yawiki.org entry for Bildungsroman

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A bildungsroman (/, German: "novel of education" or "novel of formation") is a novel which traces the spiritual, moral, psychological, or social development and growth of the main character from (usually) childhood to maturity.

    Bildungsroman
        Description of genre
        See also

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Description of genre

Among the components of a bildungsroman:

To spur the hero onto his or her journey, some form of 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 protagonist's needs and desires and the views and judgments enforced by an unbending social order.

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.

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.

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 his/her 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.

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