Both Uses of "essence" in "Oryx and Crake"

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Both Uses

essence
in
Oryx and Crake
(Auto-generated)

But why would he be stupid enough to give up his grey rainy-day allure — the crepuscular essence, the foggy aureole, that had attracted them to him in the first place?†
p. 190.4 *
For the success of the plan, time was of the essence.†
p. 346.8

of the essence = very important

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Highlighting 3 Senses of the Word

Definitions:

(1) (essence)
the defining or most important quality of something

or:

a extract that concentrates important qualities of something such as smell or taste
(2) (meaning too rare to warrant focus)