Bildungsroman- Themes

Coming of Age and Apprenticeship
Goethe’s Bildungsroman appropriately uses the
word ‘‘apprenticeship’’ in its title because one distinguishing factor of the genre is the learning
process that brings the protagonist from childhood
into adulthood. As a coming-of-age novel,
the Bildungsroman focuses on the main character’s
apprenticeship. These experiences place the
character near older practitioners whose roles as
models the character either emulates or rejects.
Education
The Bildungsroman is a novel of formation or
development. These terms imply that the Bildungsroman
is also a novel about education,
yet not necessarily in the narrow sense of the
Erziehungsroman (novel of educational development).
Life is an education, and the process
of growing up as chronicled in the Bildungsroman
is a series of experiences that teach lessons.
The protagonist’s education may be academic; it
may also be in other areas, such as learning
social graces, conducting business affairs, and
gaining integrity in relationships.
Identity and the Self
The protagonist of the Bildungsroman has a
unique talent. Part of the maturation process
requires discovering this talent and figuring out
how to use it. The journey and experiences of the
hero are intended to provide an opportunity to
examine the inner self and clarify important
goals and how to pursue them. As part of the
self-discovery, the hero gets a new perspective on
his/her relationships with other people. In other
words, facing the complexities of the adult world
causes the protagonist to learn about others and
about himself. Thus, the Bildungsroman is a
psychological novel in which the main character
evolves toward mature self-awareness.
Journey
In Bildungsromans the hero leaves home on a
journey or quest. Usually, the protagonist leaves
a rural setting to travel into the wider world of
the city. In this way, the character encounters a
larger society that tests his or her mettle. The
physical journey initiates change, and change
brings growth.
Love
Finding the right love is a component of the
quest as it is enacted in the Bildungsroman.
The movement into adulthood begins with separation
and often resolves in maturity with adult
connection. In some cases the character must
negotiate among potential partners in order to
discover the appropriate one. The formalization
of that relationship may constitute the final
event in the novel.
Search for the Meaning of Life
In the Bildungsroman, the novel of development,
the hero develops through experiences
that assist in clarifying the character’s mature
values. Growing up involves the search for universal
truths. For Victorians, the universal
truths concerned achieving middle-class values,
marrying, and settling down as a responsible
citizen. But to writers like Joyce, these truths
concerned the artist’s alienation and the necessary
rejection of middle-class values.