BILDUNGSROMAN

(German: novel of formative education), class of novel in German literature that deals with the formative years of an individual. The folklore tale of the dunce who goes out into the world seeking adventure and learns wisdom the hard way was raised to literary heights in Wolfram von Eschenbach's medieval epic Parzival and in Hans Grimmelshausen's picaresque tale Simplicissimus (1669). The first novelistic development of this theme was J.W. von Goethe's Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre (179596; Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship), and it remains the classic example of the type. Other examples are Adalbert Stifter's Nachsommer (1857; Indian Summer) and Gottfried Keller's Grne Heinrich (185455; Green Henry). The Bildungsroman ends on a positive note, though it may be tempered by resignation and nostalgia. If the grandiose dreams of the hero's youth are over, so are many foolish mistakes and painful disappointments, and a life of usefulness lies ahead. A common variation of the Bildungsroman is the Knstlerroman (q.v.), a novel that deals with the formative years of an artist. Other variations are the Erziehungsroman (novel of upbringing) and the Entwicklungsroman (novel of character development), although the differences between these terms and the Bildungsroman are so slight that they are sometimes used interchangeably.