Anna Karenina - Part 3

The carrying out of Levin's plan presented many difficulties; but

he struggled on, doing his utmost, and attained a result which,

though not what he desired, was enough to enable him, without

self-deception, to believe that the attempt was worth the

trouble. One of the chief difficulties was that the process of

cultivating the land was in full swing, that it was impossible to

stop everything and begin it all again from the beginning, and

the machine had to be mended while in motion.

When on the evening that he arrived home he informed the bailiff

of his plans, the latter with visible pleasure agreed with what

he said so long as he was pointing out that all that had been

done up to that time was stupid and useless. The bailiff said

that he had said so a long while ago, but no heed had been paid

him. But as for the proposal made by Levin--to take a part as

shareholder with his laborers in each agricultural undertaking--

at this the bailiff simply expressed a profound despondency, and

offered no definite opinion, but began immediately talking of the

urgent necessity of carrying the remaining sheaves of rye the

next day, and of sending the men out for the second ploughing, so

that Levin felt that this was not the time for discussing it.

On beginning to talk to the peasants about it, and making a

proposition to cede them the land on new terms, he came into

collision with the same great difficulty that they were so much

absorbed by the current work of the day, that they had not time

to consider the advantages and disadvantages of the proposed

scheme.

The simple-hearted Ivan, the cowherd, seemed completely to grasp

Levin's proposal--that he should with his family take a share of

the profits of the cattle-yard--and he was in complete sympathy

with the plan. But when Levin hinted at the future advantages,

Ivan's face expressed alarm and regret that he could not hear all

he had to say, and he made haste to find himself some task that

would admit of no delay: he either snatched up the fork to pitch

the hay out of the pens, or ran to get water or to clear out the

dung.

Another difficulty lay in the invincible disbelief of the peasant

that a landowner's object could be anything else than a desire to

squeeze all he could out of them. They were firmly convinced

that his real aim (whatever he might say to them) would always be

in what he did not say to them. And they themselves, in giving

their opinion, said a great deal but never said what was their

real object. Moreover (Levin felt that the irascible landowner

had been right) the peasants made their first and unalterable

condition of any agreement whatever that they should not be

forced to any new methods of tillage of any kind, nor to use new

implements. They agreed that the modern plough ploughed better,

that the scarifier did the work more quickly, but they found

thousands of reasons that made it out of the question for them to

use either of them; and though he had accepted the conviction

that he would have to lower the standard of cultivation, he felt

sorry to give up improved methods, the advantages of which were

so obvious. But in spite of all these difficulties he got his

way, and by autumn the system was working, or at least so it

seemed to him.