Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship

Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship (in German, Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre) was a 1795 novel by Goethe. While his The Sorrows of Young Werther, his breakthrough success the previous year, featured a hero driven to suicide by despair, the hero of Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship went through quite the opposite journey: he went through a journey of self-realization that led to an actualized adulthood. The story centers upon Wilhelm's attempt to escape the restrictions placed upon his life and find life as a writer and actor. Stories of this kind became very influential, and later books created upon this pattern are called Bildungsromans (stories of growth).

Related Topics:
German - 1795 - Goethe - The Sorrows of Young Werther - Bildungsroman

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Goethe wrote an 1821 sequel, titled Wilhelm Meisters Wanderjahre (Wilhelm Meister's Travels).

Related Topics:
Goethe - Wilhelm Meister's Travels

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