Anna Karenina Ch. 160: Chapter 160

Summary

Kitty welcomes a walk alone with Levin because she noticed the shade of mortification on his face when the terrace went silent at his question. On the dusty road she clings to his arm. He forgets the slight and feels pure bliss near her in pregnancy, loving the changed softness in her voice and eyes.

She tells him they discussed how men make offers and Sergey with Varenka. Levin says Sergey lives a spiritual life only, too exalted to reconcile himself with actual fact, and Varenka is after all fact. Kitty understands from hints; they speak of Nikolay and Levin's envy of Sergey's duty-driven calm. Kitty smiles knowing her husband abases himself while happy.

Levin admits he is happy but dissatisfied with himself: work on the estate and book now feels like a task set him compared with love for her. Kitty asks if he would trade places with Sergey; he says of course not, then wonders again if Sergey will propose. She picks wild camomile: he does propose, he does not. They pluck petals until the wagonette catches up and all walk on together toward the mushroom wood.

The camomile game cheats fate as Levin plucks two petals; pregnancy softens everything except his honest envy of Sergey's duty-driven calm before the forest proposal scene.

In this chapter: Terms Characters Key Quotes Modern Story

Why This Matters

Letting Happiness Count

Love can fulfill you and still leave a voice saying you should be more. Kitty catches the shade of mortification on Levin's face, he says Sergey cannot reconcile himself with actual fact, and Levin admits he is happy but dissatisfied with himself while plucking he does, he doesn't petals.

When joy arrives, notice whether self-attack is protecting an old standard or telling the truth.

Coming Up in Chapter 161

In the forest Sergey Ivanovitch will light a cigar, think over Marie's memory, and advance toward Varenka with resolute steps. Varenka in white kerchief among the children looks excited at the possibility of a declaration from Sergey Ivanovitch. He admires her constantly, recalling her words and goodness, until placing an agaric in her basket he meets her flush of glad alarm and smiles a..

PreviousPrevious Chapter NextNext Chapter

Original text

1,363 wordscomplete

Chapter 160

Kitty welcomes a walk alone with Levin because she noticed the shad...

Kitty was particularly glad of a chance of being alone with her husband, for she had noticed the shade of mortification that had passed over his face—always so quick to reflect every feeling—at the moment when he had come onto the terrace and asked what they were talking of, and had got no answer. When they had set off on foot ahead of the others, and had come out of sight of the house onto the beaten dusty road, marked with rusty wheels and sprinkled with grains of corn, she clung faster to his arm and pressed it closer to…

Public-domain chapter text, formatted for reading.

Critical Thinking Exercise

12 minutes

Two Kinds of Dissatisfaction

Contrast Levin's terrace mortification with his road confession of self-dissatisfaction. Which is about others and which about himself?

Consider:

•Include shade of mortification
•Include dissatisfied with myself
•Include he does he doesn't

Journaling Prompt

Write about a time love made you happy and something else still felt unfinished.

Master this chapter. Complete your experience

Purchase the complete book to access all chapters and support classic literature

Buy at

Available in paperback, hardcover, and e-book formats

War and Peace

Leo Tolstoy

Also by Leo Tolstoy

The Scarlet Letter

Nathaniel Hawthorne

Explores morality & ethics

The Idiot

Fyodor Dostoevsky

Explores love & romance

A Tale of Two Cities

Charles Dickens

Explores morality & ethics

Love & Relationships

Lessons from Anna Karenina

Theme-by-theme analyses that connect this book to modern life skills.

Deep diving the literary elements.

Chapter 160

Summary