The Story Archive

Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship

Goethe · 1795 CE · Novel · German · Romantic

A merchant's son walks out of the counting house after a travelling theatre company, meaning to found a national stage and make somebody of himself by playing Hamlet. He acquires a troupe, an old harper, a silent child acrobat called Mignon and a great deal of debt, then learns that a society of noblemen has been watching him from the start. Schlegel called it one of the three tendencies of the age.

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Lineage

Attributes

Genre
Coming-of-AgePsychological
Theme
Coming of AgeArt & CreationIdentity & SelfIndividual vs Society
Archetype (Jung / Campbell)
EverymanMentorInnocent
Plot structure
BildungsromanEpisodic
Symbol / motif
The StageThe JourneyThe Letter
Conflict
vs Selfvs Society
Mode / tone
RealistIronicRomantic
Culture / tradition
German

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