Bildungsroman and Coming-of-Age: Understanding Development Fiction Through Sociology

Abstract ‘Bildungsroman’ and ‘coming-of-age’ are distinct terms used for literary genres that are largely similar, but that, in many ways, have been defined differently throughout time. Currently, both what they have in common and what they do not share can create confusion when studying genres or preparing an academic paper. This article aims to synthesise various points of view on the two. It proposes the use of sociology to better understand the developmental period in texts pertaining to one or the other genre.