Why is "etc" used to finish off letters in Jane Austen novels?

Question

Hi all,

I noticed that every time when I'm reading a Jane Austen novel, there's a lot of use of "etc" particularly at the end of a letter written by a character. I find this strange since the characters are usually mindful of manners, yet I'd have thought writing "etc" in place of a farewell would be rude.

Also - there is often a reference to a Mr - or Mrs - or a Fort - and the name or location is often blanked out using a "-".

Can anyone explain why they used etc and "-" in this particular way?

Thanks

Belle

Answer 1

It was a stylistic peculiarity of her time.

Answer 2

I'm no literary expert, and only read one Jane Austen novel, long ago in 12th grade English, I never really liked the style and subjects of her novels, even though I know they are classics.

But, as an historian, I recognize that she wrote in a different era, when the postal service was not as secure  as today's.

People often opened other people's mail, or stole it even.  This is one reason they used to use melted wax to seal an evelope, so the receiver might know if anyone had opened and read the letter before it was delivered.

Sometimes private information was "coded" or intentionally left out, just as people today do.  To  not put personal information into some emails, blogs, or webpages, due to people stealing of another's identity.

And, if you ever had to write a letter using an ink and quil, or leaky fountain pen (not sure they had fountain pens in Austin's day), then you'd know that they used short cuts, to reduce the need to write more, increasing the chance of smearing the wet ink on paper.

Just like today, in internet emails, people use abbreviations to lessen key strokes, like RRB, LOL, ASAP, and other common abbreviations.

Reading an old classic sometimes shows us different lifestyles, but also how some things never change.

They often did same "tricks" we use today, to save time, and protect privacy..