The Only Use of
epiphany
in
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
- What put the "whole population of Paris in commotion," as Jehan de Troyes expresses it, on the sixth of January, was the double solemnity, united from time immemorial, of the Epiphany and the Feast of Fools.†
Chpt 1.1.1epiphany = sudden realization
Definitions:
-
(1)
(epiphany) a sudden realization -- especially one of importanceJames Joyce coined common use of the term from Christianity where it refers to the moment it was realized that Jesus was divine. When capitalized, "Epiphany" references that day twelve days after Christmas -- January 6th.
The term was widely used by James Joyce in his critical writings, and the stories in Joyce's Dubliners are commonly called "epiphanies." -
(2)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) meaning too rare to warrant focus:
Less commonly, as a proper noun Epiphany commemorates on January 6 how a star led the three wise men to baby Jesus twelve days after his birth.