Knowing what she owes to her distinguished and wealthy family, Tony Buddenbrook appropriately marries the merchant Bendix Grünlich, albeit without affection. The couple moves into a villa in Hamburg. Thomas Buddenbrook separates from his childhood friend Anna - also because of etiquette - and starts an apprenticeship in Amsterdam. In 1848 there was social unrest in Lübeck. Consul Buddenbrook manages to calm the excited demonstrators while his son-in-law Lebrecht Kröger is so excited about this incident that he succumbs to a heartbeat.
