Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory
Contrasting sharply (pun intended) with Gabriel Oak's love of lambs, Frank Troy loves swordplay. Oak loves nurturing tender young beasties, and Frank Troy loves stabbing. Oak takes little baby animals and warms them by the fire and Frank Troy grunts and moves his long phallic metal object through the air.
When Frank Troy displays his swordsmanship to Bathsheba, he's doing the 19th century equivalent of offering Bathsheba two tickets to the gun show, or revving the engine of his motorcycle, or keeping his legs super far apart as he sits down. He's showing off how manly he is. Not only that, he's pretty much pantomiming sex.
We're not being dirty-minded here, and we're not being extra-Freudian by insisting that sometimes a sword is not just a sword. Or rather, we totally are, but we're in good company in our sexy speculation.
Chapter 28, when all of this sword showing-off goes down, is called "The Hollow Amid The Ferns." Ahem. If a sword can be considered really freaking phallic (and it can be) what, gentle reader, do you suppose a "hollow amid the ferns" is supposed to symbolize? Yeah, that's right. It's hecka vaginal.
And what does dashing young Troy do in this "hollow amid the ferns"? He shows off how good he is with his sword by pretending to stab her, again and again. Yeah, dudes. He pretends to stab her. 'Nuff said. And Bathsheba is really impressed, because he does it well: "All was as quick as electricity. "'Oh!'" she cried out in affright, pressing her hand to her side." Have you run me through?—no, you have not! Whatever have you done!'" (28.30)
And the scene ends with a kiss, which means that Troy's weird, hyper-phallic seduction worked wonders. Here's Chapter 28 as imagined in the 1967 film adaptation of Far from the Madding Crowd. We're pretty sure that the filmmakers analyzed this scene the same way we did, judging by all the heavy breathing and string music.