My paper will in-depth analyze the process of Pip’s growth from his three different stages of life, that is: country- city- country. And then I will analyze what the bildungsroman is, including the definition, theme, narration, and time span of bildungsroman. Finally, I will discuss the relationship between Pip’s life and capitalism.

3. Bildungrosman

3.1 Definition of Bildungsroman

Bildungsroman is a German word borrowed into English, and as its source indicates, it first flourished in Germany. “Biladungs” in German means “formation” or “ education”, and “roman”, “novel”--- hence “Biladungsroman” meaning “the novel of formation or education”. In German literary history, Wilhelm Meister’s Apprenticeship, since its publication in between 1794 and 1796, has been established as the prototype of the biladungsroman. (Xu Dejin, 2008:2) Since, this new artistic form had been obviously developed by such writers as Charles Dickens and Samuel Butler in the Victorian England, and James Joyce in the modernist period of Britain. The term “bildungsroman”, which was not in common usage until late in the nineteenth century, began to defy any accurate or unified definition. Though it is impossible to give an accurate definition of the term “biladungsroman”, it also kicks out two important characteristics of the bildungsroman--- the autobiographical feature and the special time span involved in the story telling of the central characters. 

In terms of theme, the bildungsroman has the identity- formation as its central motif. In the very process of seeking self-identity, the hero as an inpidual is naturally subjected to the test of conflicting with society. The result is predictable: he is either assimilated into the suffocating society or becomes an exile due to his refusing to swim with the mainstream society. In either case, the central hero eventually finds his proper location in society. In terms of narration, the bildungsroman usually adopts the first person narration to narrate. Yet, it also takes the third person narration. In terms of time span, the bildungsroman usually confines itself to a certain period of time spanning from childhood through adolescence into early manhood. (Xu Dejin, 2008: 8-11)

“The child is father of the man”---indeed, the formative years of a child evolving from innocence into maturity are of vital importance in the formation of character and constitute a long hard pilgrimage every experience before he comes to grip with the great universe. Through this unavoidable passage of growing up, one has to undergo many trials and tribulations.