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Romanticism

Genre Overlap

Bildungsroman

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  • German term for a coming-of-age novel

    • Literally translates to "novel of formation" or "novel of education"​

    • Coined in 1819, but can apply to stories from any era or location

    • Pronounced bill-duhngs-roh-mahn

  • Spans across time from the protagonist's youth to an age of maturity

  • Follows the protagonist as they learn about the world, attempt to answer life's questions, and grow into a more fulfilled or complete version of themself

  • Often include a physical journey, struggle for identity, societal conflict, or loss of innocence

All four novels are bildungsromans, some more loose examples include Lady Bird, The Outsiders, Carrie, and Eurydice

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Romanticism

  • An artistic, literary, and philosophical movement that peaked in 18th and 19th century Europe

  • Emphasizes the majesty of nature, the importance of the individual, and the potency of emotion

  • Doesn't necessarily correlate to romantic love, but they can coexist

  • Influenced the political ideals of the time, especially the American, French, and Haitian revolutions​

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  • Often features a Romantic hero who rejects convention and has been othered by society​

The infamous quote from the Declaration of Independence: "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" — that's romanticism at work

One variant is the Byronic hero (named after English poet Lord Byron) who is moody, sexually free, and haunted by their past

Think Heathcliff, Rochester, and Mr. Darcy, but also Hamlet, Batman, Victor Frankenstein, Jay Gatsby, and Angel from Buffy

Gothicism

  • A subset of Romanticism, focusing similarly on strong emotion and nature, but differing in its dark, cold, and unrestrained aesthetic

  • Often features violence, death, the supernatural, entrapment, and hidden duality

  • Employs a combination of profound fear and awe, known as the sublime

  • Gothic literature written by and about women is defined as the Female Gothic, often focused on domestic life, gender norms, and feminine anxieties such as marriage, childbirth, and a lack of independence

From the Goths who invaded the Roman empire in the third century to teens in their emo phase, the Gothic has always been associated with moral corruption and destruction

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Novel of Manners

  • A genre of literature that replicates a specific society and its customs

  • Often takes place in domestic settings, exploring how societal conventions affect inner life

  • Focuses on upward social mobility through proper etiquette and financial advancement through marriage 

  • Developed at the same time as the Gothic genre, but examines society by duplication rather than external inspection

​Pride and Prejudice is a classic Novel of Manners... the balls, the courting, the marriages, the preoccupation with appearances, the restrained emotions, the repercussions for acting against the norm

Gothicism
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