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Q: Literary stylistic convention -- why blank out names of people in novels? ( Answered 5 out of 5 stars,   3 Comments )
Question  
Subject: Literary stylistic convention -- why blank out names of people in novels?
Category: Reference, Education and News > General Reference
Asked by: theinric-ga
List Price: $2.50
Posted: 06 Apr 2004 06:07 PDT
Expires: 06 May 2004 06:07 PDT
Question ID: 325965
Why are some names blanked out in novels?  I am reading "Burmese Days"
by George Orwell, and he has blanked out the name of the niece, citing
it as "S-----".  Why did novelists not use entire names?  I think Jane
Austen did the same thing.
Answer  
Subject: Re: Literary stylistic convention -- why blank out names of people in novels?
Answered By: jackburton-ga on 06 Apr 2004 06:53 PDT
Rated:5 out of 5 stars
 
Hi theinric,
   
I researched this subject a few months ago, and I discovered the
reason for this was because if the authors used the names of real
places, and real people, then they could later be accused of being
ignorant of the facts, opening themselves up to accusations of libel,
if not stupidity. By using initials and ommissions, it was the
authors' way of "playing it safe" by not giving any more detail about
the name or location than was absolutely necessary.
   
  
"Diane Catherine" posted a similar question on "The Republic of Pemberly" website:
  
"A friend just read Jane Eyre for the first time, and wondered as I
have, why Charlotte Bronte used "-----shire" rather than a real place.
I believe I recall that Jane Austen does this too. Does anyone know
why?
      
I always assumed that it was because if she used a real place name,
readers living there would say, "This author obviously knows nothing
about this place. What a stupid book!" But I would like a more
definitive answer if there is one. Thanks!"
http://www.pemberley.com/bin/archives/regarc1.pl?read=9215 
   
  
"Caroline" responds: 
      
"That's one reason why they did it. A development of this was that if
they used real places, or real regiments, or what looked like real
places and real regiments, then people could say "Well, the Colonel of
that regiment wasn't callled xxxxxx, or the Colonel of that regiment
didn't do that/wasn't the fool you make him out to be/couldn't
possibly have given that order!" Authors would be opening themselves
up to accusations of libel, if not stupidity.
     
It's also a fall-out from a literary convention of the time when many
books and pamphlets were written criticising the government of the
day, or important figures, by using false names. Defoes' Gullivers
Travels is possibly the best known of the earlier ones. Since the
reporting of Parliamentary discussions was banned until about 1808, it
had to be reported in newspapers under false names (and Samuel Johnson
first did it by reporting the activities of the people of Lilliput!).
Some rather scurrilous stories were also printed which were thinly
veiled parodies or criticisms of important figures.
   
So when Jane Austen wrote the _________shire regiment, or the Earl of
_________, she was a)avoiding the pitfall of being accused of
inaccuracy and b) avoiding the pitfall of being accused of criticism
of some important political figures.
   
And just for the record, there realy was a militia regiment that went
to Hertfordshire and then camped for the summer at Brighton. It was
the Derbyshire Milita.........
   
Now the Bronte sisters followed in this tradition, although I really
don't know if they were as worried about political consequences as JA
was. Jane Eyre is fairly obviously set in Northern Yorkshire and
Durham, (The reference to Gateshead, a real place gives it away.) But
Lowood Schooll may wel be based on a real place, in which case
Charlotte was playing safe by not giving any more deatil about its
location than she absolutely needed to."
http://www.pemberley.com/bin/archives/regarc1.pl?read=9221  
   
   
Here's another discussion on the same topic. You can follow the thread from here: 
http://www.talkaboutabook.com/group/rec.arts.books/messages/435263.html 
- "Omissions in Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice.... " (20 posts) 
  
  
I hope this answers your question.
  
jackburton-ga
  
  
  
Search strategy: None. Used material from question #307906.
theinric-ga rated this answer:5 out of 5 stars and gave an additional tip of: $5.00
Great job.  Thanks for satiating my curiosity.  I hope you make a lot
of money doing this.  Take care, Teresa

Comments  
Subject: Re: Literary stylistic convention -- why blank out names of people in novels?
From: apteryx-ga on 06 Apr 2004 11:36 PDT
 
Poe was the first author I read who did this.  Even as a ten-year-old,
I thought that when he referred to, say, a certain M. R---, he was
invoking verisimilitude by pretending to conceal the real name of what
was actually a fictitious character.

Apteryx
Subject: Re: Literary stylistic convention -- why blank out names of people in novels?
From: neilzero-ga on 06 Apr 2004 12:12 PDT
 
Long ago, when I was young radio fiction often had the disclaimer "any
resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental"
Apparently resent court decisions make the disclaimer unnecessary for
modern fiction, even if it non-fiction thinnly descised as fiction.  
Neil
Subject: Re: Literary stylistic convention -- why blank out names of people in novels?
From: jackburton-ga on 15 Apr 2004 09:21 PDT
 
Teresa: Thanx for the 5 stars and the tip! :)

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