Research on Epiphany #1-- Joyce, Epiphany, and Epicleti

One of our first tasks on the blog is to research and explore the word "epiphany". Instantly I thought of a great source to begin my thoughts. While in Wisconsin to present a paper at NCUR (National Conference of Undergraduate Research) I went into a second-hand bookstore and bought "The Viking Critical Library" edition of James Joyce's Dubliners. The copy, which once belonged to Raymond A. Nelson, is full of great insight into Joyce. At the time, one of the shorter pieces really caught my attention-- a short essay titled "Epiphanies and Epicleti" presumably by the editors Robert Scholes and A. Walton Litz. Considering that "Dubliners" is one of our texts this source seems like a great starting point.

The article begins by discussing the term epiphany by saying "literally, the word 'epiphany' refers to a showing forth, a revelation. In Greek drama it can refer to the climactic moment when a god appears and imposes on the scene before him. In the Christian religious tradition the Feast of the Epiphany celebrates the revelation of Christ's divinity to the Magi. Joyce... employed the term 'epiphany' to refer to moments in which things or people in the world revealed their true character or their essence. According to the article "Joyce himself actually did collect a 'book of epiphanies'". The articles mainly uses Joyce's A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and the novel's inspiration Stephen Hero to illuminate Joyce's working understanding of epiphanies. This essay contends that Joyce's epiphanies can be grouped into two distinct styles-- "'memorable phases' of the young artist's own mind, or instances of 'vulgarity of speech or of gesture' in the world around him". The way that I consider these groupings (and I may be misguided) is the "memorable phases" refer to those aha moments where an internal revelation takes place about the world around you. I think of the "vulgarity of speech or of gesture" in Freudian terms; we tend to make moves in speech and gesture that stem from our unconscious and actually reveal our true, unmediated self-- a moment of epiphany for Joyce.

When reading Dubliners "critics have applied the notion of epiphany to that moment... when some sort of revelation takes place." It is furthered to mean "a moment of revelation or insight such as usually climaxes a Dubliners story. Some characters merely reveal themselves or give themselves away; others achieve insight into their situations". There is some specific mention of epiphanic moments in both "Araby" and "The Dead" but, to borrow a metaphor from Studies in a Major Author, I don't want to let too many cats out of the bag... yet. Telling you what moments are considered epiphanies would ruin the nature of epiphany itself!

Interestingly enough, Joyce never used the word "epiphany" when discussing Dubliners but he did use another related word-- "epicleti". In a letter to Constantine Curran in August of 1904 Joyce wrote "I am writing a series of epicleti-- ten-- for a paper... I call the series Dubliners to betray the soul of that hemiplegia or paralysis which many consider a city." We notice that epiphany and epicleti have the same "epi" prefix which means "on, upon, above"; other than that notable quick etymological discovery what is this word "epicleti" and what does it have to do with epiphany?

"Epicleti" refers to epiclesis. Epiclesis refers to the invocation of the Holy Ghost to performing transubstantiation-- the act of transforming the wafer and wine to the body and blood of Christ. Joyce defends his statement of the choice of the term epicleti by saying "there is a certain resemblance between the mystery of the mass and what I am trying to do... to give people a kind of intellectual pleasure or spiritual enjoyment by converting the bread of everyday life into something that has permanent artistic life of its own... for their mental, moral, and spiritual uplift." I understand the relationship between "epiphany" and "epicleti" as epicleti being the catalyst that leads to the epiphanic moment.

Epicleti has another meaning that may have had possible influence on Joyce's working understanding of the term he employed. "An epiklesis can also refer to a reproach or an imputation. And epikletos can mean 'summoned before a court,' or 'accused'. Thus the epicleti may be considered the accused, summoned up by Joyce to stand trial as specimens of Irish paralysis". According to the essay, these two different functions of epicleti are much like the "priestly powers of transubstantiation and judgment of the sinful". As a reader of Kafka (link to my next blog about Kafka and the struggle for epiphany) , I find this legal-minded definition of epikletos very interesting. It seems that Joyce is using example to teach us to arraign "the common", summon it into a court or place of judgment, rethink our typical valuation, and seek to have an epiphaninc revealing of the depths of "the common". I hope this is helping... perhaps it is a little dense... I kind of feel that I don't even quite get how I'm trying to understand this concept, but I feel that I'm on my way!

Looking more closely back to Joyce's statement of what he was trying "to do" I love the mention of "converting the bread of everyday life". I think that this is something that this class should strive to do. We should seek to convert the bread of everyday life into something revelatory of the fantastic!

With this framework in mind I hope you have happy reading of Dubliners and the other stories. Keep an eye out for epiphanies and I'm sure you will find that this assistance in understanding Joyce's epiphanies will reveal itself to you!