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A bildungsroman (German pronunciation: [ˈbɪldʊŋs.roˌmaːn]; German: "novel of education") is a coming-of-age novel. In it, the author presents the psychological, moral and social shaping of the personality of a character, usually the protagonist. The genre arose during the German Enlightenment. The German term Bildungsroman was coined by Johann Carl Simon Morgenstern in 1820.[1]

A bildungsroman tells about the growing up or coming of age of a sensitive person who is looking for answers and experience. The genre evolved from folklore tales of a dunce or youngest son going out in the world to seek his fortune. Usually in the beginning of the story there is an emotional loss which makes the protagonist leave on his journey. In a bildungsroman, the goal is maturity, and the protagonist achieves it gradually and with difficulty. The genre often features a main conflict between the main character and society. Typically, the values of society are gradually accepted by the protagonist and he is ultimately accepted into society  – the protagonist’s mistakes and disappointments are over. In some works, the protagonist is able to reach out and help others after having achieved maturity.

Contents

Features

To be categorized in the genre bildungsroman, the plot must follow a certain course. The protagonist grows from child to adult in the novel.[citation needed] At an early stage, a loss or some sort of discontent pushes him or her away from home or the family setting, providing an impetus to embark on a journey. The main character often develops through “self actualization”. The process of maturation is long, strenuous and gradual, involving repeated clashes between the protagonist's needs and desires and the views and judgments enforced by an unbending social order.

There are many other similar genres that focus on the growth of an individual. An Entwicklungsroman (German: "development novel") is a story of general growth rather than self-cultivation. An Erziehungsroman (German: "education novel") focuses on training and formal schooling, while a Künstlerroman (German: "artist novel") is about the development of an artist and shows a growth of the self.

Many genres other than the bildungsroman can include elements of this genre as prominent parts of their story lines. For example, a military story might show a raw recruit undergoing a baptism by fire and becoming a battle-hardened soldier, while a fantasy quest story may show a transformation from an adolescent protagonist into an adult who is aware of his or her lineage or powers. Yet neither of these genres or story types corresponds exactly to the bildungsroman.

Literary Genre

A genre is a group or collection of books with a similar theme or style. The German Enlightenment started the bildungsroman genre. Books that are considered to be within this genre are usually written from a protagonist's point of view and in the first person. One of the first books of this type is Hayy ibn Yaqdhan by Ibn Tufail (1100s). A recent example is My Name is Asher Lev, in which Asher is shaped by the help of Jacob Kahn.

Select examples

This is an incomplete chronological list of Bildungsroman works that are widely acknowledged to be representative of the genre.

References

  1. ^ Reinhard Markner; Johann Carl Simon Morgenstern (German)
  2. ^ Joy Palmer, Liora Bresler, David Edward Cooper (2001), Fifty major thinkers on education: from Confucius to Dewey, Routledge, p. 34, ISBN 0415231264 
  3. ^ http://fajardo-acosta.com/worldlit/voltaire/candide.htm
  4. ^ http://www.enotes.com/nineteenth-century-criticism/bildungsroman-nineteenth-century-literature
  5. ^ http://www.enotes.com/martin-eden-salem/martin-eden-11000305
  6. ^ http://www.enotes.com/sons-lovers/lawrences-novel-bildungsroman
  7. ^ Hendriksen, Jack; This side of paradise as a Bildungsroman; isbn: 0820418528
  8. ^ Sparknotes:Catcher in the Rye:Themes
  9. ^ eNotes: Go Tell it on the Mountain, James Baldwin
  10. ^ Kercheval, Jesse Lee. "Continuing Conflict". Building Fiction. The Story Press. pp. 101. ISBN 1884910289. 
  11. ^ Sparknotes:Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit: Context
  12. ^ Sparknotes:Secret Life of Bees-Character Analysis

14. http://www.gcms.k12.il.us/gcmsel/lynnet/literary_genres.htm

15. http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/english/melani/cs6/genres.html

16. http://www.theisticevolution.org/lit_genre.html

See also

Literature

  • Abrams, M. H. (2005). Glossary of Literary Terms (8th ed.). Boston: Thomson Wadsworth. ISBN 1413002188. 
  • Engel, Manfred (2008): "Variants of the Romantic 'Bildungsroman' (with a Short Note on the 'Artist Novel')". In: Gerald Gillespie, Manfred Engel and Bernard Dieterle (eds.), Romantic Prose Fiction (= A Comparative History of Literatures in European Languages, vol. XXIII; ed. by the International Comparative Literature Association). Amsterdam, Philadelphia: John Benjamins, pp. 263–295. ISBN 978-9027234568.
  • Jeffers, Thomas L. (2005). Apprenticeships: The Bildungsroman from Goethe to Santayana. New York: Palgrave. ISBN 1403966079. 
  • Minden, Michael (1997): The German Bildungsroman: Incest and Inheritance. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Wiktionary

Up to date as of January 14, 2010

Definition from Wiktionary, a free dictionary

Contents

English

Noun

Singular
Bildungsroman

Plural
Bildungsromans or Bildungsromane

Bildungsroman (plural Bildungsromans or Bildungsromane)

  1. Alternative capitalization of bildungsroman.

German

Etymology

Coined c. 1820 by Johann Carl Simon Morgenstern; titled an 1820 text Über das Wesen des Bildungsromans.

From Bildung, from bildunge, from bildunga, from bilidon (“‘to shape’”), from bilodi (“‘form, shape’”), + Roman (“‘novel’”), from French, roman (“‘novel’”). Hence "novel of education" or "novel of formation".

Noun

Bildungsroman m. (genitive Bildungsromans, plural Bildungsromane)

  1. A bildungsroman, a novel of personal maturation.







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