On a warm June afternoon, the Buddenbrook family enjoys coffee, reading, and chatting in their garden. Discussions vary from business deals to personal readings, with the family’s children—now teenagers—teasing each other. A visitor, Bendix Grünlich, joins the family in the garden. He presents himself as a highly successful businessman and flatters the Buddenbrooks with compliments. His manners leave mixed impressions on the family members. The parents are positively disposed towards him, while Tony finds him extremely self-focused.

Tony encounters Herr Grünlich unexpectedly in town while running an errand and dismisses him coldly only to learn that her mother has invited him to dinner. On the day after the dinner, Tony learns from her parents that Grünlich has asked for her hand in marriage. She responds emotionally, completely rejecting his proposal. Her parents, however, consider Grünlich a suitable match and insist she think it over, leading to Tony’s conflicted feelings about the proposed marriage.

Tony’s firm rejection of Herr Grünlich’s proposal is tested when he visits unexpectedly, pleading dramatically for her hand. Despite her initial resistance, his earnest display of anguish leaves Tony confused and emotionally drained, without a clear resolution. Nevertheless, she continues to say “no” to the marriage.