Date of Award
5-2026
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
School
Humanities
Committee Chair
Olivia Clare Friedman
Committee Chair School
Humanities
Committee Member 2
Joshua Bernstein
Committee Member 2 School
Humanities
Committee Member 3
Monika Gehlawat
Committee Member 3 School
Humanities
Committee Member 4
Luis Iglesias
Committee Member 4 School
Humanities
Committee Member 5
Ery Shin
Committee Member 5 School
Humanities
Abstract
This dissertation begins with an introduction which covers the historical development of both the ergodic, a form of literature defined by posing formal challenges to its reader, and the picaresque, an episodic form generally using lower class characters as vehicles for satire. Ultimately, despite their dissimilarity, a case is made for their synergy, with the picaresque providing breaks, humor, and personality, to counterbalance the typically cerebral, challenging nature of the ergodic.
Following this introduction is a complete novella, The Osteophage, which endeavors to put this synthesis of ergodic and picaresque into practice, with an unnamed narrator struggling and swindling his way through medieval France. His only regular company in this process is Etienne, a man who seems partly beast, and a stolen signet ring he trusts, somehow, to provide him with a future.
Copyright
Gideon Simons, 2026
Recommended Citation
Simons, Gideon, "The Osteophage" (2026). Dissertations. 2484.
https://aquila.usm.edu/dissertations/2484