Clara Buddenbrook Character Analysis in Buddenbrooks

Clara Buddenbrook is the youngest child of Consul Buddenbrook and Bethsy Buddenbrook. She’s a serious, severe young woman who indulges in none of the vices that tempt her older siblings. She fittingly marries a clergyman, Pastor Sievert Tiburtius. The couple settles in Tiburtius’s hometown of Riga, where Clara later dies of tuberculosis. Her death creates tension between Bethsy and Thomas when it’s revealed that Clara requested that her inheritance be left to Tiburtius. Bethsy consents to Clara’s dying request, but Thomas accuses Tiburtius of being a “fortune hunter” and thinks the money should be returned to the family.

Clara Buddenbrook Quotes in Buddenbrooks

The Buddenbrooks quotes below are all either spoken by Clara Buddenbrook or refer to Clara Buddenbrook. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

“I’ve learned from life and history. I know that the external, visible, tangible tokens and symbols of happiness and success first appear only after things have in reality gone into decline already.”

Related Characters: Thomas Buddenbrook (speaker), Tony Buddenbrook, Hanno Buddenbrook, Clara Buddenbrook

Page Number and Citation: 422

Explanation and Analysis:

This quote from Thomas comes from a longer discussion with Tony, who has come by to share the unhappy news that their sister Clara is gravely ill with tuberculosis. The mood already dismal, Thomas confides in Tony about how disappointed he is with life and work. He feels he is failing in his role as head of the firm, and he fears that the Buddenbrook legacy is beyond saving. When Tony points out all the tangible markers of success Thomas has in his life—his son Hanno, his brand new house—Thomas replies with the above retort. Recalling something Tony said years Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit.

Clara Buddenbrook Character Timeline in Buddenbrooks

The timeline below shows where the character Clara Buddenbrook appears in Buddenbrooks. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Tradition, Modernity, and Change Theme Icon

...and spring is in full swing. Johann sits beside the cradle of his new granddaughter, Clara, who was born just that morning—somewhat prematurely. In the next room, the consul writes in... (full context)

...joins his family in the other room, where Johann and Antoinette are gathered around baby Clara as Bethsy lies happily in bed. Bethsy is tired but happy. Madame Antoinette praises Clara’s... (full context)

Personal Fulfillment and Self-Knowledge Theme Icon

Time passes. The consul enrolls Tony in boarding school. Clara is growing into a lovely young woman, while “poor Klothilde” remains slight despite her ravenous... (full context)

...is reading Hoffman. The consul smokes a cigar. Bethsy looks on and smiles at young Clara, who is wandering around the yard searching for flowers. The “skinny and old-maidish” Klothilde brushes... (full context)

One day in October of 1846, Clara and Klothilde are doing embroidery work while Bethsy sits reading letters from Tony and Christian.... (full context)

One September afternoon in 1855, the Buddenbrooks—Tony, Bethsy, Clara, Klothilde, and Thomas—are in the landscape room, waiting on Consul Buddenbrook, who is still dressing.... (full context)

...with Thomas, Tony, and Herr Marcus, the chief clerk. Bethsy asks Justus to serve as Clara’s guardian, and Justus accepts. Thomas and Herr Marcus enter the dining room. Justus asks if... (full context)

...the business of sorting through Consul Buddenbrook’s will. Other than setting aside a dowry for Clara, Justus has no interest in the money. When the consul died, everyone was surprised at... (full context)

...Like most of his family, Christian has no talent for music, and his act sends Clara rolling with laughter. (full context)

...for her late husband’s memory. She starts holding weekly “Jerusalem Evenings,” which she requires Tony, Clara, and Klothilde to attend. About 20 older women attend the meetings, during which they eat,... (full context)

...Unlike Reverand Jonathon, he isn’t interested in Tony’s curls—in fact, he pays more attention to Clara, the “more serious sister.” Bethsy starts considering him as a suitable husband for Clara. At... (full context)

One July afternoon, Tiburtius proposes to Clara, and Clara accepts. When he later advises Bethsy of his intent, Bethsy tells him that... (full context)

...writes to Bethsy from Amsterdam and gives her his consent to accept Tiburtius’s proposal to Clara. Then Thomas adds his own good news: at a banquet held in his honor, Thomas... (full context)

...deciding that the guests will stay for the rest of the month, perhaps into September. Clara’s wedding will take place at home, after Christmas. Thomas’s will take place in Amsterdam after... (full context)

...christening, including Erika, who is now 15 years old; Christian, who travels from Hamburg; and Clara and Tiburtius, who come all the way from Riga. The baby is born alive but... (full context)

...a letter from Tiburtius in Riga, who has written the family to update them that Clara is gravely ill with tuberculosis. It’s not looking good, and Clara is apparently not interested... (full context)

It’s August now, and Thomas and Bethsy are in the middle of a heated argument. Clara died only 10 days after Thomas delivered the letter from Tiburtius to Bethsy. In a... (full context)

Thomas accuses Tiburtius of being a “fortune hunter.” Really, though, it’s not Clara’s inheritance that Thomas is upset about—that’s just the latest setback in a series of setbacks... (full context)

Clara Buddenbrook Character Analysis

Clara Buddenbrook Quotes in Buddenbrooks

Part 7, Chapter 6 Quotes

Clara Buddenbrook Character Timeline in Buddenbrooks