Chapter 48
Riding home happy, Levin hears the station bell and briefly dreads ...
As he rode up to the house in the happiest frame of mind, Levin heard the bell ring at the side of the principal entrance of the house. “Yes, that’s someone from the railway station,” he thought, “just the time to be here from the Moscow train ... Who could it be? What if it’s brother Nikolay? He did say: ‘Maybe I’ll go to the waters, or maybe I’ll come down to you.’” He felt dismayed and vexed for the first minute, that his brother Nikolay’s presence should come to disturb his happy mood of spring. But he felt ashamed…
Public-domain chapter text, formatted for reading.
Master this chapter. Complete your experience
Purchase the complete book to access all chapters and support classic literature
Available in paperback, hardcover, and e-book formats
Now let's explore the literary elements.
Key Quotes & Analysis
"Here’s a delightful visitor! Ah, how glad I am to see you!"
Context: Recognizing Oblonsky instead of Nikolay
Childlike delight replaces dread; companionship matters more than Levin admits in solitude.
In Today's Words:
You brace for bad news or a difficult relative, then spot the friend who always makes you laugh, and your whole body relaxes. Relief is not only about who arrived; it is about not eating dinner alone with your thoughts again. Levin's shout is the sound of someone who did not know how lonely he
"I shall find out for certain whether she’s married, or when she’s going to be married,"
Context: On the spring day with Stiva arrived
Kitty still occupies the hidden agenda, but the day feels painless for a moment.
In Today's Words:
You tell yourself you are fine until a visitor from the old city arrives and you remember the real question: are they with someone now? You rehearse how to ask casually while hoping the answer will not wreck you. For one afternoon the weather and friendship can make the wound feel quiet, but the inquiry
"Perhaps because I rejoice in what I have, and don’t fret for what I haven’t"
Context: After Stiva lists Levin's horses, dogs, and farming
Levin's reply is brave and partly true; Stiva reads the thought of Kitty without comment.
In Today's Words:
When someone lists your blessings, you offer the gratitude line you wish were fully true. You do have good things; you also know exactly what is missing. Friends hear both layers. Levin's answer is dignity, not denial, and Stiva's silence honors it without pressing the wound.
"No. Some mathematician has said that enjoyment lies in the search for truth, not in the finding it."
Context: Defending his pursuit of women to Levin
Stiva intellectualizes appetite; Levin cannot follow the charm of studying women as a subject.
In Today's Words:
A friend romanticizes the chase: the fun is in pursuing, not settling. They quote some clever line to make restlessness sound deep. If you want steadiness and meaning, the speech feels hollow. Levin's silence is the gap between two moral worlds: one treats people as experiments, the other wants a life that could actually hold.
Thematic Threads
Tactful friendship
In This Chapter
Stiva says nothing of Kitty or the Shtcherbatskys; Levin is grateful
Development
Sets up Kitty news in hunting chapters
In Your Life:
A friend who skips the sore subject may be protecting you better than probing.
Two philosophies of love
In This Chapter
Stiva needs love as appetite; Levin wants a life he can rejoice in without constant pursuit
Development
Contrasts Levin's earnestness with Oblonsky's Moscow habits
In Your Life:
You may enjoy someone's company while rejecting how they justify their choices.
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's mood shift when he sees who arrived from the train?
analysis • surfaceOne way to read it
He feared Nikolay would darken spring joy; recognizing Stiva brings childlike delight and hunger for talk.
- 2
How does Stiva handle the subject of Kitty and the Shtcherbatskys?
analysis • mediumOne way to read it
He gives only greetings from his wife and says nothing else; Levin is grateful for the delicacy.
- 3
What does Levin mean when he says he rejoices in what he has?
application • mediumOne way to read it
He claims contentment with farm life; Stiva understands the thought of Kitty underneath without pressing it.
- 4
Why can Levin not share Stiva's view of love and women?
application • deepOne way to read it
Stiva treats pursuit as endless search; Levin wants a life that could hold, not Ossian's dream women studied for pleasure.
- 5
What is Levin quietly planning as they ready the trap and guns?
reflection • deepOne way to read it
He will learn whether Kitty is married; spring makes the question feel bearable for now.
Critical Thinking Exercise
Design Your Action Cure
Think about a current stress or emotional challenge in your life. Create a specific action plan using physical or hands-on activities that could help you process these feelings. List three different types of work or activities you could do, explaining why each one might be effective for your particular situation.
Consider:
- •Choose activities that require enough focus to interrupt worried thinking
- •Consider what type of physical engagement feels most natural to you
- •Think about activities that create something useful or help others
Journaling Prompt
Write about a time when you worked through a difficult emotion or situation by staying busy with your hands. What did that experience teach you about healing?
Coming Up Next...
Chapter 49
In the aspen copse at sunset Levin and Stiva take stand for snipe; the stillness will break with news Levin did not expect. Levin and Oblonsky stand in a thawing copse while Laska listens and the sun sets through birch buds. Levin hears grass grow in the hush; Stiva smokes, cracks jokes, and shoots well.
