On the other hand, he confides his literary knowledge to fully understanding those experiences. One cannot be totally certain whether the hero in Waverley is the tool to explore a historical process or the object of an evolution towards maturity. The historical process, rather than character psychology is the main concern of the novel. All decisions Waverley undertakes arise out of either external influences such as his acquaintances and his readings or the historical process itself. The approach to Waverley's personality is far too superficial to include the novel in 'Bildungsroman' genre.
Literary education is presented as vital in the first chapters.
However, the fact that it spends so many pages on narrating Waverley's childhood experiences through reading romances and enjoying himself at Waverley-Honour, merely reflects how the childhood idea of living in another timeless world can indeed expand in the adult mind. Waverley's evolution is like everybody else's. In this sense, it is a normal part of evolution to marry a girl like Rose for pragmatic reasons. On the other hand, Waverley learns to take decisions and make moral judgements. The only problem is that Waverley does so when he is not really asked to, such as the passage where he saves Talbot from the Jacobite troops.