Garak asserts to Bashir that the Repetitive Epic is the finest form of Cardassian literature. I was wondering, is there any real-life literature that could be considered a “repetitive epic” in the same vein as “The Neverending Sacrifice?”
Garak asserts to Bashir that the Repetitive Epic is the finest form of Cardassian literature. I was wondering, is there any real-life literature that could be considered a “repetitive epic” in the same vein as “The Neverending Sacrifice?”
I love this question. My first thought was not a book, but Béla Tarr’s The Turin Horse which depicts the repetitive life of a Hungarian farmer and his daughter. Each day is essentially the same, with similar but ever-changing frustrations, and no hope for change in sight. The audience really feels their frustrations, but the characters also appear to have fully accepted the situation. The title is a reference to the horse-whipping that allegedly drove Nietzsche insane.
Not quite an “epic” in the usual sense, but absolutely repetitive and a surrender to economic powers beyond one’s control.