Theories of Familial Duty in Thomas Mann’s Buddenbrooks The novel Buddenbrooks was written by Thomas Mann in 1901. He was born in 1875, soon after the unification of Germany. He wrote several books, short stories, and essays for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. With the advent of World War II, Mann left Germany and lived the rest of his life in San Diego until his death in 1955. Mann’s novel, Buddenbrooks takes place in Lubeck, (Northern Germany) from 1835 until roughly 1875-76. The novel opens with the Buddenbrook family having a dinner party. It is a sort of housewarming party for the Buddenbrooks who have recently moved to one of the biggest homes in the town after the previous owners, the Rastekamps, are forced to sell and leave the town after their firm fails. We learn that the Buddenbrook family is one of the most powerful merchant families in the town, enjoying it’s height of wealth and prestige. We are introduced to Johann Buddenbrooks, the patriarch of the family, but soon see that it is Jean, his son, that is truly in control of the family’s affaires. In the very first part of the book it is evident that the “decline of the family” is already beginning when Johnann’s first son, Gotthold, (from his first marriage) sends three letters demanding a larger share of the family business. Gotthold has married below his station, sent away with his inheritance, and ignored by the family. As the book continues, we learn that the primary characters are really Jean’s children, Tony, the oldest child, and Thomas, the middle son. The third son, Christian, manages to bring only embarrassment and loss of money to the Buddenbrooks family. Clare, the youngest daughter is hardly mentioned; she is a pious, serious girl who marries a pastor. The novel spans four generations, but most of the action follows the lives of Thomas and Tony Buddenbrook, the third generation...
