Cover of Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Ebook Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship
Ebook · Urban Romantics

Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship

Author
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Series
Epic Story
Language
English
Length
434 pages
ISBN
9781911495314
Published
5 July 2016
Imprint
Urban Romantics
  • bildungsroman
  • coming of age
  • German literature
  • theater
  • personal growth
  • identity
  • vocation
  • Romanticism
  • self-discovery
  • philosophical novel

Description

Wilhelm Meister’s Apprenticeship is a seminal German novel that follows the journey of its titular character as he navigates love, theater, and personal growth in 18th-century society. Disillusioned with his merchant life, Wilhelm joins a troupe of actors, seeking purpose through art and romance. His experiences lead him through complex relationships, moral dilemmas, and encounters with enigmatic figures who shape his understanding of self and duty. Blending realism with philosophical depth, Goethe explores themes of identity, vocation, and the pursuit of fulfillment. Often considered one of the first bildungsroman novels, it profoundly influenced European literature, offering timeless insights into human development and the shaping of character through experience.

Author

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832) stands among the supreme figures of world literature — a poet, playwright, novelist, and thinker whose influence reaches far beyond Germany. With Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship he helped invent the Bildungsroman, the novel of education and self-formation that shaped European fiction from Dickens to Joyce.

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