Rewriting The Bildungsroman Tradition

This paper puts Toni Morrison's three novels—The Bluest Eye, Sula and Love—together as a Bildungsroman trilogy and studies them in the framework of western Bildungsroman tradition. Central events in each book are analyzed, through the use of the "initiation" concept, to create an insightful understanding of the growing up process of African-American women. The unique features of Morrison's Bildungsroman novels are not only pinpointed but also closely examined. Inspired by the metaphorical connotations of the German Bildungsroman, this paper also tracesMorrison's development as a writer in the trilogy.