My Confession Tolstoy's autobiographical account of his spiritual journey. From his youth; to his doubts; to his despair; to him finding peace. *He longed to be a great writer. Once he achieved it, he felt empty. It wasn't as fulfilling as he hoped. He went into a deep depression. Wanted to unalive himself. He hung out with working class villagers near his home. They had hope. They were happy. Tolstoy found happiness and peace in the small rituals of every day life.
Image from Joshua D Phillips (@JoshPhillipsPhD)

Last edited Nov 10, 2026 路 11:57 PM UTC

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He went through this crisis at around 40-50 years old. He questioned religion, his place in life, his literary mastery. He also wrote "The Diary of a Madman" in 1884 that further explains his emotional state (so people believe).
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At the same time Tolstoy distanced himself from his family and left them in poverty. He was a complicated guy
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Mmm. Theres a theory that the more you know the less you know. If your knowledge is a balloon, as it expands as knowledge grows, so does the outer surface which is the sum of what you don鈥檛 know. So best not blow the balloon up. Which is essentially what Tolstoy is saying.
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He was like Levin trying to hang out with the muzhiks, hey?
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Quote from Google explains better: the metaphor of knowledge as a balloon captures a classic philosophical idea: the more your knowledge expands, the more you come into contact with what you do not know.
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This reminds me of Levine's existential angst and tortured agnosticism (or so it seems to me) in 'Anna Karenina', Joshua. Could Levine's experiences of being torn between faith and doubt/disbelief have been based on Tolstoy's own feelings?
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