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Part 7, Chapter 3
Themes
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
The election takes place in late February, three weeks after Möllendorpf’s death. In the council hall on Breite Strasse, the electors, “chosen from the senate,” have assembled to vote. A large crowd has formed outside—sailors, servant girls, shopkeepers, and merchants—all awaiting news of the results. Some figure that Mayor Oeverdieck’s position as godfather to Thomas Buddenbrook’s son (Hanno) will give Buddenbrook the edge. But it’s a close race, and it could be anyone. Initially, the word is that Hermann Hagenström has won. But that turns out to be a false alarm, and in the end, Thomas is the decisive victor.
Thomas’s election to the senate, even if Thomas’s personal connection to Mayer Oeverdieck rather unfairly brings him to victory, is a decisive turning point for the Buddenbrook family. They have suffered many personal, social, and economic setbacks over the past decades, but Thomas’s victory puts them in a good spot to turn things around and start to improve their reputation.
Themes
