An Ersatz Freedom: Conceptions of Superior and Inferior freedoms in Thomas Mann's Buddenbrooks

Amidst all the death and destruction, amidst the decline and fall, there is at least one character in Thomas Mann's Buddenbrooks who has achieved a certain degree of success in his life. The Director Wulicke is described by the narrator as a "most formidable man", (Book 11, Part II, pg. 577), and why shouldn't he be, considering the fact that Herr Wulicke managed to climb the social and institutional ranks and become the principal of Hanno's school; succeeding the "genial and benevolent old gentleman, under whose guidance Hanno's father and uncle had pursued their studies", (Book 11, Part II, pg. 577). With the Director Wulicke's ascension comes a new wave of teaching and learning in the old institution, one in which the ideals of "authority, duty, power, service, the career" supercede the classical courses once pursued "with a sense of joyous idealism", (Book 11, Part II, pg. 577). The official sermons, the Kantian categorical imperatives and the tearing down of old traditions to make way for a new system "built up on the most approved and hygienic and aesthetic principles" (Book 11, Part II, pg. 577), is hauntingly prophetic; echoing Hitler's Third Reich in the post-Weimar Republic of Nazi Germany. This new wave of ideologies, a revolution of sorts, is best summarized by Morten when he tells Tony about his opinions regarding the nobility and the 'organization of the state'. He explains his deep-rooted frustration with the aristocracy and the dichotomy which exists between this nobility and the bourgeoisie or the "Third State", as he happens to refer to it (Book 2, Part VIII, pg. 113). He criticizes the gulf between the privileged classes; lacking any merit, simply born into nobility, and the hardworking, struggling bourgeoisie, which have, time and again, tried to climb the social ladder but have failed miserably due to oppression of the ruling elite. Finally, he talks of change, of freedom and revolution, which will bring down the established, indolent aristocracy and replace it with "the sovereign children of the state", (Book 2, Part VIII, pg. 113). Unfortunately, Tony is part of this elite class and so the decline of her family and the ruination of the Buddenbrooks business is essence the victim of Morten's notion change, revolution and freedom. Using this theme of social conflict as the basis for my thesis, I shall examine the trend in Mann's novel of individuality dissolving into the whole, and the whole being greater than the sum of its parts, as a sort of ersatz, inferior substitute to the more complex and existential notion of freedom that runs parallel to this inferior, ersatz freedom. I shall use the recurrent motif of servants in the novel to show not only the gradual decline and fall of the Buddenbrooks family, but also the gradual dissolution of the German nobility and elite. Morten interprets this transition as freedom and equality for the sovereign citizens of the State. I shall argue that this notion of freedom, which I refer to as an ersatz freedom, is in stark contrast to the more spiritual freedom of Tom's eventual evanescent realization that in death he will inevitably escape his own personality, anchored in egoism, and attain true salvation by becoming part of the essential life force common in all living things. Tom's own personal catharsis, rooted in the deep yet momentary existential shift in his ideas, is markedly different from the more brutal transition in societal values, anchored in the laws of science, industry and the State. This difference is essential in understanding the contrast between the more spiritual, existential freedom, exemplified in Tom's notion of Death; when the individual becomes part of the whole, as opposed to Morten's more political, conceptual, ersatz freedom; embodied in the shift in power from an oppressive nobility to the sovereign masses of the State.

The transition from ideal classicism to brutal modernity, from growth to decay, from health to illness and eventual death, is a theme that has an existential weight on the lives and structure of the novel. No where is this theme more apparent than in the recurring motif of servants in the novel, highlighting not only the gradual decline of the Buddenbrooks family, but also serving as a proxy for changing attitudes and culture in late nineteenth century German society. This change is essential in understanding Morten's concept of freedom as a shift in societal values, which is antithetically juxtaposed to Tom's (and indeed Schopenhauer's) idea of spiritual freedom in Death. Ida Jungmann is by far the most exemplary characters of this particular motif. She is a loyal and faithful governess, who has been with the Buddenbrooks family for generations. She is described as being devoutly loyal to the family, "capable in the household and with the children, and her rigid honesty and Prussian notions of caste made her perfectly suited to her position in the family", (Book 1, Part I, pg. 7). She is Tony's close confidant, a trustworthy and kind woman who shares the family's secrets and burdens. But she is also described as having "aristrocratic principles, drawing hair-line distinctions between class and class, and very proud of her position as servant of the higher orders", (Book 1, Part I, pg. 7). Thus, Mann imposes a sort of hierarchy within this framework of household servants and maids which gradually disintegrates as the novel progresses. Ida Jungmann, a woman of old world Prussian principles, is held in stark contrast to the younger, more disrespectful maids who question authority and class. Dora, the cook at the Grunlich household, is distrusted by Tony; Babette at the Permanader house, is described as being impudent and eventually figures as one of the primary catalysts in the dissolution of Tony's second marriage. Furthermore, Mann introduces these peripheral characters to show how well-off or worse-off the family Buddenbrooks is in business and, to a greater extent, in life. Counsul Buddenbrooks' financial decline is highlighted when his wife, at the beginning of the novel, encourages him to hire more servants to help with the household chores; when Tony asks Grunlich to hire more maid servants, he declines her request and soon after we learn that Grulich is indeed bankrupt and cannot support the family. This motif of servants is inextricably linked to the prosperity of the Buddenbrooks family; when there financial gain and the business is thriving, there are more maids, cooks and servants to go around. However, when the business is not doing so well, there are fewer maids and servants. In a way, this particular motif is used to guage not only the health of the family's financial position, but also as a foreshadowing for things to come. Thus when appeals for good help are declined or when servants are laid off work, there is a reversal of fortune, both literally and metaphorically.

This particular recurring motif of servants in the novel gradually evolves and climaxes with Severin Riekchen, Ida Jungmann replacement at the Buddenbrooks', who is caught stealing Frau Counsul's gowns and underwear after her death. Tony is exasperated at the thought of having such an unfaithful and treacherous maidservant be so closely involved in the family affairs. Tony denounces Severin's actions and likens her to a viper, being nourished and cherished in Frau Counsul's bossom. The maidservant's attitude is contrasted to Ida Jungmann, who on a previous occasion "preserved a proper distance between herself and the Frau Counsul's maid", (Book 8, Part VIII, pg. 437). Ida, with her staunch sense of antiquated Prussian pride and values, would never think of touching the late Frau Consel's belongings. However, Severin, the new maid servant, with more contemporary notions about the nature of nobility, actually steals from the Buddenbrooks and then has the audacity to rebuke Tony when asked for the keys to the cupboards. She say "in good set terms, that [Tony] has nothing to say to her, [that] she's not in [Tony's] service and that, [Tony] did not engage her", (Book 9, Part II, pg. 461). Regardless of who hired Ida Jungmann, she considered herself to be the governess of the family Buddenbrooks, whereas Severin clearly states that she was hired by Frau Counsul and so Tony has no authority in giving her any command. Thus, we observe a gradual shift in the values of society mirrored in the family Buddenbrooks' household. This transition toward a more conscious bourgeoisie, capable of making decisions for itself, free from the oppressive and cumbersome regulation of the ruling elite is reminiscent of Morten's notion freedom and equality expressed at the beginning of the novel.

Morten clearly shows a distaste for Tony's more aristocratic friends. He is part of the student's fraternity in Gottingen and views German society as a brotherhood, "like a student's society", (Book 2, Part VIII, pg. 113). His concept of freedom and equality is most certainly laudable since he does talk about the wearing away of hierarchical institutions which restrict the individual citizen from having the same opportunities as the privileged. He believes in "freedom of the press, of trade and industry, so that all men, without distinction, shall be able to strive together and receive their reward according to their merit", (Book 2, Part VIII, pg. 113). On the outset, it would appear that Morten has some very democratic notions about what it is required for the citizens of a nation to be truly free from being enslaved and muzzled. But his ideas about the State and the individual German citizen's relationship to the State can be taken directly from Karl Marx's playbook. The concept of a German fraternity, what Director Wulicke regards as a superiority, as a very German kind of superiority, through which Hanno's school became "a state within a state, in which not only the masters but also the pupils regarded themselves as officials, whose main concern was the advancement they could make, and who must therefore take care to stand well with the authorities", (Book 11, Part II, pg. 577). The narrator questions the validity of this claim by proposing that perhaps "the old institution, with its smaller endowment of moder comfort and its larger share of gay good nature, courage, charm and good feeling, had not been more blest and blessing than the new", (Book 11, Part II, pg. 577). Thus, the narrator casts doubt on the extent to which this new system, as championed by Morten in front of Tony, is in essence a better interpretation of society, as modeled upon the principles laid down in the beginning by Morten. If so, then Morten truly does have a valid conception of what it really means to be free.

Another conception of freedom, one which I shall argue is far superior to the ersatz freedom proposed by Morten, is proposed by Tom and uses a similar process of annihilation of the individual to achieve its goal. Morten spoke of eroding the nobility; the aristocracy; the oppressive elite, essentially the hierarchical model present in German society, which, he assumed, was preventing the bourgeoisie; the rising middle class, from achieving freedom and equality. The nobility or the aristocracy is a singular, individual institution whose annihilation, according to Morten, is essential and, to a larger extent, inevitable (as proxied for by the recurring servant motif already explained). Similarly, Tom, in his moment of existential crisis, talks about the annhilation of the ego, in essence, the erosion of the individual. He asks "individuality?- All, all that one is, can, and has, seems poor, grey, inadequate, wearisome; what one is not, can not, has not, that is what one looks at with a longing desire that becomes love because it fears to become hate", (Book 9, Part V, pg. 527). He realizes that the indivdual will; family; business have no bearing on one's freedom, for in Death there is an eventual release from the enslavement of the ego; from the demands of society, progeny, business, family and the individual self.

I started the paper with a single recurring motif that Mann presents in the representation of servants. The motif gradually evolves from a more hierarchic structure, centered on Ida Jungmann's character. This structure disintegrates as the novel progresses which reflects and, in many ways, foreshadows the decline and fall of the Buddenbrooks family and business. Furthermore, I observe that this particular dissolution reflects the shift in power from nobility to the bourgeoisie in German Society. This transition is what Morten refers to as freedom; a fundamental change in the structure of society, where the oppressive elite and noble classes no longer preside over the growing middle class. He heralds the rise of the German state, where "no person is subject to another, but all subject to the law", (Book 2, Part VIII, pg. 113). This concept of freedom, which I refer to as ersatz freedom, is in essence a freedom from the enslavement of one class by another. It does not address the individual demands of freedom, rather the political, social and ideological freedoms which are simply the characteristics transition in society as a result of time and history. I contrast Morten's idea of freedom with Tom's notion of a more spiritual, existential freedom that comes with Death. His notion of freedom is far superior to that of Morten's not only because of its metaphysical weight but also because it eventually leads to a catharsis and resolution in the novel. Tom, after having read Schopenhauer, understands that the true nature of freedom is the extinction of the physical body and the metaphysical ego, the two being inextricably linked together. This realization culminates into a catharsis which causes Tom to alter his entire conception of family and business as being the only means through which one can attain salvation in the hereafter. This concept of freedom is independent of time, place, history and religion. It is essentially the erosion of personality, which is the product of this life. The extinction of this ego and the acceptance of Death as a return to the essential life force common to all provides Tom with meaning and purpose in life. Thus, both Morten's and Tom's concepts essentially rely of the gradual erosion of the individual, whether it be the social institution or the will, to attain freedom. However, only Tom's notion freedom truly provides a substantial catharsis, which makes it superior to Morten's ersatz idea about freedom.