# Jean Jacques Hoffstede — Buddenbrooks character guide

> Jean Jacques Hoffstede in Buddenbrooks by Thomas Mann.

**Role:** minor

**Also known as:** Herr Hoffstede, Jean Jacques Hoffstede

**First appearance:** 0001-buddenbrooks

## Who they are

A poet and friend of the elder Buddenbrooks, representing the cultured society of old Lübeck.

## In the story

### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/buddenbrooks_se/chapters/part-i-i)

The poet, mentioned as arriving with the first guests, signaling the start of the social gathering.

### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/buddenbrooks_se/chapters/part-i-ii)

The town poet and old friend. He is delighted by Christian's mimicry and comments on the boys' futures.

### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/buddenbrooks_se/chapters/part-i-iv)

Guest who inquires about the age of the house.

### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/buddenbrooks_se/chapters/part-i-v)

Recounts his Italian journey and tells an anecdote about Napoleon in Danzig, charming the table with his storytelling.

### [Chapter VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/buddenbrooks_se/chapters/part-i-vi)

Recites a celebratory poem he wrote for the housewarming, which is the centerpiece of the evening's speeches.

### [VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/buddenbrooks_se/chapters/part-i-viii)

Arrives late, diffusing a political argument by sharing a humorous, risqué French epigram, embodying an older, more carefree cultural sensibility.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/buddenbrooks_se/characters/jean_jacques_hoffstede
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/buddenbrooks_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/buddenbrooks_se/characters