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The Victorian Bildungsroman

In its most traditional form, the Bildungsroman has been defined as a novel concerning the “all-round development or
self-culture” of the protagonist, where the protagonist displays a “more or less conscious attempt . . . to integrate his powers, to
cultivate himself by his experience.” A more extended definition can be found in the following description of Goethe’s Wilhelm
Meister’s Apprenticeship (1795-6), often considered a prototype of the bildungsroman. “Wilhelm provides the model of the innocent,
inexperienced, well-meaning, but often foolish and erring young man who sets out in life with either no aim in mind or the wrong
one. By a series of false starts and mistakes and with the help from well-disposed friends he makes in the course of his experiences, he
finally reaches maturity and finds his proper profession.” The Victorians were heavily influenced by Goethe’s work and adapted his
model to their own purposes; the resultant Victorian bildungsroman took on many forms, with some common traits:

1. the growing child in these novels is often orphaned or fatherless -- if not literally, than metaphorically
2. the absence or loss of the parent symbolizes or parallels a loss of faith in the values of the protagonist’s home and family and
leads to the search for an alternate parent or way or life
3. the journey from the home is often a journey away from provinciality
4. money or financial independence are important factors
5. many protagonists are tested not only by their new surroundings, or by money, but also by love -- many times a pure love is
contrasted to a destructive/unhealthy one
6. the central obstacle in many such novels is contained within the protagonist himself
7. most protagonists experience some sort of epiphany, where a moment of clarity helps them break through their delusions and
changes them, either spiritually or in terms of their conduct, or both
8. the ending is often ambiguous, ambivalent, or lacks decisive closure
9. many Victorian bildungsroman were considered at least partly autobiographical

Of course, some Bildungsroman follow this paradigm more closely than others; it is not an exact blueprint. A good shorthand
definition to remember is the following: The bildungsroman is a “novel of formation” or “education” that charts the development of
the protagonist’s mind and character in the passage from childhood through various experiences (usually involving a spiritual crisis)
into maturity and the recognition of his/her role in the world.

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