The Bildungsroman, German for novel of formation, traces a protagonist's psychological, moral and social maturation from childhood or adolescence into adulthood through experience, education and self-discovery. The term was coined by the philologist Karl Morgenstern in lectures at the University of Dorpat in 1819, who named Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship (1795 to 1796) as its archetype. As a genre family within the novel, it recurs across national literatures, adapting its arc of formation to different social settings from Goethe's German original through English, French and postcolonial variants.
Facts
Place of OriginGermany, with its birth normally dated to Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship (1795-96), sometimes to Christoph Martin Wieland's Geschichte des Agathon (1767); the term itself was coined in 1819 by philologist Johann Karl Simon Morgenstern. 1 Notable ExampleWilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1795-96), traditionally dated as the genre's birth. 1 Defining TraitA literary genre focused on the psychological and moral growth of the protagonist from childhood to adulthood, a coming-of-age narrative. 1 FAQs
Is a Bildungsroman the same thing as a coming-of-age novel?
Often used interchangeably, but coming-of-age novel is the wider and less technical term.
The two terms overlap and are sometimes used interchangeably, but they are not quite the same. Coming-of-age novel is the looser label, applied widely to many stories about growing up. Bildungsroman is the more technical term, tied to the German tradition of a protagonist's gradual formation.
Connections
Encompasses Form
Features Author
Source Great Expectations (Wikipedia)
Source Jane Eyre (Wikipedia)
Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship (1795-96) is the work scholarship treats as the genre's defining case; Karl Morgenstern coined the term Bildungsroman in 1819 with Goethe's novel as the model.
Source The Norton Anthology of World Literature
Source Wikipedia: Nervous Conditions
Source Pather Panchali (novel) (Wikipedia)
Source Pere Goriot (Wikipedia)
Source Wikipedia: The Alchemist (novel)
Source The Catcher in the Rye (Wikipedia)
Source Their Eyes Were Watching God (Wikipedia)
Source To Kill a Mockingbird (Wikipedia)
The genre's defining case.
Source The Norton Anthology of World Literature
In the Other Atlases
Originated In
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject originated.
Source Encyclopaedia Britannicatier 1
Sources
1. Bildungsroman (Wikipedia)
WikipediaIntroduction
The birth of the bildungsroman is normally dated to the publication of Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe in 1795-96
Lead section
a literary genre that focuses on the psychological and moral growth and change of the protagonist from childhood to adulthood (coming of age)
Origin section
The birth of the bildungsroman is normally dated to the publication of Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe in 1795-96, or sometimes to Christoph Martin Wieland's Geschichte des Agathon of 1767. Although the bildungsroman arose in Germany, it has had extensive influence first in Europe and later throughout the world.
View the Source Encyclopaedia Britannica
The Norton Anthology of World Literature
W. W. Norton & Company- Features Author: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
- Features Author: Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship
The Catcher in the Rye (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationFeatures Author: The Catcher in the Rye, Lead section, genreQuote, Features Author: The Catcher in the Rye, Lead section, genre
The Catcher in the Rye is a 1951 American coming-of-age novel by American author J. D. Salinger
To Kill a Mockingbird (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationFeatures Author: To Kill a Mockingbird, Lead section, genreQuote, Features Author: To Kill a Mockingbird, Lead section, genre
As a Southern Gothic novel and Bildungsroman
Great Expectations (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationFeatures Author: Great Expectations, Lead section, genreQuote, Features Author: Great Expectations, Lead section, genre
a bildungsroman
Their Eyes Were Watching God (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationFeatures Author: Their Eyes Were Watching God, Infobox, Genre fieldQuote, Features Author: Their Eyes Were Watching God, Infobox, Genre field
Novel, psychological fiction, bildungsroman
Pere Goriot (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationFeatures Author: Père Goriot, Genre and style sectionQuote, Features Author: Père Goriot, Genre and style section
a bildungsroman, wherein a naive young person matures while learning the ways of the world
Pather Panchali (novel) (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationFeatures Author: Pather Panchali (novel), Infobox, genre fieldQuote, Features Author: Pather Panchali (novel), Infobox, genre field
Genre: Bildungsroman, tragedy, family drama
Jane Eyre (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationFeatures Author: Jane Eyre, Infobox, genre fieldQuote, Features Author: Jane Eyre, Infobox, genre field
Genre: Gothic, Bildungsroman, Romance
Wikipedia: Nervous Conditions
WikipediaFeatures Author: Nervous Conditions, Infobox, genre fieldQuote, Features Author: Nervous Conditions, Infobox, genre field
Genre: Bildungsroman
Wikipedia: The Alchemist (novel)
WikipediaFeatures Author: The Alchemist (novel), Infobox, genre fieldQuote, Features Author: The Alchemist (novel), Infobox, genre field
Genre: Quest, adventure, fantasy, bildungsroman
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