The Kunstlerroman
Bildungsroman, German for "education novel", is the term for a work of literature that deals with the psychological and moral growth during the formative years of a character's life. Examples include Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. In other words, it's a "coming of age" novel.
James Joyce's A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is a specific type of Bildungsroman, called a Kunstlerroman--the "artist's novel". The distinction is that while a Bildungsroman typically ends with the protagonist integrating themselves into society having found or created their true self, the Kunstlerroman's protagonist ends on a high note, where the protagonist realizes their vocation as an artist.
I find this clear difference in final message to be interesting. In many classic bildungsromane, such as Emma by Jane Austen, Tom Jones by Henry Fielding and the aforementioned Wilhelm Meister, the story ends with the wedding of the protagonist. I think that the marriage is supposed to mark the end of childhood, the end of growth. It's not called "settling down" for no reason--entering a (hopefully) permanent relationship is a transition from focus on one's self to focus on spouse and children. It's a logical conclusion to a work of literature about growth and self-discovery.
In the Kunstlerroman, the ending is approached quite differently. For example, in A Portrait of the Artist of a Young Man, Stephen Dedalus clearly rejects the constraints of society. As an aspiring artist, his job is to constantly self-discover and express himself. Though Dublin was where he grew up and discovered himself, he leaves the city by himself. Similarly, Emil Sinclair in Demian by Herman Hesse is alone at the end of the novel. His main motif of self-discovery is the embracement of the darker side of the world, an idea that he is introduced to by Max Demian. When Max dies, Emil realizes that Max was the key to his inner demon. Like Stephen, Emil has to say goodbye to the circumstances that led him to his present self and must continue on as an artist.
I don't really have much else to say; I just found this stuff kinda neat. All of the information on the plots is from various synopses online--I didn't actually read any Hesse or Austen.
James Joyce's A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is a specific type of Bildungsroman, called a Kunstlerroman--the "artist's novel". The distinction is that while a Bildungsroman typically ends with the protagonist integrating themselves into society having found or created their true self, the Kunstlerroman's protagonist ends on a high note, where the protagonist realizes their vocation as an artist.
I find this clear difference in final message to be interesting. In many classic bildungsromane, such as Emma by Jane Austen, Tom Jones by Henry Fielding and the aforementioned Wilhelm Meister, the story ends with the wedding of the protagonist. I think that the marriage is supposed to mark the end of childhood, the end of growth. It's not called "settling down" for no reason--entering a (hopefully) permanent relationship is a transition from focus on one's self to focus on spouse and children. It's a logical conclusion to a work of literature about growth and self-discovery.
In the Kunstlerroman, the ending is approached quite differently. For example, in A Portrait of the Artist of a Young Man, Stephen Dedalus clearly rejects the constraints of society. As an aspiring artist, his job is to constantly self-discover and express himself. Though Dublin was where he grew up and discovered himself, he leaves the city by himself. Similarly, Emil Sinclair in Demian by Herman Hesse is alone at the end of the novel. His main motif of self-discovery is the embracement of the darker side of the world, an idea that he is introduced to by Max Demian. When Max dies, Emil realizes that Max was the key to his inner demon. Like Stephen, Emil has to say goodbye to the circumstances that led him to his present self and must continue on as an artist.
I don't really have much else to say; I just found this stuff kinda neat. All of the information on the plots is from various synopses online--I didn't actually read any Hesse or Austen.
It's true that Joyce's novel represents this exclusive subset of the bildungsroman, and indeed there are significant differences in terms of the ending--the idea being that an artist is never fully integrated into the larger society, but always remains to some extent on the outside, observing and analyzing but not fully taking part. But _Portrait_ is *also* a traditional bildungsroman, in that it is thoroughly concerned with the psychological and moral growth of the character--and the particular moral challenges that an artistic vocation will mean for him. Stephen isn't the only protagonist we'll meet this semester who has an artistic inclination, and whose narrative-of-development entails an uneasy relation to the larger culture.
ReplyDeleteI wasn't aware of the term "kunstlerroman"! The ending for an artist that you described seems related to the martyr/satanic idea of stephen. He doesn't see his role as integrating into society and seeks out this isolated conclusion. Instead of a marriage he views himself as something greater, like he must go into exile to express ireland
ReplyDeleteThanks for teaching me a new German word! Is this post made up of quizbowl knowledge?
ReplyDeleteI can see exactly what you mean about Portrait being a kunstlerroman. Stephen does not integrate himself or find his place in society, but rather rejects it to follow his vocation.
It's interesting that there's more than one type of roman. I think that the "kunstle" aspect of the novel is especially important to consider at the very end because Stephen's coming of age ends on a kind of ambiguous note. He's leaving everything he's ever known and going to a strange new country in pursuit of an incredibly difficult profession. But somehow, I find that the ending is optimistic because readers know that Stephen has artistic talent. We might also be influenced by the knowledge that James Joyce becomes an internationally renowned writer!
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