This was a common belief in medieval culture, and individuals were believed to have their own place on the wheel of fate. Boethius believed that the goddess Fortuna controls a wheel of destiny, which affects the fate of each individual, as well as the fate of society, and that this wheel can spin either up or down, bringing either good or bad fortune. Ignatius’s belief that he cannot control his own destiny means that his life feels out of control and he does not learn from mistakes or from the consequences of his actions. However, although Ignatius’s worldview may seem strange, Ignatius feels that he and Boethius are sane while, really, it is modern society which is confused.

Ignatius’s life takes on farcical dimensions when his old-fashioned ideas clash with the modern world, which generally holds that people as responsible for their own actions and views democracy as a favorable system of government. A scholar of medievalism, Ignatius has absorbed his academic work so thoroughly that he allows it to rule his life, and builds his own personal philosophy around Boethius’s ideas-like the idea that fate is determined by a wheel of destiny manned by the goddess Fortuna or his belief in the divine right of kings.

Ignatius feels deeply connected to Boethius: in his lifetime, Boethius was imprisoned by the Ostrogoths, who were widely believed to be a barbarous people compared to the civilized Romans, and Ignatius feels that he, too, is surrounded by barbarians. Reilly’s interest in the medieval philosopher Boethius, who wrote The Consolation of Philosophy. In particular, the novel focuses on Ignatius J. A Confederacy of Dunces draws largely upon medieval culture and philosophy.

A confederacy of dunce's