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Part 5, Chapter 5
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
Pastor Sievert Tiburtius has a scraggly blond beard and hails from Riga. He has served as a pastor in central Germany for several years. On his way home to Riga, he drops by Meng Strasse to say goodbye to Bethsy, who invites him to stay a few days. He can sleep in their guest bedroom. Tiburtius ends up staying much longer, though, repeatedly delaying his return. 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 18, Clara has grown quite beautiful, though Clara’s “domineering” personality has Bethsy worried about her marriage prospects. But Tiburtius might be an option.
Despite her “domineering” personality, Clara’s seriousness and self-discipline make her a good match for a religious man like Tiburtius. She’s not impetuous and prone to bursts of passion as Tony is. The Buddenbrook family has gradually decreased in number with each new death, but the possibility of Clara’s marriage—and the children that might come from it—open the possibility of growth and new beginnings for the family.
Active
Themes
One July afternoon, Tiburtius proposes to Clara, and Clara accepts. When he later advises Bethsy of his intent, Bethsy tells him that she’s on board with the idea but will have to write to her eldest son, Thomas, and ask for his opinion first.
Active
Themes
