Previous
Part 1, Chapter 2
Themes
and Colors
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Buddenbrooks, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Family and Sacrifice
Tradition, Modernity, and Change
The Protestant Ethic
Personal Fulfillment and Self-Knowledge
Pretense and Etiquette
Summary
Analysis
The dinner party has only just begun when the consul retrieves a paper from his pocket. His expression darkens as he reads it, and he summons Antoinette to speak in private. The consul explains to Antoinette that the letter is from Gotthold, the consul’s stepbrother. This is the third letter that Gotthold has sent. Johann only responded to the first. Antoinette and the consul know what the unopened letter is about: Gotthold is demanding “compensation for his share in the house.”
The details surrounding the grievances Gotthold alludes to in his letter will come out later in this and subsequent chapters. What’s notable for now is the detached, business-like language Gotthold uses to address his kin. He speaks of his estranged father, Johann, owing him “compensation for his share of the house,” as though Johann were a client or business partner rather than kin.
Active
Themes
The consul is in a tricky position. He thinks Johann should give in and honor Gotthold’s wishes, but Johann has stood firm. The consul doesn’t want it to seem that he is conspiring with Gotthold behind Johann’s back—even though, as “joint partner” in the business, the consul has every right as Johann to negotiate with Gotthold. Antoinette commiserates with her son but tells him they can deal with all this later. In the meantime, they should return to the party. Antoinette takes her seat at the dinner table between Pastor Wunderlich and Lebrecht Kröger and implores her guests to dig in, and all trace of worry leaves her face.
