Lucus a non lucendo

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 Crowd shows sergeant Troy in a state of emotional contradiction. Externally he resumes his, careless, theatrical, and even reckless habits; inwardly he is haunted by guilt and grief.

The non lucendo principles here means acting in a way that expresses the opposite of one's real condition - much like the absurd etymology where lucus (grove) is explained by not shining.

Troy's conduct fits this principle because:

• He behaves with outward indifference when he is deeply affected.

• He plunges into dissipation and display after suffering emotional shock.

• He appears morally careless at the very moment conscience is most active within him.

Hardy often portrays him as a man who masks feeling through performance.  After Fanny's death, instead of becoming sober and openly repentant, he becomes more erratic and outwardly flamboyant.  The contradiction itself reveals the truth.

So the lucus a non lucendo works on two levels:

1. Psychological inversion: The external behaviour manifests the opposite of the internal turmoil.

2. Moral irony:  Troy's apparent freedom is a sign of inner bondage.

Hardy used classical reference to mock the way human beings conceal themselves even from themselves.

While leaving, Troy reveals the small coil of hair to Bathsheba Everdene - a deeply symbolic and cruelly revealing moment.

The hair belonged to Fanny Robin. Troy had preserved it as a relic of his attachment to her.  Victorian fiction often treats hair as an intimate keepsake --- something almost sacred because it survives death and preserves bodily identity.

Why does he show it to Bathsheba?

1. He can no longer hide the truth.

After Fanny's death Troy's emotional defenses weaken.  The coil of hair becomes an evidence of love deeper and older than his marriage to Bathsheba Everdene.   Showing the hair, is almost an involuntary confession.

2. It exposes Bathsheba's mistaken position.

Bathsheba gradually realizes that she was never Troy's deepest attachment.

Fanny who seemed socially powerless, acquires immense moral power after death.  The coil of hair symbolizes that enduring claim upon Troy's conscience.  Bathsheba realizes that she is competing not with living woman but with memory and remorse.  The coil of hair functions almost like a relic in tragedy -- silent, fragile but devastating.