Buddenbrooks - Part 3

[Silver]

Part 3

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15

[Silver]

I really felt bad for Tony. Though I know that her parents believed they where doing what was best for her, and could not understand any logical reason as to why she would refuse Grunlich, and simply thought she was too young to know what she really wanted or what was best for her. The way in which they manipulated, and deceived and undermined her wishes behind her back was just awful. It was horrid of them the way they pretended to support Tony while at the same time attempting to guilt her into doing what they wanted and keeping Grunlich strung along.

I know that women did not have a great many options, and it was the expectation for a girl to abide by the wishes of her parents and economically and socially Grunlich was a good match, I could not help but feel disappointment when Tony finally caved in, and was manipulated into consenting to the marriage. I wanted her to hold out for I do not predict that in the long run her life will be a happy one with Grunlich.

When Morten was reading the book about what I presume was Consumption (or similar disease) and was telling Tony about it:

“Oh, nothing for you, Fräulein Buddenbrook. It’s all blood and guts and misery. Look, this is about edema of the lungs—what people call ‘catarrh.’ And what happens is, the pockets of the lungs fill up with a kind of watery fluid, which is highly dangerous, common in cases of pneumonia. If it gets very bad, the patient can’t breathe, and then simply dies. And it’s all described in a very cool and superior way.”

I could not help but to think that the description he gave of the book did sound a lot like The Magic Mountain.

[Silver]

Marie wrote: "I did feel bad for Tony, though I was hardly shocked either. I know her mother thought it a good match, and she should just accept it, but it seemed like her father was less interested in a good ma..."

I think that is an interesting thought regarding her father and her mother. The mother does seem to at least care for Tony and what she wants and how she feels, even if she did support the match because she thought it was in Tony's best interests. But the father does seem to care only for himself.

I recall the last line after the marriage in which the mother asks "Will she be happy?"

And the father seems unconcerned about the happiness of his daughter.

What Grunlich did with Morten's family was truly repulsive. I thought he was quite vile after that episode. It was appalling both the way in which the father must have been the one to tell Grunlich of Morton and then the way in which Grunlich went there, and how he behaved and his blatant lies about his engagement.

[Silver]

Also, I thought it was interesting seeing Tony's brother Thomas having to make a rather similar sacrifice as his sister for the sake of the family honor and name, parting ways with the woman he loved in acceptance that he could not truly every marry such a girl, and yet being far more pragmatic about it then Tony.

And much like Tony's father who looks more after his own interests, Tom also seems to be more concerned about himself than about Anna (I think that was the girls name). In which he tells her not to do anything to demean herself I think he really means he dose not want her to do anything that could cause disgrace and scandal to him.

[Kai]

Interesting thought, Silver. I took Tom's parting remarks to be more about sex and that their love had been more "pure" and innocent than future men might be interested in. I'll have to go back and read it through again.

What killed me about Tony's parents were their frequent use of the word "child" when they described her, yet they were working so hard to marry her off. Oh, she's just a child, she'll come around. I think it is easy to forget that people at the time did not have the concept of teenagers/young adults that we do now.

[Silver]

Kai wrote: "Interesting thought, Silver. I took Tom's parting remarks to be more about sex and that their love had been more "pure" and innocent than future men might be interested in. I'll have to go back a..."

At first I thought it was about sex, but then he kept repeating how she never brought up any silly nonsense about marriage, and how she was always smarter than that.

So after that I thought it was more about him not wanting her to make any sort of scene or fuss about him marrying someone else, and not making a "fool" of herself by excepting him to marry her.

Yes, that is a good point, it is a bit ironic, how when she did not behave/react the way they thought proper in regards to the marriage proposal, they excused it as being due to the fact that she was still such a "child"

But still grown enough (at least in their eyes) to be married off.

[Bonnie]

Not good. Not good at all! I don't understand either, why she would give in so fast. What about the kiss and the waiting and becoming a doctor and all that? What about being angry about his treatment of the Schwarzkopf family?

That Grunlich seems shifty. Maybe I shouldn't be so worried, Thomas Mann isn't Gothic Romance but still... He was not just a douchebag like Mr. Collins in "Pride & Prejudice" ; Grunlich fawned, manipulated, lied, semi-threatened.

He swore to Tony: "I swear to you, pledge you my word as a gentleman, that I would cater to your every whim, that you would lack nothing as my wife, that in Hamburg you would lead the life you truly deserve."

So getting a house in the country when she felt so strongly about living in the city? (Ps I can relate!) He feels malignant, malicious to me. What is he up to by isolating Tony in the country? Abuse?