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Part 3, Chapter 15
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
In a letter dated April 30, 1846, Tony writes to Bethsy. She mentions Bethsy’s news of Armgard von Schilling’s engagement to Herr von Maiboom of Poppenrade. Tony’s friend Eva Ewers is getting married too—“She’s getting the director of a brewery.”
Tony’s characterization of Armgard’s marriage as Armgard “getting the director of a brewery” shows how cynical and pragmatic she has become about marriage and love since her own unhappy marriage to Grünlich. She thinks about people in terms of what they’re worth financially, not how they matter as people. It's a superficial way to see the world, but perhaps also a way to cope with her own unhappiness.
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Tony goes on to describe the neighbor ladies she socializes with, and the couples who visit with Tony and Grünlich at their home. Grünlich himself is quite busy, leaving in their “little yellow buggy” for work each morning and not returning until late at night. They rarely go into town together, and Tony wonders if perhaps Grünlich is keeping her to himself because he is jealous. The villa is lovely, though, and exquisitely furnished.
Tony’s letter to Bethsy makes clear how lonely and isolated Tony feels in her new home. Recall that Grünlich ignored Tony’s request to live in the heart of the city, insisting instead that the couple live in a villa on the outskirts of town. Not only is Grünlich’s choice inconsiderate to Tony, but it’s also a bit suspicious—is there some reason he doesn’t want her in town?
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In a letter dated August 2, 1846, Consul Buddenbrook writes to Thomas, who is presently in Amsterdam. He fills Thomas in on all the goings on at home. He and Bethsy went to see Tony and Grünlich; though Grünlich hadn’t formally invited them, he treated them cordially. He laments Thomas’s mention of his poor health in his previous letter and expresses his happiness at Thomas’s having become a welcome guest of the van der Kellen family, noting that Thomas is “beginning to harvest the fruits” of the Buddenbrook family legacy.
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Consul Buddenbrook addresses some business ventures Thomas outlined in a previous letter; though the consul respects Thomas’s gusto, he’s not on board with all Thomas’s plans. He cautions Thomas that the export market these days is unpredictable. Still, he admits that more modern firms like Strunck & Hagenström are seeing expansion, while the Buddenbrooks are not.
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In a letter dated October 8, 1846, Grünlich writes to the Buddenbrooks to inform them of the birth of his and Tony’s baby, a daughter. After Grünlich’s signature, Tony contributes her own message: “If it had been a boy, I had a very pretty name all picked out. I would prefer to call her Meta, but Grünlich is for Erika.”
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