Classics Retold

Pantomime, often called panto in UK is a theatrical performance based on fairy tale, featuring music, comedy, and audience participation.  It also refers to the art of acting through physical gestures and body movements without words. It is a form of family theatre, especially during Christmas season based on familiar tales like Cinderella, Aladdin or Jack and the Beanstalk.  The audience is expected to cheer the hero, boo the villian, and shout out comments.  The leading male is often played by a woman, while an older comedian figure (the dame ) is played by a man. It is a kind of dumb show. The word is often used to describe any confusing, ridiculous or exaggerated situation.  In Chapter 41 of Far From The Madding Crowd, Bathsheba Everdene sees Boldwood meeting Gabriel at long distance, and Joseph Poorgrass joining them. Nothing could be heard by Bathsheba of the conversation among them, it was a pantomime.  Moreover Bathsheba is disturbed by her married life ...

Diana is the Roman Goddess of hunt, moon, nature and childbirth, revered as a patroness of wildlife, hunters and the countryside. Equated with the Greek goddess Artemis, she is the daughter of Jupiter and Latona and twin sister to Apollo.  Diana is depicted as a swift huntress often with a bow, quiver and deer. She protected forests and wild life often portrayed as a fierce independent figure.  She was associated with night and merged with moon goddesses Luna and Hecate, sometimes described as triple deity. She was invoked to aid with child birth and was considered a guardian of women, young maidens and slaves. Diana was a virgin goddess, symbolizing female empowerment and self reliance.  She was originally an indigenous Italian goddess with her own distinct woodland cults, but later absorbed much of the Greek myths of Artemis. Bathsheba Everdene instinctively adore Diana because the goddess perfectly embodies Bathsheba's fierce desire for independence, self sufficiency a...

It is an idiom that means to aggressively or unkindly remind someone of a past error, failure, or fault often during an argument. It is used to provoke guilt, shame, or to diminish someone, usually to make them feel inferior or to win an argument.  It is used to provoke guilt, shame, or to diminish someone, usually to make them feel inferior, or to win an argument by bringing up unrelated past behaviours.  A variation of it is "throw it in my face" or "throw it back in my face."  It is often considered toxic or immature behaviour, designed to turn a conversation into "win/loss situation rather than a constructive discussion. "Rub  it in" is a relative idiom talking about a mistake. In Chapter 41 of  Far From The Madding Crowd Bathsheba was reminds her husband Troy of his promises before their marriage. She says that now he is using her errors or failures to get an edge over her.

The idiom one's heart is in his throat means experiencing extreme nervousness, fear, or anxiety, often causing physical sensation of light-heartedness or pounding heart.  It describes a moment of high tension, such as waiting for bad news, watching a horror movie or anticipating a scary event. Often used to describe a sudden rush of fear such as being heart in mouth while witnessing something dangerous.  In Chapter 41 of Far From The Madding Crowd, Thomas Hardy use this idiom with slight variation. While leaving for Union House to meet Fanny Robin, Troy inadvertently opened the case at the back of his watch, and the small coil of hair stowed in it fell in the eyes of Bathsheba. Then followed heated exchange between the husband and wife. "Troy had driven her to extreme bitterness: her heart was big in her throat," are the words used by the novelist, to present the mental turbulence of Bathsheba. 

Lucus a non lucendo is a Latin phrase describing an absurd or iconic etymology where a thing is named for the opposite of its nature.  Lucus is a Latin term primarily meaning a sacred grove, woodland sanctuary or a consecrated clearing within a forest. Unlike natural forest a lucus was cultivated and considered a site where Romans held ceremonies, made vows, and left offerings to deities.  In ancient Roman religion, it was a wooded area dedicated to a particular deity  Lucus non lucendo is a Latin phrase refering to an illogical, paradoxical derivation where a word is named after what it lacks.  The paradox is that light does not enter a Lucus ( a grove). A grove is a grove because sunlight does not enter it.  Today lucus non lucendo refers to an explanation that derives something from its opposite. Calling something "black white" is a lucus non lucendo. A noisy place when called "Silent Valley" is lucus a non lucendo. The Chapter 41 of Far From The Madding Crow...

Sergeant Troy uses the phrase "such strait waist-coating as you treat me to is not becoming in you at an early date."  Here strait waist-coating is a metaphor for being confined, restricted, or controlled. He is complaining about Bathsheba's attempt to control his movements, question his expenditure, or prying into his past, implying she is acting more like a strict keeper than a wife. This conversation takes place after they were married when Troy asks for twenty pounds, without explaining why, and Bathsheba's jealousy and suspicion are growing. Strait-waistcoat is a garment designed to retain a person's movement by binding their arms tightly against their body.  Made from durable canvas or leather it features long sleeves that are crossed over the chest and secured behind the wearer's back. The term originated in the mid 18th century was first described in 1772 textbook by David Macbride. Historically they were used extensively in asylums. David Macbride was...