The Regional Development of the American Bildungsroman, 1900-1960

The American Bildungsroman underwent significant transformations in the twentieth century, influenced by capitalism's uneven development. This book explores how novelists reimagined the genre's soul-nation allegory through the lens of region, highlighting four notable regional variations: naturalist novels in the Midwest, regional artist narratives in the Northeast, novels of underdevelopment in the South, and arrested development in the Southwest. The Bildungsroman became a symbolic form of the U.S.'s cultural preoccupation with regional difference, responding to the asymmetrical effects of modernization and the nation's political ascendance.

Format: Hardback
Length: 272 pages
Publication date: 28 February 2023
Publisher: Edinburgh University Press

The American Bildungsroman, a literary genre that explores the personal growth of young individuals within a national historical context, has undergone significant transformations over the course of the twentieth century. This book delves into the historical shifts of the American Bildungsroman, highlighting how the uneven development of capitalism has compelled novelists to reexamine the genre's central allegory of the "soul-nation." By examining the regional variations of the Bildungsroman, this study explores how the asymmetrical effects of capitalism's uneven growth have shaped the genre's portrayal of national identity and the individual's place within it.

The Midwest, known for its rapid industrialization and urbanization, witnessed the emergence of the naturalist novel, which portrayed the overdevelopment and environmental degradation of the region. Novelists in this area sought to explore the tensions between the industrialization and the preservation of natural resources, often highlighting the conflicts between the rural and urban communities.

In the Northeast, the regional artist narrative gained prominence. These novels focused on the struggles and achievements of artists and intellectuals who sought to establish themselves in the competitive cultural landscape of New York City. The artists in these narratives often faced economic challenges, social marginalization, and personal crises, reflecting the complexities of urban life and the creative process.

The South, characterized by its history of poverty, racial inequality, and economic exploitation, saw the rise of the novel of underdevelopment. These novels explored the lives of individuals who faced systemic barriers to education, employment, and social mobility, often highlighting the devastating effects of poverty and discrimination on their personal and collective identities.

The Southwest, located at the border of the United States and Mexico, experienced a unique form of arrested development. The region was characterized by economic instability, political turmoil, and cultural hybridity, leading to the emergence of the novel of uneven development. These novels explored the complexities of borderland identity, the struggles of immigrants and refugees, and the tensions between different cultural and economic systems.

The Bildungsroman, traditionally defined as the novel of development, and its protagonist, the young individual, became symbolic of the United States' cultural preoccupation with regional difference amidst the nation's rapid but uneven development from c. 1900 to 1960. As a genre that historically represented the personal growth of individuals within a national historical context, the Bildungsroman became a crucial means of configuring the culturally, politically, and economically asymmetrical effects of national modernization and the United States' political ascendance within the capitalist world-system.

In response to this predicament, the novel of uneven development emerged as a prominent genre, led by its protagonist, the unfixed youth, whose development within the national-historical time of Americanization is unsettled by their preoccupation with regional difference. This immobilizing entanglement, which I refer to as American literature's regional complex, has fragmented and ultimately denied the consolations offered by the Bildungsroman.

Through the mapping of these four prominent regional variations, this book seeks to explore the ways in which the American Bildungsroman has responded to the uneven development of capitalism. It highlights the ways in which novelists have challenged the genre's traditional narrative structures, explored new themes and motifs, and reconfigured the relationship between the individual and the national. By examining the regional complexities and contradictions of the Bildungsroman, this book offers a fresh perspective on the genre's historical transformations and its ongoing relevance in shaping American cultural and political discourse.

Weight: 463g
Dimension: 216 x 140 x 16 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781474489966