VOL. 63, BOOK 1, PART C, 2025, pp. 163 – 173 Full text (En)
Author: Maria Dimitrova
Affiliation: St. Kliment Ohridski University of Sofia
Abstract
The Bildungsroman is arguably the quintessential Victorian novel form, both embodying and moulding central aspects of the Victorian worldview. No less important than this form, however, are the forms that counter and challenge its conventions and ideologies, such as the female Bildungsroman and the Anti-Bildungsroman. This paper discusses the ways in which Whom to Marry and How to Get Married: Or, The Adventures of a Lady in Search of a Good Husband (1848), by Henry and Augustus Mayhew, subverts the conventions both of the Victorian Bildungsroman in general and of the female Victorian Bildungsroman in particular, and functions as a didactic Anti-Bildungsroman.
Key words: Henry and Augustus Mayhew, Victorian Bildungsroman, female Bildungsroman, Anti-Bildungsroman
