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Bildungsroman
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''Bildungsromane'' usually contain the following course:

  • The protagonist grows from boy or girl to man or woman.

  • The protagonist must have some reason to go on this journey. A loss or discontent must jar him or her at an early stage away from the home or family setting.

  • The process of Maturing is long, arduous, and gradual, consisting of repeated clashes between the Need s or Desire s of the hero and the views and judgments enforced by an unbending Social Order . This bears some similarity to Sigmund Freud 's concept of the Pleasure Principle versus the Reality Principle .

  • Eventually, the spirit and values of the social order become manifest in the protagonist, who is then accommodated into society. The novel ends with an assessment by the protagonist of himself/herself and his/her new place in that society.

  • The character is generally making a smooth movement away from Conformity . Major conflict is self vs. society or Individuality vs. conformity.

  • There are themes of exile or escape


Within the genre, an ''Entwicklungsroman'' is a story of general growth rather than self-culture; an ''Erziehungsroman'' focuses on training and formal education; and a '' Künstlerroman '' is about the development of an artist and shows a growth of the self.

Many other genres include a bildungsroman as a prominent part of their story lines; for example, a military story frequently shows a raw recruit receiving a Baptism Of Fire and becoming a battle-hardened soldier. A High Fantasy quest may also show a transformation from an adolescent protagonist into an adult aware of his/her powers or lineage. The concept also carries over to many Role-playing Game s, where characters frequently gain Experience Points and/or "levels" that make them more powerful through the course of their adventures.


LIST OF BILDUNGSROMANE


See Also: Bildungsroman examples (pre-1930)
Bildungsroman examples (post-1930)





SEE ALSO



REFERENCES

  • Buckley, Jerome H., ''Season of Youth'' (Cambridge: Harvard UP, 1974).

  • Jeffers, Thomas L., ''Apprenticeships: The Bildungsroman from Goethe to Santayana'' (New York: Palgrave, 2005).

  • Abrams, M.H. ''Glossary of Literary Terms - Eighth Edition'' (Boston: Thomson Wadsworth, 2005).