Bildungsroman (German: “novel of educational formation”), class of novel developed German Literature that deals with the formative years of an individual up to his arrival a man’s estate and a responsible place in society. it is sometimes called an Entwicklungsroman (“novel of character development”). The traditional tale of the folklore dunce who goes out into the world seeking adventure and learns wisdom the hard way was raised to literary heights in Wolfram von Eschenbach’s medieval epic Parzival and Hans Grimmelshausen’s picaresque tale Simplicissirniss (1669). The first novelistic development of this theme was Goethe’s Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre (1795—96; Wilhelm Meisrer’s Apprenticeship, 1824), and it remains the classic example of the type.

Other exam- pies are Adalbert Stifter’s Nachsonvner (1857; “Indian Summer”) and Gottfried Keller’s Grime Heinrich (1854—55; Green Henry, 1960). The Bildungsroman ends on a positive note though it may be tempered by resignation and nostalgia. If the grandiose dreams the hero’s youth are over, so are many foolish mistakes and painful disappointments, and life of usefulness lies ahead. One of the common variations of the Bildungsroman is the KUnstierroman (q.v.), a novel that deals with the youth and development of an artist. • Dickens’ works in genre 5: 708e • novel of social maturation 13:287c plot structure and personality


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