Bildungsroman and Künstlerroman
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Bildungsroman: German for “novel of formation”
Künstlerroman: German for “artist-novel”
The bildungsroman can be thought of as a theme throughout an entire novel, in which we, as readers, watch the maturation process of the protagonist. The bildungsroman is often said to end on a high note, though it’s previous content “may be tempered by resignation and nostalgia” (Encyclopaedia Britannica). It is a novel that follows the character as he or she leaves adolescence, often prompted by crisis, and enters adulthood, as seen both in mind and action; the bildungstoman can often be represented as an autobiography. The character is often seen to find his or her self, and the place with which they belong in the world.
A related variation of the bildungsroman is that of the theme of künstlerroman; which is, too, thought of as a novel following the formative years of the character’s development. The distinction here is that the künstlerroman is more closely following the unravelling of the protagonist as an artist; we are following this character as he or she grows and finds mastery within a craft. Unlike the bildungsroman, which often ends on a high note, the ending of the künstlerroman usually follows on a “note of arrogant rejection of the common place life” (Encyclopaedia Britannica).
One of the most relatable ideas of the bildungsroman (künstlerroman) is seen in our current reading of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s The Sorrows of Young Werther, as we follow the precious and emotional self-awareness of Werther as he searches for his place in this world. We can see the contemplation of this maturation here, as Werther reflects that “no one is willing to believe that adults too, like children, wander about this earth in a daze and, like children, do not know where they come from or where they are going” (Goethe, Letter: May 22nd). As the novel progresses, we see Werther develop a hostility towards this life, a theme found in künstlerroman, as reflected in his letter on May 17th, “The human race is a monotonous affair, most people spend the greatest part of their time working in order to live, and what little freedom remains so fills them with fear that they seek out any and every means to be rid of it” (Goethe). We soon begin to see Werther playing with the ideas of suicide and suffering, relating that life’s “suffering may be moral or physical; and in my opinion it is just as absurd to call a man a coward who destroys himself, as to call a man a coward who dies of a malignant fever” (G., Letter: August 12th).
(Aimee Bonnain)
Works Cited:
Goethe, Johann Wolfgang Von. The Sorrows of Young Werther. Ed. Burton Pike. New York: Random House, 2004. Print.
Abrams, M. H. "Bildungsroman and Erziehungsroman." A Glossary of Literary Terms. 7th ed. Fort Worth: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich College, 1993. Pg 194-194. Print.
“Künstlerroman”. Encyclopaedia Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica Online. Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc. Web. 23 Sep. 2015. http://www.britannica.com/art/Kunstlerroman
“Bildungsroman”. Encyclopaedia Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica Online. Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc. Web. 23 Sep. 2015.http://www.britannica.com/art/bildungsroman
Lee, Joseph Sangun. "Künstlerroman." A Journey to Maturity. Web. 24 Sept. 2015. <https://journey2maturity.wordpress.com/>.
College, Monmouth. "Literary Terms for English 200 Term: Bildungsroman." Web. 24 Sept. 2015. <http://department.monm.edu/english/rhale/PastClasses/Eng200-S11/Assignments/LitRefGd/LitRefGdSampleBildungsroman.pdf>.
For additional reading on künstlerroman, see the künstlerroman essay found here:
http://www.enotes.com/topics/kunstlerroman#critical-essays-kunstlerroman-introduction
For additional reading on bildungsroman, see:
