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Part 4, Chapter 6
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
Consul Buddenbrook arrives at the Grünlich villa in the afternoon. It’s been an exhausting past several days. Thomas has recently fallen ill, though thankfully it’s nothing serious. The firm has suffered some losses lately. Then came the letter from Grünlich, in desperate need of a loan. Consul Buddenbrook responded that he would meet with Grünlich and Kesselmeyer to discuss the matter.
Consul Buddenbrook’s mounting problems reflect how far the Buddenbrook family has fallen since the start of the novel. The firm is floundering at best, actively going downhill at worst. Thomas’s illness symbolically reinforces this decline.
Active
Themes
Now, Tony sits with Consul Buddenbrook in the salon. She confirms that Kesselmeyer is already here, in the pensée room. Sighing, Consul Buddenbrook asks if Tony is aware of Grünlich’s situation. Tony admits to overhearing the last bit of Grünlich and Kesselmeyer’s conversation the other day, but she’s “such a silly goose” that she really doesn’t understand any of it.
Tony’s self-effacing pronouncement that she is “such a silly goose” becomes a recurring motif for her character throughout the novel, with her repeatedly claiming ignorance when confronted with issues pertaining to the family business. It seems she has learned what happens when she tries to go against her family (like when she expressed her love for Morten) and has resolved to take a more passive role, lest she get hurt or disappointed again.
Active
Themes
Stroking his daughter’s hair, Consul Buddenbrook asks if it’s true that Tony loves Grünlich and can’t live without him. Tony, acting suddenly “childlike,” assures her father that she loves Grünlich. Buddenbrook sits in silence as he takes this in. He remembers how Tony asked him, “Are you proud of me?” on the night of her wedding, and he feels overwhelmed with guilt. Though he knows Tony didn’t initially agree to marry Grünlich out of love, the consul thought that in time, she would grow to love her husband. Now, he tries to ascertain her true feelings.
Active
Themes
Tony is horrified when the consul informs her of Grünlich’s money problems. The consul assures Tony she doesn’t have to stand by Grünlich if she doesn’t want to. If Tony wants, he’ll take Tony and Erika home with him right now. Tony asks if Grünlich’s bankruptcy is Grünlich’s own fault—has he been careless with money? Buddenbrook suspects this is the case, though he doesn’t know for sure.
Active
Themes
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Tony, suddenly wistful, asks, “wouldn’t it have been better if…” but she trails off before she can finish the thought. Consul Buddenbrook admits that he regrets pushing Tony to marry Grünlich. He thought it was the right thing to do at the time, but it’s clear that “Heaven has decided otherwise.” Tony tells her father she understands. When he asks her again if she ever managed to love Grünlich, Tony admits that she has despised Grünlich from the start. When Buddenbrook admits that the firm has suffered a great loss recently, which would make loaning Grünlich money a huge risk, Tony forbids her father from bailing out Grünlich.
