In one sense, we can think of the play Arms and the Man by George Bernard Shaw as a sort of dramatic bildungsroman, documenting the growth of the character Raina towards a greater self-knowledge and understanding of the world. Both of the central characters in the play grow as people.

Raina: As we first encounter her, she has naive views about both the nature of war and the nature of love, based to a large degree on her reading (especially of Byron) and the opera. Her encounter with Captain Bluntschli educates her in two ways. First, in conversation, he tells her about the reality of war, giving her a more realistic view of it than she had from her reading. Second, in saving him from the pursuing soldiers, she has the opportunity to use and develop her genuine intelligence and strength of character, something that leads to her replacing the romantic infatuation with Sergius with a more solid relationship.

Captain Bluntschli: If Raina learns about war from Captain Bluntschli, he learns something about love from her. As he is both charmed by her and grateful to her, he falls in love, uncovering the true romantic under his blunt, pragmatic exterior.