Bildung, Biology and the Narrative Structure of Development

Abstract

The first chapter elaborates on the Introduction’s claim that the coming-of-age plot and the scientific model of recapitulation share basic structural features, drawing on the history and philosophy of Bildung in its artistic, scientific, and political forms, as well as on narrative models developed by Mikhail Bakhtin, Peter Brooks and Judith Roof. In addition, the chapter explains the mechanics of recapitulation theory and the models that replaced it between 1890 and 1940, notably those of Mendelian genetics and experimental embryology. It finally outlines how various scientific concepts relate to one another, and how they pertain to the literary works considered in subsequent chapters.