Adjacent Words

bildungsroman definitions

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Merriam Webster's

noun Etymology: German, from Bildung education + Roman novel Date: 1910 a novel about the moral and psychological growth of the main character

Britannica Concise

(German: "novel of character development") Class of novel in German literature that deals with the formative years of the main character, whose moral and psychological development is depicted. It ends on a positive note, with the hero's foolish mistakes and painful disappointments behind him and a life of usefulness ahead. It grew out of folklore tales in which a dunce goes out into the world seeking adventure. The first novelistic development of the theme, J. W. von Goethe's Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship (1795-96), remains a classic example.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. a novel dealing with one person's early life and development. Etymology: G