# Ida Jungmann — Buddenbrooks character guide > Ida Jungmann in Buddenbrooks by Thomas Mann. **Role:** supporting **Also known as:** Mamsell Jungmann, the good Ida **First appearance:** 0001-buddenbrooks ## Snapshot The wiry, indispensable Mamsell who has kept the Buddenbrook household running for twenty years, knitting in corners and guarding the children with shrewd brown eyes. ## Who they are Ida Jungmann oversees kitchens, linens, and little Erica with a prideful sense of her own necessity, keeping her distance from ordinary nurses on the Mill-wall. Her loyalty to the family is absolute, yet her position as a servant with proprietary instincts creates a quiet tension between devotion and self-respect. She is the household's steady pulse, a witness whose constancy measures the family's changing weather across decades. ## Relationships ### [Hanno Buddenbrook](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/buddenbrooks_se/characters/hanno_buddenbrook) _family_ A child and his beloved nursemaid, with Ida providing the primary maternal warmth and stability in his life. ### [Hanno Buddenbrook](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/buddenbrooks_se/characters/hanno_buddenbrook) _family_ A child and his beloved nursemaid, with Ida providing the primary maternal warmth and stability in his life. ### [Hanno Buddenbrook](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/buddenbrooks_se/characters/hanno_buddenbrook) _family_ A child and his beloved nursemaid, with Ida providing the primary maternal warmth and stability in his life. ## In the story ### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/buddenbrooks_se/chapters/part-i-i) The new Prussian governess, introduced and criticized by old Johann for 'muddling' Tony's head. Described as honest, rigid in her class principles, and proud of her position. ### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/buddenbrooks_se/chapters/part-i-iv) Helps serve the dinner and relays orders to the kitchen. ### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/buddenbrooks_se/chapters/part-i-v) Sits with the children, is chaffed by Justus Kröger, and reacts by screwing up her eyes and playing with her utensils. ### [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/buddenbrooks_se/chapters/part-i-vii) Attends to the ailing Christian in the hall, expressing sympathy for the 'poor child.' ### [IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/buddenbrooks_se/chapters/part-i-ix) Left to supervise the maids in cleaning up after the party. ### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/buddenbrooks_se/chapters/part-ii-iii) Also jumps up in alarm during Christian's peach-stone episode. ### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/buddenbrooks_se/chapters/part-ii-iv) Busily attends to the household and guests during Madame Buddenbrook's illness and the subsequent funeral arrangements. ### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/buddenbrooks_se/chapters/part-iii-ii) Makes a brief, knowing remark ('You'll see, child.') when Tony hopes Grünlich has gone, hinting at the proposal's inevitability. ### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/buddenbrooks_se/chapters/part-iii-iv) Advises Tony not to worry, assuring her she will remain in the best society. ### [Chapter XIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/buddenbrooks_se/chapters/part-iii-xiii) Greets Tony on the landing and is present making coffee the next morning when Tony reads the chronicle. ### [XIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/buddenbrooks_se/chapters/part-iii-xiv) Assists with the wedding preparations, referenced in the flurry of activity around Tony's trousseau. ### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/buddenbrooks_se/chapters/part-iv-i) Mentioned in Tony's letter as receiving greetings. ### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/buddenbrooks_se/chapters/part-iv-ii) Present at the diminished family table, a steady domestic presence amidst the household and civic tension. ### [XI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/buddenbrooks_se/chapters/part-iv-xi) Enters with little Erica, her pride in her indispensable role and reserved nature are highlighted. She sharply reprimands the panicking maid. ### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/buddenbrooks_se/chapters/part-vi-i) Present for meals in the entresol of the old house, a remnant of the former household. ### [Chapter IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/buddenbrooks_se/chapters/part-vi-iv) Mamsell Jungmann is visibly astonished and offended by Permaneder's behavior, forgetting to chew and casting outraged looks at his informal address. ### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/buddenbrooks_se/chapters/part-vi-v) Acts as Tony's confidante and caretaker, listening to her nighttime anxieties and offering gentle, concerned advice while darning stockings. ### [Chapter VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/buddenbrooks_se/chapters/part-vi-vi) Leads the walk with Erica, sharing wholeheartedly in the child's joy with her characteristic neighing laugh, which surprises Gerda. ### [IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/buddenbrooks_se/chapters/part-vi-ix) Present in the household, tending to the Frau Consul's needs during the night of anxiety and later greeting Tony and Erica upon their arrival. ### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/buddenbrooks_se/chapters/part-viii-iii) Cares for Hanno, explains his night terrors and his emotional connection to the poems he learns; provides steady, maternal presence. ### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/buddenbrooks_se/chapters/part-viii-v) Helps decorate and prepare for the celebration; offers Hanno silent support during his failed recitation, a figure of stability. ### [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/buddenbrooks_se/chapters/part-viii-vii) Present as Hanno's caretaker, whispering prompts to him during his father's quizzes and accompanying him to the dentist. ### [Part IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/buddenbrooks_se/chapters/part-viii-ix) Mentioned as one of the people who supports Tony during her severe bouts of nausea and physical distress. ### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/buddenbrooks_se/chapters/part-x-i) Mentioned as part of the household with whom Thomas dines daily, indicating her continued, integral role in the family's private life. ### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/buddenbrooks_se/chapters/part-x-iii) Acts as Hanno's faithful guardian and companion, reading to him and gently pulling him away from his reveries by the sea for supper. ### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/buddenbrooks_se/chapters/part-x-v) Mentioned as Hanno's tutor, to whom he goes for help with his lessons. ### [VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/buddenbrooks_se/chapters/part-x-viii) The faithful servant, red-eyed and trembling, assists in the sickroom, embodying the household's deep personal grief. ### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/buddenbrooks_se/chapters/part-xi-i) The faithful servant is dismissed after 40 years. She leaves weeping, a symbol of the breaking-up of the old household order. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/buddenbrooks_se/characters/ida_jungmann - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/buddenbrooks_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/buddenbrooks_se/characters