What is a Bildungsroman?

The term Bildungsroman is used to describe a genre of fiction which describes the protagonist's formative years, the process of growing up and/or their spiritual development. These novels often focus on the psychological and moral views of the protagonist.

The term is a compound form of the German nouns Bildung = education and Roman = novel.

There are many notable examples of Bildungsroman, such as Hermann Hesse's Siddhartha.

It is importance to understand the term because lots of these novels appear on A level specifications, such as Jane Eyre, To Kill a Mockingbird and The Catcher in the Rye.