Nature Of Bildungsroman

The definition of the bildungsroman has, is, and will continue to be debated simply by the nature of “education” or “formation,” in a broader sense development, as a requisite to the genre. What is development? Development can be characterized by a plethora of metrics, which by their own nature can be hotly contested and debated. Three things must characterize the bildungsroman: an adolescent protagonist, a journey, and a conclusion by the protagonist at journey’s end which is counter to that of their society’s prevailing cultural norms. This characterization of the bildungsroman does not necessarily denote development; in fact, comportment with social norms would indicate that society has “developed” another productive member. The protagonist …show more content…
By this definition the bildungsroman must develop the reader in a setting that mimics reality and is authentic to its contemporary and modern setting. In essence, this definition requires the reader to delineate development based on the movement of their own compass, be it moral, spiritual, political, ethical, etc. The issue with this definition is that it is “European,” that is to say Western; an individual from a more communal based society, much of Asia for example, could interpret Stephen Dedalus as a pariah rather than a champion of self-realization. The purpose of bildung, development, is in the eye of the beholder by Morgenstern’s definition: is it social or …show more content…
Stephen Dedalus is an infant at the beginning of his journey, which carries him through college. Huck Finn is a young teenager in the custody of Miss Watson, and later Jim, whereas the narrator of the Invisible Man begins his journey as a high-school graduate headed for college. A novel that has been crudely classified as a bildungsroman that would fail this metric, for example, is Robinson Crusoe. Crusoe’s age is much less discernible and appears to a young adult, someone who has been largely educated prior to his misadventures that lead to a predicament of social uncertainty. It is his previous development and knowledge of social expectations that led to his isolation, and dictates his providential lifestyle during his isolation, which ultimately concurs with English Protestantism. In contrast, the adolescent protagonists of the three novels examined develop an opposition to society through the process of journey – it is not simply a wayward notion, which initiates their journey, but the act of growing