Stultified Tony : A Study of Gender Politics in Mann's Buddenbrooks

Abstract

Mann'sBuddenbrookspresents the stultifying social codes and gender politics in the nineteenth century German middle class society. It is the reality of male-dominated society that discrimination against women is lodged deep in the subconscious of men and women as well as in the social structure in such a way that it creates one of the greatest difficulties to fight because it grips women from within and without. Patriarchal norms and values have stultified the mind of Tony, the female protagonist, as a result she is unable to think and react against domination and exploitation exerted upon her.