This thesis examines the patterns of the contemporary female Bildungsroman in terms of the female and male patterns of the protagonist using two contemporary Bildungsromans; Judith Schalansky’s Der Hals der Giraffe and Linda Solanki’s Dem See entlang Richtung verlorene Jugend. The contemporary protagonists are put into comparison to the traditional ones of the 18th and 19th century, when the Bildungsroman emerged as a genre. The traditional protagonists were bound to different experiences depending on their gender, and this thesis examines how the contemporary protagonists have evolved, and if the female protagonists are showing tendencies towards traditional female or male patterns.

This thesis examines the patterns of the contemporary female Bildungsroman in terms of the female and male patterns of the protagonist using two contemporary Bildungsromans; Judith Schalansky’s Der Hals der Giraffe and Linda Solanki’s Dem See entlang Richtung verlorene Jugend. The contemporary protagonists are put into comparison to the traditional ones of the 18th and 19th century, when the Bildungsroman emerged as a genre. The traditional protagonists were bound to different experiences depending on their gender, and this thesis examines how the contemporary protagonists have evolved, and if the female protagonists are showing tendencies towards traditional female or male patterns.