Adolescent novel

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The term adolescence novel describes a type of novel in which adolescence is thematized as the crisis of the protagonist . As a rule, the young person experiences a personal maturation during this crisis and, in the meantime, receives a greater insight into the complexity and ambivalence of adult life. The adolescence phase, i.e. the age from around eleven to mid or late twenties, is “understood as a process of a precarious search for identity and meaning and is structured internally in a series of formative experiences of crises or initiation experiences that relate to a few, precisely defined problem areas. These problem areas mainly include the separation from the family of origin, the development of one's own value system, the first sexual experiences with heterosexual or same-sex partners, the establishment of independent social contacts in the peer group and the assumption of a new social role. It is characteristic of the adolescence novel that the process of finding one's identity usually does not find a positive and final solution, but is portrayed as a tragically failing - but at least as an unfinished and open - process. "

Deviating from the concept of initiation , which particularly describes the ritual admission of adolescents into the adult world, the ritual or a solemn admission into the circle of adults rarely play a central role in the adolescent novel. Rather, it is often a difficult transition to adulthood or a farewell to childhood that is experienced with great uncertainty.

The terms development novel and initiation novel are closely related, the latter being characterized by the fact that the puberty phase is particularly in focus and thus the structure of the novel comprises a significantly shorter developmental phase. If the stage of life shown is mainly limited to adolescence, the term adolescence novel is common.

Origin of the name

The origins of the adolescent novel in literary history lie in the 18th century: with Johann Wolfgang Goethe's The Sorrows of Young Werther (1774) and Karl Philipp Moritz ' Anton Reiser (1785–1790).

The adolescence novel emerges in the context of postmodernism and often has corresponding characteristics. The term adolescence novel has been used "since the end of the 1970s in the youth literary discussion with increasing naturalness and frequency"

Examples

Typical examples of the adolescent novel are:

Goethe: The Sorrows of Young Werther Title Page 1774

literature

  • Nicole Kalteis: Modern and Postmodern Adolescent Novel. Searching for traces of the history of literature and locating a genre . Ed .: Master's thesis, University of Vienna. Vienna 2008.
  • Vito Paoletić: The adolescent novel today: a challenge for young and old . Ed .: Alpen-Adria-Universität. Klagenfurt 2017, p. 93-108 .
  • Bill Trusiewicz: Harry Potter and the Path of Initiation. 2015, accessed November 30, 2018 .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Heinrich Kaulen: Youth and adolescence novels between modern and postmodern. 1999, p. 7 , accessed October 4, 2019 .
  2. ^ Heinrich Kaulen: Youth and adolescence novels between modern and postmodern. 1999, accessed November 30, 2018 .
  3. ^ Nicole Kalteis: Modern and Postmodern Adolescence Novel. Searching for traces of the history of literature and locating a genre. Master's thesis, University of Vienna, 2008, accessed on May 13, 2019 .