Epiphany in Dubliners

Introduction: James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (1882-1941), Irish novelist and poet, whose psychological perceptions and innovative literary techniques make him one of the most influential writers of the 20th century. Joyce was born in Dublin on February 2, 1882, the son of a poverty-stricken civil servant. He was educated at Jesuit schools, including University College, Dublin. Though being raised in the Roman Catholic faith, he broke with the church while he was in college. In 1904 he left Dublin …

…is brought to such an intense relationship to the figure that it becomes visible in a flash of awareness. Figure and ground become one in an all-inclusive static moment of ecstasy and gestalt revelation. Joyce understood that his epiphanies, in order to become what they were supposed to be (gestalt revelations), had to give up their disembodied existence to become parts of an organic narrative, where all the elements have a precise function. -The End-