Buddenbrooks

The sea’s presence in the novel provides a backdrop to the Buddenbrook family’s story, set in the coastal town of Lübeck. The sea also represents the essence of change, the unknown, and the forces beyond human control.

The sea appears at key moments in the novel, when the characters travel to the holiday resort of Travemünde. Depending on the circumstances, the sea represents freedom, a sense of escape, or downfall. Thomas has one of his most significant moments of reflection at the beach, when he compares the calmness of the sea with the ragged aspect of the mountains and the kinds of people who are attracted to each other:

I’ve learned to love the sea more and more—perhaps I preferred mountains at one time only because they were so much farther away. I wouldn’t want to go there now. I think I would feel afraid and embarrassed. They’re too arbitrary, too irregular, too diverse—l’m sure I’d feel overwhelmed. What sort of people prefer the monotony of the sea, do you suppose? It seems to me it’s those who have gazed too long and too deeply into the complexity at the heart of things and so have no choice but to demand one thing from external reality: simplicity. It has little to do with boldly scrambling about in the mountains, as opposed to lying calmly beside the sea (648).

Thomas’s attraction to the sea signifies his transformation over the years. His longing for simplicity and reprieve from the expectations that have weighed heavily upon him point to the moment of crisis he finds himself in. The sea, with its vast horizon, represents a form of escape, a desire for uniformity and predictability in contrast to the unpredictable challenges he faces in his personal and professional life.