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Part 3, Chapter 11
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
Thomas arrives with the Krögers’ carriage the next day. Morten left earlier that morning for Gottingen; Captain Schwarzkopf hadn’t permitted him to give Tony a proper goodbye. Tony gazes out the window at the overcast sky as the carriage drives away. She smiles to herself as she remembers Morten. Tom tries to comfort Tony, reminding her that he has to make sacrifices too—Consul Buddenbrook has already found him a position at Kellen & Co. in Amsterdam. He’ll have to be apart from all his family for a long time. He assures Tony that she’ll get over Morten in time. Tony weeps.
Thomas’s presence bookends Tony’s temporary respite in Travemünde. His return to retrieve Tony reinforces the strength of their sibling bond, showing how it is grounded in mutual care and compassion. He makes it a point to comfort Tony in her time of grief, even if he can’t totally understand what she’s going through, and even though Tony’s heartbreak is too fresh for her to begin to feel better. The siblings’ unhappy departure from Travemünde reinforces the immense sacrifices the Buddenbrooks all must make to ensure their family’s prosperity.
Active
Themes
