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A German term meaning “novel of formation” or “coming-of-age novel.” A Bildungsroman traces the psychological, moral, and social development of a protagonist from youth to maturity. Canonical examples include David Copperfield by Charles Dickens, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë, and The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. The form remains one of the most popular in contemporary fiction.
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