Novels of Education, 19th- and 20th-century, and Lucky Per's place in this spectrum

Trying to get a sense of the personality of the protagonist in Henrik Pontoppidan's Lucky Per and to see how he, and of course this novel, stands within the literary tradition. On one level, this novel is a perfect example of the "bildungsroman," that is, "novel of education," which traces the life of a young man (usually) as he moves from innocence to experience. Among the great works in this tradition up to the publication of Lucky Per are classics such as Tom Jones, Emma, Great Expectations, Candide, Red and Black, Sentimental Education - all great works. Things change in teh 20th century, however; among 20th-c novels in this genre the landmarks would be Portrait of the Artist, In Search of Lost Time, Magic Mountain, Invisible Man. You can see a shift in tone and style in the 20th century; these modern and contemporary "novels of education," unlike the earlier versions, are less heroic regarding the narrator (he or she is more deeply flawed and the conclusion is generally more ambiguous or upsetting than in the earlier versions), the novels are placed against a historical background (often wartime), and the style is more aggressively experimental and inventive rather than straightforward omniscient or first-person narration. Later in the 20th century, the mode of of the bildungsroman becomes even more ironic or comic, as in, say, Portnoy's Complaint, Augie March, the Rabbit quartet, to cite just a few American-male narratives - fill in the blanks w/ your own favorite novels of education. Note that Pontoppidan's Lucky Per, which began serialized publication in 1898 and reached its conclusion in 1904, straddles the 2 centuries - and I think it does so in style as well as in date of publication: Per is an "ironic" hero, much more uncertain of himself and troubled than some of his predecessors - and much will depend on how this novel (I've read about 2/3 of the book) will conclude, with Per's grand project to build a network of canals and his tempestuous love affair/marriage that crosses boundaries of class and religion, will evolve.