The Bildungsroman in Global Perspective

Chapter 1 of this book, titled “The Bildungsroman in Global Perspective”, demonstrates how tracing particular strands to different origins, strands that are inclusive of various cultures and traditions, creates a unity of fiction that helps negotiate cultures across space and time. As we explore the earlier complexities of the bildungsroman genre and its messy history, we challenge the compartmentalization of branches of knowledge, that is, the bildungsroman genre, into exclusive categories such as “Western literature”. This chapter reads history as continuously in flux and sheds light on the travel of ideas and influence among individuals and the interrelatedness of nations.