Sinuosities of Bathsheba's Ears

In Chapter 50 of Far From The Madding Crowd, the 'sinuosities of her little ear" is one of Thomas Hardy's painterly description of Bathsheba. 

Sinuosities mean the curves, winding outlines and delicate folds.   Little ears refers simply to small and finely shaped ears. So, the phrase means graceful curves and intricate folds of her small ears. 

Hardy is drawing attention to  tiny details of her anatomy that influenced sergeant Troy and that attracts him to return to her and the comforts of her home and the village. Hardy often pauses the narrative to paint a character almost as if they were the subject of a portrait. 

The word sinuosity comes from Latin the sinuosus, meaning full of bends and curves.  It is commonly used to describe winding rivers, roads, or ornamental shapes, and Hardy applies here to the delicate natural curves of the human ears. 

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