The bildungsroman narrative is used quite often in novels from the Victorian age.

Before we comment, let's make sure we know what bildungsroman means. It's a German word that roughly translates to "novel of formation" or "novel of education." When we're dealing with a bildungsroman narrative, we typically deal with a young person and follow their struggles and discoveries as they develop.

In Victorian literature, you might want to comment on how the bildungsroman narrative typically leaves the characters with a happy-ever-after ending.

In Charles Dickens's Oliver Twist, Oliver is an orphan who's brought up in an exploitative workhouse. He runs away to London, where he meets adverse people. Yet in the end, he's adopted by the kindly Mr. Barlow and all is well.

Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre has a happy ending too. Think about all Jane had to overcome: she had to survive her bullying cousins, Mr. Brocklehurst, and Mr. Rochester's deception. Yet in the end, she marries Rochester, and they are quite content.

We might also want to comment on how love figures into the bildungsroman. It's not so much a part of Oliver Twist, but it is central to Jane Eyre. It's also crucial to Dickens's David Copperfield and Henry Fielding's Tom Jones.

In Anne Bronte's Agnes Grey, the governess also finds love and happiness in the end.

In Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights, alas, the characters find neither happiness nor love. You might want to talk about Wuthering Heights as the anti-bildungsroman novel. Think about how Cathy and Heathcliff develop. Do they change, or do they remain as tempestuous and frenetic as when they were children? Perhaps that's a discussion for another question, but it's something to think about.