Anna Karenina, Part 3, Chapter 28 summary

What happens

1. Levin feels that his farming difficulties reflect a Russian problem and seeks books about labor in Sviazhsky’s study.
2. Sviazhsky argues that schools can overcome peasants’ resistance to unfamiliar methods, while Levin insists that economic improvement must come first.
3. Sviazhsky changes the subject when Levin asks how far he agrees with Spencer, leaving Levin dissatisfied with their discussion.
4. Alone in bed, Levin imagines farming that respects workers’ habits and rewards their interest in successful harvests.
5. He stays awake developing his plan and decides to return home early to propose it before winter wheat sowing.

In this chapter

What to notice

In his imagined reply to the landowner, Levin identifies the practical basis of his plan: acceptable methods and rewards tied to results.

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