Buddenbrooks

Jean Jacques Hoffstede, the town poet, greets the family with old-fashioned bows, giving special attention to the consul’s wife. He remarks on Tom’s intellect that he believes suited for trade, and Christian’s varied talents, hinting at the possibility of an academic future. The family and guests, including the family’s doctor, Dr. Grabow, Pastor Wunderlich, and other notable town figures, gather in a candlelit discussion, reflecting on the social and familial bonds of the Buddenbrook family and their growing influence in Lübeck. The last to join the party are Bethsy’s family, the Krögers, whose sons, Jakob and Jürgen, are of the same ages as Tom and Christian.

Consul Jean Buddenbrook receives a troubling letter, the third in a row, from his stepbrother, Gotthold Buddenbrook (Johann’s son from an earlier marriage), who seeks compensation for his share in the house. The letter leads to a private, anxious discussion with the Consul’s mother about how to address Gotthold’s demands without upsetting their father or affecting the firm’s finances. His mother suggests that Gotthold has been kept at a distance by the family for marrying a shop owner’s daughter, Demoiselle Stüwing, whose social status was below that of the Buddenbrooks. The issue is set aside until later in the evening as son and mother return to the gathering.

Herr Köppen, a local wine merchant, praises the grandeur of the family’s new house. The meal progresses with herbed soup and the guests reflecting on the house’s history. The house had been built in 1682 by Dietrich Ratenkamp, a tradesman whose firm, Ratenkamp & Co., had been led to ruin by poor management and risky financial decisions, after an initial successful run. This leads to discussions of social and professional relationships, such as the unfortunate alliance between Ratenkamp with his business partner, the untrustworthy Geelmaack, which everyone at the party agrees sped up the firm’s downfall. The party continues with the opening of a wine bottle brought by Lebrecht Kröger, Jean Buddenbrook’s father-in-law, who is also a wine merchant.

During the fish course, Pastor Wunderlich reminisces about a historical incident involving Madame Antoinette Buddenbrook and the French occupation following the Battle of Lübeck. Sergeant Lenoir was pilfering the family’s silver, which pushed Madame Buddenbrook to despair, and she threatened to drown herself. Pastor Wunderlich witnessed the woman’s turmoil and intervened on her behalf, using diplomacy and wit to confront Napoleon’s soldiers.

The party continues as a luxurious plate of ham along with Bethsy’s culinary speciality—an exotic dish of liquored ham—are served. The conversation shifts to Napoleon’s impact on German society. The older men express admiration for Napoleon, while the younger Consul, along with several other guests, criticize Napoleon’s violent legacy. The family and guests split into different groups, carrying conversations on various subjects, such as recipes and Jean Jacques Hoffstede’s trip to Italy. The family notes Klothilde (called Thilda) Buddenbrook’s hunger and ability to eat vast amounts of food while maintaining a slender constitution.

For dessert, the guests enjoy “flat-iron pudding (also called Plettenpudding, a famous dessert, specific to Lübeck)” and plum pudding (29). Johann Buddenbrook sends Tom to the cellar for vintage Madeira wine and Pastor Wunderlich raises a toast to the prosperity of the Buddenbrook family in their new home, followed by speeches from other guests celebrating the family and their business. The poet Jean Jacques Hoffstede recites a specially composed poem praising the joyous occasion and the virtues of the family.

After the dinner reaches its peak of joviality, Christian Buddenbrook feels severely ill from overeating, declaring that he will never eat again. He expresses his distress in colourful language and his mother warns him against using inappropriate language, attributing his worsened condition to divine punishment. Dr. Grabow reassures Bethsy that Christian’s discomfort is minor and prescribes bed rest, soothing syrup, and a light diet. The doctor reflects on the routine indulgences of the prosperous families he serves, aware of the health consequences but resigned to the inevitability of their lifestyle choices.

As the party enters the last phase, the mood relaxes, and the gentlemen move to the billiard room for cigars, liquor, and coffee. Herr Köppen and others discuss Lübeck’s annexation by Prussia, the German Customs Union (the formation of a German trade block), and opinions are divided on its benefits. Herr Köppen expresses his strong opposition to the annexation and holds the free status of Lübeck as a trading city in high regard. The conversation shifts as Jean Jacques Hoffstede shares a humorous epigram, lightening the mood.

The Consul bids farewell to his guests in the rainy, windswept streets. He reflects briefly outside before re-entering the house, contemplating the family’s new chapter in their home, under the guiding motto Dominus providebit (The Lord will provide). Inside the house, he finds his father alone in the dining room.

The conversation between Johann Buddenbrook and his son, Jean Buddenbrook, turns to Gotthold’s letter, in which he demands his inheritance share, accusing the family of treating him unfairly. Gotthold invokes the family’s Christian and business ethics as he makes his claim to his share. After some deliberation, in which Johann expresses his indignance to Gotthold’s letter, Jean and Johann decide against granting Gotthold’s inheritance claim to avoid setting a precedent that could lead to significant financial losses for the family business in the future.

During the Buddenbrook household’s celebration of the birth of Clara, Jean and Bethsy’s daughter, Jean writes a religious and thankful note for Clara’s birth in the Buddenbrook notebook, which chronicles significant events of the family. Reading passages from the past, especially related to his childhood, Jean reflects on important moments, such as his marriage to Elisabeth Kröger (now Buddenbrooks), which was not a love marriage but one arranged by the two families for the financial and social advantages it brought. He likens this marriage to his father’s second marriage with Jean’s mother, Antoinette Buddenbrooks. He notes that Johann’s first short-lived marriage to Gotthold’s mother, Josephine (the daughter of a merchant), was a love union. Josephine died in childbirth, leaving Johann permanently ill-disposed towards his first son.

Tony Buddenbrook’s summers at her grandparents’ villa bring her immense joy, contrasting sharply with her life in the city. The Kröger family’s luxurious villa and opulent lifestyle reinforces the relative modesty of the Buddenbrooks’ family home. Tony enjoys a sense of aristocracy and freedom with her maternal grandparents, free from the chores and responsibilities expected of her in her parents’ house. Her interactions in town are playful and sometimes cruel. For example, Tony adopts her family’s disdain for the Hagenström family—the Buddenbrooks’ professional and social rivals—in social situations with her grandparents.

Back at the family home, Consul Buddenbrook’s sons, Thomas and Christian proves themselves opposites in every way. Thomas, destined for business, is pragmatic and enjoys Christian’s humorous imitations of their teachers without participating. Christian’s talent for mimicry and erratic behavior, illustrated by his dramatic reaction to imagining he choked on a peach’s pit and died, concerns the family, underscoring his unpredictable nature compared to Thomas’s stability.

Madame Antoinette Buddenbrook’s decline begins with a vague illness that escalates rapidly into a serious condition that eventually takes her life. Her death draws numerous relatives to the house, shifting daily routines to accommodate mourning practices. After her death, Johann progressively withdraws from the firm’s business affairs. Soon after, he too dies, leaving Jean as the head of the family and sole owner of the family’s firm. Gotthold, Johann’s estranged son, reappears. After an initial tense moment when Jean once more denies Gotthold a share of the firm and house, they reconcile. Gotthold renounces his claims to the family’s wealth and decides to let go of the conflict he maintained with his father.

Having turned 16, Thomas joins the family firm, marking a significant transition in his life from student to professional. Despite his youth, Thomas displays traits of seriousness and dedication, mirroring his father’s work ethic. In a conversation between Bethsy and Jean, Bethsy wishes to hire a new butler called Anton who used to work for another prominent family in town, invokes the example of her family, the Krögers, who have a more luxurious lifestyle. Jean is against hiring Anton, arguing that the family is not rich enough to afford such luxury. He’s also critical of the Krögers’ lifestyle, which he considers wasteful.

Due to Tony’s increasingly bold behavior and her engagement in inappropriate activities, such as secretly exchanging letters with a young man at her school, her parents decide to place her in Therese (called Sesame) Weichbrodt’s boarding school to curb her vanity and ensure proper supervision. Their decision reflects their concern for her conduct as a young woman of aristocratic standing. The family also worries about Christian’s artistic tastes, especially as he shows signs of courting popular theatre actresses.

Sesame Weichbrodt, a 41-year-old woman with a hunched back, runs a boarding school for girls from distinguished families. Despite her appearance and simple attire, she commands respect through her precise and clear speech and authority. She is well-read and maintains a pious optimism about life. Her sister, Madame Kethelsen, lives with her. Tony enrolls in the school and quickly befriends other students, showing preference for the aristocratic Armgard von Schilling and the “exotic”-looking Gerda Arnoldsen, who is from Amsterdam. The girls form a close friendship, sharing dreams of marrying wealthy men.