Rottcodd is a character in Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast novels. He's the curator of The Hall of Bright Carvings - a sculpture gallery in a far distant corner of the castle that virtually no one ever visits - where he leads a simple and contented life. When he isn't working or loafing about, he spends time observing the distant life of the castle - or what he can see of it at least - through a single tiny window.

For better or worse, I relate...