Bildungsroman is a novelistic coming of age story that follows the psychological, spiritual, and social growth of a protagonist from his/her childhood to adulthood. The main premise of such a story is to illustrate one's journey towards maturity and then to emphasize the moment of maturity itself. In this sense, Little Women is thus a bildungsroman, particularly as it traces Jo's psychological, spiritual, and social development throughout the novel from a tomboyish girl to a new age woman who embodies both conservative and progressive ideals of womanhood. As Jo's bildungsroman unfolds, she faces battles between herself and society to arrive at a point of definition by the end of the novel. Seen as both a progressive woman through her redefinition of marriage in the choice of marrying Professor Bhaer instead of prince charming Laurie and as an eventual conformist who annihilates her individuality by marrying at all, Jo's bildungsroman emphasizes a hybrid of conservative and progressive womanhood to put forth a more practical view of transcendentalism.
-Jennifer Ngoc-Minh Pham aka JUST JENNY! =)
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