Júlia da Silva Bruhns
Encyclopedia
Júlia da Silva Bruhns was the wife of the Lübeck
senator and grain merchant Johann Heinrich Mann, and mother of writers Thomas Mann
and Heinrich Mann
.
Júlia, a Roman Catholic
, was the daughter of the German farmer Johann Ludwig Herman Bruhns and of Brazilian Maria Luísa da Silva, the daughter of a Portuguese immigrant. Júlia's father owned several sugar cane plantations between Santos
and Rio de Janeiro
. Her mother died in childbirth at 28 when Júlia was six. She had three brothers and one sister. One year after her mother's death, her father decided to send his children back to Germany. They lived in Lübeck
, where Júlia had an uncle. At six, Julia didn’t speak a word of German. She stayed in a boarding school
until she was 14 years old, while her father was back in Brazil caring for the farms.
She married Thomas Johann Heinrich Mann in 1869. She was 17, he 29. They had five children:
After the death of her husband and as consequence of a bladder surgery, Júlia went to live in Munich
with her children.
She wrote an autobiographical work called Aus Dodos Kindheit, in which she described her idyllic childhood in Brazil.
Her sons Heinrich and Thomas created characters inspired by her in several of their books, referring to her South-American blood and passionate artistic temperament. In his autobiography, Thomas Mann describes Júlia as "Portuguese
-Creole
Brazilian". In Buddenbrooks
she was the inspiration for Gerda Arnoldsen and Toni Buddenbrook. In Doktor Faustus
, she became the wife of Senator Rodde. In Tonio Kröger
, she was the mother, Consuelo. In Death in Venice
, she appears as the mother of the protagonist, Gustav von Aschenbach.
Her two daughters both committed suicide; Carla poisoned herself in 1910, and Lula hanged herself in 1927.
In her later years Júlia moved frequently and lived mostly in hotels. She died in a hotel room, watched over by her three sons.
Lübeck
The Hanseatic City of Lübeck is the second-largest city in Schleswig-Holstein, in northern Germany, and one of the major ports of Germany. It was for several centuries the "capital" of the Hanseatic League and, because of its Brick Gothic architectural heritage, is listed by UNESCO as a World...
senator and grain merchant Johann Heinrich Mann, and mother of writers Thomas Mann
Thomas Mann
Thomas Mann was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and 1929 Nobel Prize laureate, known for his series of highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novellas, noted for their insight into the psychology of the artist and the intellectual...
and Heinrich Mann
Heinrich Mann
Luiz Heinrich Mann was a German novelist who wrote works with strong social themes. His attacks on the authoritarian and increasingly militaristic nature of pre-World War II German society led to his exile in 1933.-Life and work:Born in Lübeck as the oldest child of Thomas Johann Heinrich Mann...
.
Júlia, a Roman Catholic
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
, was the daughter of the German farmer Johann Ludwig Herman Bruhns and of Brazilian Maria Luísa da Silva, the daughter of a Portuguese immigrant. Júlia's father owned several sugar cane plantations between Santos
Santos (São Paulo)
-Sister cities: Shimonoseki, Japan Nagasaki, Japan Funchal, Portugal Trieste, Italy Coimbra, Portugal Ansião, Portugal Arouca, Portugal Ushuaia, Argentina Havana, Cuba Taizhou. China Ningbo. China Constanţa, Romania Ulsan, South Korea Colón, Panama* Cadiz, Spain...
and Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
. Her mother died in childbirth at 28 when Júlia was six. She had three brothers and one sister. One year after her mother's death, her father decided to send his children back to Germany. They lived in Lübeck
Lübeck
The Hanseatic City of Lübeck is the second-largest city in Schleswig-Holstein, in northern Germany, and one of the major ports of Germany. It was for several centuries the "capital" of the Hanseatic League and, because of its Brick Gothic architectural heritage, is listed by UNESCO as a World...
, where Júlia had an uncle. At six, Julia didn’t speak a word of German. She stayed in a boarding school
Boarding school
A boarding school is a school where some or all pupils study and live during the school year with their fellow students and possibly teachers and/or administrators. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board," i.e., lodging and meals...
until she was 14 years old, while her father was back in Brazil caring for the farms.
She married Thomas Johann Heinrich Mann in 1869. She was 17, he 29. They had five children:
- (Luís) Heinrich MannHeinrich MannLuiz Heinrich Mann was a German novelist who wrote works with strong social themes. His attacks on the authoritarian and increasingly militaristic nature of pre-World War II German society led to his exile in 1933.-Life and work:Born in Lübeck as the oldest child of Thomas Johann Heinrich Mann...
- (Paulo) Thomas MannThomas MannThomas Mann was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and 1929 Nobel Prize laureate, known for his series of highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novellas, noted for their insight into the psychology of the artist and the intellectual...
- Julia (Elisabeth Therese) (Lula) Mann
- Carla (Augusta Olga Maria) Mann
- (Carl) Viktor Mann
After the death of her husband and as consequence of a bladder surgery, Júlia went to live in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
with her children.
She wrote an autobiographical work called Aus Dodos Kindheit, in which she described her idyllic childhood in Brazil.
Her sons Heinrich and Thomas created characters inspired by her in several of their books, referring to her South-American blood and passionate artistic temperament. In his autobiography, Thomas Mann describes Júlia as "Portuguese
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
-Creole
Creole peoples
The term Creole and its cognates in other languages — such as crioulo, criollo, créole, kriolu, criol, kreyol, kreol, kriulo, kriol, krio, etc. — have been applied to people in different countries and epochs, with rather different meanings...
Brazilian". In Buddenbrooks
Buddenbrooks
Buddenbrooks was Thomas Mann's first novel, published in 1901 when he was twenty-six years old. The publication of the 2nd edition in 1903 confirmed that Buddenbrooks was a major literary success in Germany....
she was the inspiration for Gerda Arnoldsen and Toni Buddenbrook. In Doktor Faustus
Doktor Faustus
Doctor Faustus is a German novel written by Thomas Mann, begun in 1943 and published in 1947 as Doktor Faustus. Das Leben des deutschen Tonsetzers Adrian Leverkühn, erzählt von einem Freunde Doctor Faustus (in German, Doktor Faustus) is a German novel written by Thomas Mann, begun in 1943 and...
, she became the wife of Senator Rodde. In Tonio Kröger
Tonio Kröger
Tonio Kröger is a novella by Thomas Mann, written early in 1901, when he was 25. It was first published in 1903.-Plot summary:The narrative follows the course of a man's life from his schoolboy days to his adulthood. The son of a north German merchant and an Italian artist, Tonio inherited...
, she was the mother, Consuelo. In Death in Venice
Death in Venice
The novella Death in Venice was written by the German author Thomas Mann, and was first published in 1913 as Der Tod in Venedig. The plot of the work presents a great writer suffering writer's block who visits Venice and is liberated and uplifted, then increasingly obsessed, by the sight of a...
, she appears as the mother of the protagonist, Gustav von Aschenbach.
Her two daughters both committed suicide; Carla poisoned herself in 1910, and Lula hanged herself in 1927.
In her later years Júlia moved frequently and lived mostly in hotels. She died in a hotel room, watched over by her three sons.
Sources
- Short biography (in German)
- Miskolci, Richard. Thomas Mann: Artista Mestiço. São Paulo: Annablume/FAPESP, 2003.
See also
- Dohm-Mann family treeDohm-Mann family treeThe Dohm-Mann family tree contains a number of famous writers, musicians and actors. This family tree is not complete but is focused on showing the relationship of the well-known members of the family....