# III explained — Buddenbrooks > Chapter companion for Buddenbrooks by Thomas Mann. ## What happens The chapter focuses on the political and social maneuvering following the death of Senator James Möllendorpf. The central question is who will succeed him, with the primary candidates being Thomas Buddenbrook and Hermann Hagenström. The narrative contrasts their differing sources of prestige: Thomas's rootedness in family tradition and civic culture versus Hagenström's modern, self-made, and commercially progressive image. The chapter details the town's gossip, the characters' private hopes and calculations, and the underlying tensions of social class and reputation. ## Themes in this chapter ### Social Class and Reputation The entire election is a public contest of reputation. Thomas's standing is built on inherited honor and tradition, while Hagenström's is based on modern commercial success and a deliberate break from the past, highlighting different paths to social power. ### Tradition vs. Modernity Embodied in the direct contrast between the candidates: Thomas (tradition, ancestral piety, preservation of monuments) versus Hagenström (modernity, progress, gas lighting, indifference to medieval heritage). ### Family and Dynasty Thomas's candidacy is explicitly framed as representing 'a hundred years of honourable tradition.' Tony's intense personal investment shows how family pride is tied to public office. ### Decline and Decadence Illustrated by Senator Möllendorpf's grotesque, secretive death from gluttony, and by Consul Döhlmann's ruined business and parasitic lifestyle, showing decay within the merchant class. ## Character check-ins ### Thomas Buddenbrook A leading candidate for the vacant Senate seat. His prestige is described as stemming from his family's hundred-year tradition, his personal charm, and his formal culture, which sets him apart from his peers. ### Antonie 'Tony' Buddenbrook Excitedly follows the election process, displaying detailed knowledge of the constitutional procedures. She is fervently hopeful for Thomas's success, seeing it as a pinnacle of family honor. ### Hermann Hagenström Thomas's main rival. Described as a self-made, modern, and tolerant figure, free from ancestral tradition. His wealth, progressive habits (like gas lighting), and showy lifestyle have earned him admiration and a place among the town's elite. ### Siegismund Gosch The broker is a fervent, almost fanatical supporter of Thomas Buddenbrook, motivated in large part by his bizarre, distant obsession with Gerda Buddenbrook. ### Peter Döhlmann The ruined consul plays both sides, attending dinners for both candidates and flatteringly addressing each as 'Senator' in advance. ### James Möllendorpf His grotesque death (from a stroke while secretly eating cake) creates the Senate vacancy that drives the chapter's plot. His demise is widely discussed. ### Dr. Grabow Mentioned as the Möllendorpf family physician who had tried in vain to curb the old senator's fatal sweet-eating habit. ### Gerda Buddenbrook Her unusual, reserved personality is the object of Siegismund Gosch's dark, obsessive fantasies, which fuel his political support for her husband. ## Key lines > Thomas Buddenbrook’s prestige was of a different kind. People honoured in him not only his own personality, but the personalities of his father, grandfather, and great-grandfather as well... he was the representative of a hundred years of honourable tradition. Thomas's authority is deeply rooted in his family's long and respected history, not just his own merits. _Highlights the foundational role of dynastic legacy in his social standing._ > The novel and therewith the attractive element in his [Hagenströms's] personality... was its liberal and tolerant strain. His light, large way of making money and spending it again differed fundamentally from the patient, persistent toil and the inherited principles of his fellow merchants. Hagenström's appeal lies in his modern, unrestrained approach to commerce and life, which breaks from the traditional, diligent methods of old families. _Defines the essence of Hagenström's challenge to the established order._ > She talked about voting chambers, ballots, and electors... She spoke of the 'free and frank discussion' which the Constitution ordains must be held over each name upon the list of candidates, and vivaciously wished she might be present when Hermann Hagenström’s character was being pulled to pieces! Tony has studied the election laws in detail and eagerly anticipates the moment when Hagenström's flaws will be publicly debated. _Shows Tony's combative family loyalty and her view of the election as a personal battle._ > This dull existence would afford him no chance of committing atrocities for this woman’s sake... Its stupid conventions prevented him from raising her, by deeds of blood and horror, to an imperial throne! Gosch laments that boring social norms prevent him from performing monstrous acts to prove his devotion to Gerda. _Reveals the extreme, grotesque nature of Gosch's obsession, which finds an outlet in political support._ ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/buddenbrooks_se/chapters/part-vii-iii - Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/buddenbrooks_se - All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/buddenbrooks_se/chapters