bildungsroman
1
9.9
- noun
- /ˈbɪldʊŋsroʊˌmɑːn/
- Literature
- The classic bildungsroman often follows a young character on their journey toward self-discovery and maturity.
Examples
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In her latest novel, the author expertly weaves a bildungsroman that captures the struggles of adolescence.
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Many readers find that a good bildungsroman resonates with their own experiences of growing up.
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But for the sake of my story, let me write that the novel was a Bildungsroman.
Fiction book (2001) -
So do almost all the heroes of the bildungsroman.
Academic text (1993) -
Our protagonist goes through her own personal bildungsroman as the society around her does the same.
Blog text (8) -
If this is so, then can we continue to regard Nada as a Bildungsroman?
Academic text (1992) -
The Indian atrocities narrative has become a Bildungsroman.
Academic text (2002) -
Even more relevant to Dickens's bildungsroman is young David's reading matter.
Academic text (2004) -
The story of Bonifacia, as developed in these sections, is a parody of the traditional Bildungsroman.
Academic text (1990) -
Sensei was the first writer I had met; his slightest move became part of my own grand bildungsroman.
Fiction book (2002)
Surface Forms
Etymology
Bildungsroman comes from German parts Bildung meaning 'education' or 'formation' and Roman meaning 'novel'. A helpful way to remember it is to think of a story that 'builds' a young person's character, so a bildungsroman is a novel about growing up and becoming an adult.