Reference query (Thomas Mann?)

Hi. I'm trying to recall the title of a short story (or possibly
a novella) I read decades ago. I believe it was by Thomas Mann,
but I'm not at all sure. It was about a somewhat pitiful, gnome-like
fellow who has settled into a mediocre but peaceful life in some
small German town, and one day this little life is turned upside
down by the mere appearance of a beautiful redhead who arrives into
town along with her bigshot husband. IIRC, she is barely aware of
him, or not at all, but still the fact that she exists somehow
wrecks this man. My memory is utterly unreliable, but I hope I
got enough right that someone may be able to recognize the story
I'm referring to.

TIA!

kj

--
NOTE: In my address everything before the first period is backwards;
and the last period, and everything after it, should be discarded.

kj wrote on 07/10/2007 23:42
> Hi. I'm trying to recall the title of a short story (or possibly
> a novella) I read decades ago. I believe it was by Thomas Mann,
> but I'm not at all sure. It was about a somewhat pitiful, gnome-like
> fellow who has settled into a mediocre but peaceful life in some
> small German town, and one day this little life is turned upside
> down by the mere appearance of a beautiful redhead who arrives into
> town along with her bigshot husband. IIRC, she is barely aware of
> him, or not at all, but still the fact that she exists somehow
> wrecks this man. My memory is utterly unreliable, but I hope I
> got enough right that someone may be able to recognize the story
> I'm referring to.
>

I think that's Thomas Mann's "Little Herr Friedemann".

S.