Gutta Serena

In Chapter 53 of Far From The Madding Crowd, Hardy writes of Bathsheba:

She was in a state of mental gutta Serena, her mind was totally deprived of light at the same time no obscuration was apparent from without. 

Gutta serena is a Latin medical term, meaning clear drop or serene drop. In early medicine, it referred to a form of blindness in which the eyes appear perfectly clear and healthy, yet the person could not see.  Physicians believed the blindness arose from damage to the optic nerve rather than from any visible clouding of the eye. 

Hardy uses the term metaphorically. Bathsheba has not become physically blind.  But the shock of Troy's sudden appearance overwhelms her mind.  She is so stunned that she cannot thank or act.  She seems incapable of responding, outwardly she remains conscious and her eyes are open. Inwardly, her mind had momentarily lost its light. 

The phrase is an excellent example of Hardy borrowing medical terms to  describe a character's psychological state with great precision. Bathsheba's gutta serena is not ordinary fear, but a temporary psychic blindness, where the mind is unable to process the terrifying reality before it. 

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