The German Bildungsroman: Incest and Inheritance

Hardback

Main Details

Title The German Bildungsroman: Incest and Inheritance
Authors and Contributors      By (author) Michael Minden
SeriesCambridge Studies in German
Physical Properties
Format:Hardback
Pages:304
Dimensions(mm): Height 216,Width 140
Category/GenreLiterary studies - general
Literary studies - fiction, novelists and prose writers
ISBN/Barcode 9780521495738
ClassificationsDewey:833.0099354
Audience
Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly

Publishing Details

Publisher Cambridge University Press
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publication Date 17 April 1997
Publication Country United Kingdom

Description

The Bildungsroman - the story of the development or formation of a young man - is the most famous German contribution to the European novel. Most studies of the Bildungsroman have concentrated on its underlying philosophy; Michael Minden addresses it as literature. He offers detailed readings of some of the best-known novels in the German language, from Goethe to Mann, including Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre, Agathon, Anton Reiser, Hyperion, Heinrich von Ofterdingen, Der grune Heinrich, Der Nachsommer, and Der Zauberberg. Looking at the novels from the points of view of gender, subjectivity, and the ideology of the aesthetic, and taking account of late twentieth-century literary theory, Minden uncovers aspects and motifs which subvert traditional ideas of the Bildungsroman and raise questions about the function and status of literature.

Reviews

"Minden's challenges of received scholarly perceptions will interest graduate students and specialists studying the various authors and periods." M. McCulloh, Choice