“WTF!” exclaimed Thomas Mann, the author of “The Magic Mountain,” when he received the Nobel Prize in 1929—for his novel “Buddenbrooks.” Perhaps he himself thought that the story of the Lübeck merchant family Buddenbrook, spanning about three and a half generations in the mid-19th century, was not the most obvious choice for this prestigious award.
What Buddenbrooks is Not About
1, Not about Lübeck at all: You can count on one, maybe two fingers (and that might be generous) how many times the name of the city, where Mann’s family saga almost entirely takes place, is mentioned. You learn absolutely nothing significant about the city; the plot rarely leaves the Buddenbrook residence.
2, Not about trade either: If you expect the current Johann Buddenbrook to to be a 19th-century J.R. Ewing, performing various financial machinations and driving his business rivals crazy, nothing of the sort happens. The Buddenbrooks’ business principle is to only engage in ventures that allow you to sleep well at night. Boring? Not my words!
3, And there is not a single word about the German social processes of the 19th century. The characters in “Buddenbrooks” move exclusively within the wealthy upper middle classes.
4, What’s the situation on the historical front, then? Well, it’s as if the residents of Lübeck live under a separate dome. While the 1848 revolutionary events in the city are briefly dismissed with a well-managed speech by Johann Buddenbrook, the topic ends there. When soldiers march through the city toward the end of the novel and later march back, you might guess from your school history lessons that this was probably the Franco-Prussian War.
The Buddenbrooks Die Early
Thomas Mann spoils everything! The subtitle of “Buddenbrooks” (The Decline of a Family) does not bode well. Additionally, Dr. Grabow sketches at the beginning of the book the life expectancy for those with a sedentary lifestyle and a diet of heavy meals four times a day. The Buddenbrooks, after all, are gaining weight in all the wrong places. Especially in their heads.
However, this subtitle is not entirely accurate. The Hungarian* edition wisely omitted it because the Buddenbrooks are not characterized by continuous decline at all.
The Everyday Life of a Family
“Buddenbrooks: The Decline of a Family” is a family saga in the truest sense. It solely focuses on the everyday life of this family, with minimal deviations. The ups and downs, the minor and major family conflicts, life events only get more complicated when they have to marry off a family member (primarily poor Tony).
The upright, God-fearing, and simple Buddenbrooks follow each other, accompanied by wives married for their dowries but nevertheless decent and conscientious. The business has its ups and downs, and there’s always a black sheep among the family members, as in any other family. But the company comes first. That’s the essence of Thomas Mann’s novel.
Antonie Buddenbrook Must Get Married!
In the first part of “Buddenbrooks: The Decline of a Family,” this business-oriented approach affects Tony the most. Among the many well-meaning but not very interesting family members, a lively, vivid character like her was necessary, so the first half of the family saga is carried by her delicate shoulders. And interestingly, unlike her, you find yourself disillusioned with her esteemed family when they push her into the arms of a completely false, repulsive character. That says something about the Buddenbrooks’ understanding of people…
Because, as we know, the situation of women has always been much more complicated than that of men in any era. A trading company may prosper or suffer, but the Buddenbrooks had money even under their skin, so the male family members are always well-off. A woman, on the other hand, had to find a husband before becoming a spinster. And troubles often began when, essentially blindfolded, they handed themselves over to a complete stranger’s whims… In the Buddenbrook family, as in the 19th century and before, women always had it the hardest…
The Beginning of the End
After the stout and down-to-earth Johann Buddenbrooks, the next head of the company, Thomas, seems like a true cosmopolitan compared to his predecessors. Could it be that too much intellect is harmful in business? If you feel you’ve achieved everything you can in life, what drives you forward? (I have no idea; fortunately, I’ve always lacked ambition.)
Or perhaps stuffing your head too much, not exercising enough, and chain-smoking strong cigarettes can cause you to lose your MOJO?
(In such cases, a mysterious and inscrutable wife like Gerda, the most exciting female character in the book, is undoubtedly a great help. She adds just the right amount of spice to the Buddenbrook stew. Okay, it’s probably not a simple cabbage stew, but it definitely needs a little seasoning.)
What can you do then? Thomas Mann starts to psychoanalyze.
In the second half of “Buddenbrooks” it seems like much less happens, but we delve much deeper into the minds of the characters, especially Thomas and little Hanno. This doesn’t work against the book because it brings the characters much closer to the reader.
However, Mann, after discovering how to make his book more interesting, goes overboard with both mentioned characters. First, Thomas Buddenbrook has a moment of enlightenment on a metaphysical level for an afternoon, then Hanno discovers Franz Liszt within himself. In both cases, it’s overcomplicated, filled with technical terms, and delivered in incomprehensible and pathetic sentences, which can only be explained by the author wanting to demonstrate his capability. It was a truly unnecessary effort…
Beware of Long Sentences!
By this time, anyone who has made it this far has become accustomed to the initially suspiciously long sentences. The first chapter of the book could be a watershed: if you can get past the plethora of never-returning minor characters, the baroque text won’t really bother you anymore. (Except, of course, if you forget the beginning by the end.) With all its complexity, classic slow-paced, meticulous old-fashionedness, Thomas Mann’s narrative is mostly easy to follow.
The only questionable aspect of the writing is the excessive external character descriptions. From Mann’s sentences, you could easily create police sketches of most characters.
The End of a Family Saga
How do you end a grand, monumental family saga? Elegantly. Thomas Mann does just that. However, what happens just before that can only have one explanation: few people hated miserable school more than Thomas Mann!
Listen: Hanno Buddenbrook goes to school, but as usual, he’s not prepared. Mann guides us through the entire school day, providing detailed descriptions and character sketches of all the teachers and several students, while a heavy axe hangs over Hanno’s head: will he receive a reprimand today, or will it be tomorrow? You can imagine how poor Hanno feels. At the very least, like Ivan Denisovich.
But of course, you’re not surprised by this. After all, you’ve already read lengthy scenes about prolonged Christmas gift-giving or a painful visit to the dentist.
And this is still not the end. The Buddenbrooks are still rolling in dough.
When “Buddenbrooks” was published, people in Lübeck believed Mann modeled many characters after real people. The good Lübeckers kept various lists of these people’s identities and debated who in real life experienced these – well, essentially – everyday events. However, five or six generations later, and especially if you’re not a Lübeck resident, these things are not so very interesting anymore.
7.4/10
Buddenbrooks: The Decline of a Family by Thomas Mann
731 pages, Hardcover
Published in 1994 by Everyman’s Library
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* This is a Hungarian blog