ABSTRACT
Any attempt to study the relationship of a work of literature to a given genre necessitates an investigation into the history of, and expectations borne by, that tradition. In other words, in order to locate a text (or set of texts) in relation to an extended discourse, an appreciation of the paradigms of that discourse is essential: it can allow us to develop a reading that identifies a tenable relationship between text and tradition, although we must also be wary of resorting to crude extractions of meaning or grasping at tenuous connections. The problem is that every genre inevitably proves to be beset by uncertainties and contradictions, and the Bildungsroman is no exception; indeed, it might be said especially to frustrate any attempt at a working definition. Dictionary entries, which usually encapsulate the genre as the chronicle of a young man’s development and striving towards maturity, fail to acknowledge the controversy that surrounds the tradition, and are therefore incomplete. Thus, while many critics use the term without reference to its complex history, to bypass this controversy, and launch into a reading of Margaret Atwood’s novels as female Bildungsromane, would be to isolate the term from its heritage. It would also be to miss precisely the complexity of the genre on which Margaret Atwood builds. This book will show how Atwood is a writer interested in the complexities and contradictions of the genre, not one who unthinkingly takes on the straightforward dictionary definitions just mentioned. It is exactly because the term is so loaded with meanings from the past that its application needs to be made with some acknowledgement of those templates. While this may not guarantee a solution to the problems posed by the Bildungsroman, it at least establishes a point of reference in contextualizing and analyzing more recent developments in the tradition and, furthermore, illuminates Atwood’s contribution to the reconceptualization of the genre.
