the truth in a moment of excitement, and in spite of the agony she had suffered in doing so, she was glad of it. After her husband had left her, she told herself that she was glad, that now everything was made clear, and at least there would be no more lying and deception. It seemed to her beyond doubt that her position was now made clear forever. It might be bad, this new position, but it would be clear; there would be no indefiniteness or falsehood about it. The pain she had caused herself and her husband in uttering those words would be rewarded now by everything being made clear, she thought. That evening she saw Vronsky, but she did not tell him of what had passed between her and her husband, though, to make the position definite, it was necessary to tell him. When she woke up next morning the first thing that rose to her mind was what she had said to her husband, and those words seemed to her so awful that she could not conceive now how she could have brought herself to utter those strange, coarse words, and could not imagine what would come of it. But the words were spoken, and Alexey Alexandrovitch had gone away without saying anything. “I saw Vronsky and did not tell him. At the very instant he was going away I would have turned him back and told him, but I changed my mind, because it was strange that I had not told him the first minute. Why was it I wanted to tell him and did not tell him?” And in answer to this question a burning blush of shame spread over her face. She knew what had kept her from it, she knew that she had been ashamed. Her position, which had seemed to her simplified the night before, suddenly struck her now as not only not simple, but as absolutely hopeless. She felt terrified at the disgrace, of which she had not ever thought before. Directly she thought of what her husband would do, the most terrible ideas came to her mind. She had a vision of being turned out of the house, of her shame being proclaimed to all the world. She asked herself where she should go when she was turned out of the house, and she could not find an answer. When she thought of Vronsky, it seemed to her that he did not love her, that he was already beginning to be tired of her, that she could not offer herself to him, and she felt bitter against him for it. It seemed to her that the...
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Intelligence Amplifier™ Analysis
The Road of Outrunning Your Mind
The attempt to solve emotional or spiritual problems through physical exhaustion rather than direct confrontation.
Why This Matters
Connect literature to life
This chapter teaches how to spot when someone is using activity to avoid dealing with emotional problems.
Practice This Today
This week, notice when you or others suddenly become 'too busy' right after a difficult conversation or stressful event—it's often a sign of emotional avoidance rather than genuine productivity.
Now let's explore the literary elements.
Terms to Know
Existential crisis
A period of intense questioning about the meaning and purpose of life, often triggered by major life events or deep reflection. It involves feeling lost about what matters and why we exist.
Modern Usage:
We see this when people hit midlife and suddenly question their career choices, or when someone successful still feels empty inside.
Physical labor as escape
The practice of throwing yourself into hard physical work to avoid dealing with emotional or mental problems. The idea is that exhaustion will quiet a troubled mind.
Modern Usage:
People today might work out obsessively, take on extra shifts, or stay constantly busy to avoid processing difficult feelings.
Class consciousness
Awareness of the differences between social classes and how they affect people's worldviews and daily experiences. In this chapter, it's the gap between educated nobility and working peasants.
Modern Usage:
We see this in the divide between college-educated professionals and blue-collar workers, or between management and hourly employees.
Simple faith vs. intellectual doubt
The contrast between people who accept life's mysteries with basic trust versus those who need logical explanations for everything. Simple faith brings peace but intellectual minds often struggle with unanswered questions.
Modern Usage:
This shows up when highly educated people envy those who seem content with straightforward religious beliefs or life philosophies.
Suicidal ideation
Persistent thoughts about ending one's life, often stemming from feeling that life has no meaning or purpose. It's a serious mental health concern that requires attention.
Modern Usage:
Today we recognize this as a symptom of depression and have crisis hotlines and mental health resources to help people through these dark periods.
Russian estate system
Large agricultural properties owned by nobility where peasants worked the land. The landowner lived among but separate from the workers, creating complex social dynamics.
Modern Usage:
Similar to how corporate executives might visit factory floors or farms they own, maintaining distance despite physical proximity.
Characters in This Chapter
Levin
Protagonist in crisis
He's desperately trying to work himself into exhaustion to escape his dark thoughts about life's meaninglessness. Despite his privilege, he's tormented by existential questions and envies the peasants' simple contentment.
Modern Equivalent:
The successful person having a breakdown who takes up extreme fitness or workaholism
The peasants
Contrasting figures
They work alongside Levin in the fields, representing a simpler way of living focused on immediate needs like food and family. Their apparent peace highlights Levin's internal struggle.
Modern Equivalent:
The coworkers who seem genuinely happy with basic jobs and simple pleasures
Key Quotes & Analysis
"He worked with the peasants from dawn to dusk, hoping that physical exhaustion would silence the questions that tormented him."
Context: Describing Levin's desperate strategy to escape his existential crisis
This shows how people often try to outrun mental problems through physical means. Levin thinks if he's tired enough, he won't have energy to think about life's big questions.
In Today's Words:
He worked himself to death hoping he'd be too tired to think about what was eating at him.
"What is the point of it all if we all just die in the end?"
Context: His internal monologue while working in the fields
This captures the core of existential dread - the feeling that death makes everything meaningless. It's the question that drives his crisis and can't be answered by hard work alone.
In Today's Words:
Why does any of this matter if we're all going to die anyway?
"The peasants seemed to find meaning in their simple daily tasks, something that eluded his educated mind."
Context: Contrasting Levin's torment with the workers' apparent contentment
This highlights how sometimes education and overthinking can be burdens. The peasants' focus on immediate, practical needs gives them a peace that Levin's analytical mind can't achieve.
In Today's Words:
The regular folks seemed happy just getting through their day, while his college education made him miserable.
Thematic Threads
Class
In This Chapter
Levin envies the peasants' simple acceptance of life while feeling trapped by his own educated need for answers
Development
Continues the book's exploration of how education and privilege can create as many problems as they solve
In Your Life:
You might feel this when comparing your complicated worries to others who seem content with simpler concerns
Identity
In This Chapter
Levin struggles between his intellectual identity that demands answers and his desire for unquestioning faith
Development
Deepens his ongoing identity crisis about who he wants to be versus who he thinks he should be
In Your Life:
You might recognize this when feeling torn between what your mind tells you and what your heart needs
Personal Growth
In This Chapter
Levin attempts to grow through physical labor rather than emotional or spiritual work
Development
Shows how growth can be misdirected when we avoid the real work of self-examination
In Your Life:
You might see this when you mistake staying busy for making progress on your real issues
Human Relationships
In This Chapter
Levin works alongside peasants but remains isolated by his different relationship to life's big questions
Development
Explores how shared activity doesn't automatically create shared understanding
In Your Life:
You might feel this when working closely with others but still feeling fundamentally alone with your struggles
You now have the context. Time to form your own thoughts.
Discussion Questions
- 1
What strategy does Levin use to try to deal with his existential crisis, and what does he hope to accomplish?
analysis • surface - 2
Why does Levin's physical exhaustion strategy fail to solve his deeper problems?
analysis • medium - 3
Where do you see people today using work or physical activity to avoid dealing with emotional problems?
application • medium - 4
How can someone tell the difference between healthy hard work and using work to escape from problems?
application • deep - 5
What does the contrast between Levin's tortured thinking and the peasants' simple acceptance reveal about different ways people handle life's uncertainties?
reflection • deep
Critical Thinking Exercise
Track Your Escape Patterns
For one week, notice when you throw yourself into extra work, exercise, or busy activities when feeling stressed or upset. Keep a simple log: What was bothering you? What activity did you use to avoid it? Did the activity actually solve the problem or just postpone dealing with it?
Consider:
- •Look for patterns in timing - do you escape into work during certain types of stress?
- •Notice the difference between productive activity and avoidance activity
- •Pay attention to whether the underlying issue resurfaces after the activity ends
Journaling Prompt
Write about a time when you used physical work or intense activity to avoid dealing with an emotional problem. What were you really trying to escape from, and what might have happened if you had faced it directly instead?
Coming Up Next...
Chapter 85
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.