bildungsroman

noun

bil·dungs·ro·man ˈbil-du̇ŋ(k)s-rō-ˌmän

-du̇ŋz-

literature : a novel about the moral and psychological growth of the main character

a bildungsroman by Charles Dickens

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Bildungsroman is the combination of two German nouns: Bildung, meaning "education," and Roman, meaning "novel." (Nouns in German are always capitalized.) Fittingly, a bildungsroman is a novel that deals with the formative years of the main character, and in particular, with the character's psychological development and moral education. The bildungsroman usually ends on a positive note, with the protagonist's foolish mistakes and painful disappointments over, and a life of usefulness ahead. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's late 18th-century work Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship is often cited as the classic example of a bildungsroman. Though the term is primarily applied to novels, in recent years some English speakers have begun to apply it to films that deal with a youthful character's coming-of-age.

Examples of bildungsroman in a Sentence

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Stephen suggests a post about Hesse’s bildungsroman Demian, too. —

Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 25 Oct. 2024 The movie gets a little baggy here and there, and the running time of just under two-and-a-half hours could use some pruning, though the length is obviously in keeping with the bildungsroman on which it’s based. —

David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019 Yet as with most good coming-of-age stories, the hero in Erdogan’s bildungsroman has another character trait: vulnerability. —

Kaya Genc, Foreign Affairs, 12 Aug. 2019 This is, in many ways, a classic bildungsroman swathed in an even more conventional romantic comedy. —

Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 4 Apr. 2024 See all Example Sentences for bildungsroman