While Kitty, the nurse, and the baby are still walking in the woods, Levin gets drawn, against his will, into an argument with Koznyshev and Katavasov about the Serbian war. Levin believes that a man would sacrifice himself for the sake of his soul, but not for murder. He does not agree that Russia's entry into the war expresses the "will of the people," since a common peasant, for instance, is interested in his immediate material needs. Changing the subject, Levin observes the gathering storm clouds and suggests they all seek shelter.
At the height of the storm, Levin struggles through the forest to search for Kitty and the baby. He finds them drenched, but safe. Fear and relief having torn him from the world of sophistic argument, Levin feels restored by nature and this atmosphere of family love now that the thundershower has passed.
As he and Kitty stand on the terrace, gazing into the clear night sky. Levin feels at peace. My life will still be the same despite my new realization, he thinks. He will still quarrel with Kitty, scold the coachman, express himself tactlessly, and feel remorse afterwards. Though I am still unable to understand with my reason why I pray, he thinks, I will go on praying. But my life is no longer meaningless as it was before. Now "it has the positive meaning of goodness which I have the power to put into it."
