Buddenbrooks Part 9, Chapter 3 Summary & Analysis

Thomas told Hanno it is Hanno’s “duty” to say goodbye to Bethsy’s remains, but Hanno is nervous and afraid. On the day of Bethsy’s funeral, Hanno, dressed in his sailor suit, walks between Thomas and Gerda toward the open casket. Staring “with brooding disgust” at the figure in the casket, he can’t believe it’s his Grandmama. He breathes in “that strange and yet so familiar odor” of death until he can’t bear it any longer. He exhales with a sigh that Tony mistakes for a sob.

Children in the 19th century would have had more exposure to death compared to today’s youth. Even so, it’s a daunting task for Hanno to approach his grandmother’s remains to say goodbye. The image of young Hanno dressed in his childish sailor suit and approaching Bethsy’s corpse juxtaposes the innocence of childhood with the harsh gravity of death. His sigh (which Tony mistakes for a sob) indicates how ill-prepared he is to confront death at his age.

Active Themes

The other family members take turns paying their respects to Bethsy. In attendance are also those who “had been duty-bound to come: the Möllendorpfs, Kistenmakers, Langhalses, and Oeverdiecks.” Pastor Pringsheim gives a eulogy. The Ladies Buddenbrook from Breite Strasse show no sign of emotion. Pastor Pringsheim concludes his eulogy. Then the four pallbearers come forward to take the casket away. The funeral party reassembles at the cemetery to bury the casket in the Buddenbrook vault, after which everyone pays their respects to the family once more. Thomas greets the well-wishers “with dull politeness.”

Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus v

Thomas’s “dull politeness” could convey how emotionally exhausted his grief has left him, but one can also interpret his impersonal, mannered demeanor as further evidence of the high value he places on tact: even at one of the saddest, lowest points in his life, he ensures that he is clean and composed. To break down in public would be humiliating to Thomas, not to mention an insult to his late mother’s memory.

Active Themes

Buddenbrooks: Part 9, Chapter 3 Summary & Analysis