Chapter 191
At eleven o'clock Kitty tells Levin go, please, go then and call on...
“Go, please, go then and call on the Bols,” Kitty said to her husband, when he came in to see her at eleven o’clock before going out. “I know you are dining at the club; papa put down your name. But what are you going to do in the morning?” “I am only going to Katavasov,” answered Levin. “Why so early?” “He promised to introduce me to Metrov. I wanted to talk to him about my work. He’s a distinguished scientific man from Petersburg,” said Levin. “Yes; wasn’t it his article you were praising so? Well, and after that?” said…
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Now let's explore the literary elements.
Key Quotes & Analysis
"Go, please, go then and call on the Bols,"
Context: Sending Levin on morning social duty
Etiquette commanded.
In Today's Words:
Kitty tells Levin go, please, go then and call on the Bols when he visits at eleven before club dining. Tolstoy contrasts her social competence with his shame. Please softens command. Calls become marriage labor in Moscow wait. Tolstoy uses this moment to show how public roles and private fears collide when characters act under pressure they cannot fully name.
"I know you are dining at the club"
Context: Acknowledging his evening while insisting on morning calls
Day scheduled.
In Today's Words:
Kitty says she knows he is dining at the club where papa put his name but still needs morning errands. Tolstoy shows Oblonsky world persisting. Club freedom follows call duty. Schedule splits his day between shame and relief. Tolstoy uses this moment to show how public roles and private fears collide when characters act under pressure they cannot fully name.
"the money in the bank had gone"
Context: Levin's hidden thought during fifty rouble talk
Empty account.
In Today's Words:
The narrator says the money in the bank had gone and Levin could not quite tell where next installment would come though he reassured Kitty. Tolstoy separates spoken calm from private panic. Sokolov plans mask immediate gap. Financial strain underlies Moscow stay. Tolstoy uses this moment to show how public roles and private fears collide when characters act under pressure they cannot fully name.
"He drove off, thinking of Katavasov"
Context: Levin leaving after money and call talk
Escape to work.
In Today's Words:
Levin drives off thinking of Katavasov and Metrov meeting after kissing Kitty and promising wheat sale plans. Tolstoy moves him toward intellectual refuge from calls and cash fear. Katavasov represents purpose city otherwise lacks. Drive off postpones both social and financial reckoning. Tolstoy uses this moment to show how public roles and private fears collide when characters act under pressure they cannot fully name.
Thematic Threads
Social shame
In This Chapter
Levin hates paying calls.
Development
City etiquette trials continue.
In Your Life:
Marriage can require rituals that feel false to you.
Money silence
In This Chapter
Bank gone yet reassurance.
Development
Moscow costs mount.
In Your Life:
Partners often sense what you try to smooth over.
Kitty's management
In This Chapter
Calls plus budget mention.
Development
She steers household through wait.
In Your Life:
Pregnant partners may push duty and honesty together.
You now have the context. Time to form your own thoughts.
Discussion Questions
This is not a test. Five prompts guide you through the chapter, from how it opens to how it closes, so you notice context and rhythm rather than facts to memorize. Sit with each question in your own words. When you see "One way to read it," treat it as a starting point, not the only answer.
- 1
Why does Levin hate paying calls?
analysis • surfaceOne way to read it
He feels a complete outsider wasting others' time and would sooner skip dinner than endure the shame of formal visiting.
- 2
Why does Kitty insist on the Bols?
analysis • mediumOne way to read it
She maintains Moscow social obligations and knows club dining alone does not fulfill expected morning calls.
- 3
What disturbs Levin when Kitty mentions money?
application • mediumOne way to read it
The money in the bank had gone and he lacks a clear next installment though he cites Sokolov and wheat to reassure her.
- 4
What is his dissatisfaction cough?
application • deepOne way to read it
Kitty knows it marks displeasure with himself not her, when reminded of financial problems he wanted to forget.
- 5
When have you reassured someone while hiding money fear?
reflection • deepOne way to read it
The reassuring escape pattern names soothing words paired with private dread and flight toward work.
Critical Thinking Exercise
Split Levin's Morning Pressures
List Kitty's requests, Levin's objections, and what he hides about money before driving to Katavasov.
Consider:
- •Include call on the Bols
- •Include fifty roubles
- •Include money in the bank had gone
Journaling Prompt
Write about a morning when social duty and money worry arrived together.
Coming Up Next...
Chapter 192
Levin's day of calls and scientific meetings will expose more city absurdities and costs. Levin visits Professor Katavasov and likes in him the clearness and simplicity of his conception of life. At Znamenka he meets Metrov, whose article he admired, and hears of a scientific jubilee while Petersburg gossip swirls around university questions and nationality debates with Pestsov and others.
