Who Is Jack the Ripper - Research Paper Example

Who is Jack the Ripper? Jack the Ripper has been one of the most daunting murderers in the history of criminology. Where the murders that took place in 19th century managed to haunt the citizens of East London for decades; its after-effects are still felt by the Western world due to literary evidences and reincarnation of Jack the Ripper in various books, novels, newspaper articles and even movies. In addition to the horrifying and abhorrent methodology of conducting murders and mutilating victims’ bodies, the fact that Ripper remained unidentified, forced many citizens of London to remain in an utter fear of unknown. This fear was further aggravated due to social and economic conditions of the-then London. With over two hundred individual considered as suspects, this serial murderer mystery remained unresolved even after a century which has given it an outlook of most fearful murders of all times. The murders begin in 1888 in East London which was flooded with Jews and Russian migrants trying hard to make a better living. The place was even a hub of many brothels and sex-rental houses, where reaching a woman was not an issue. Murders of prostitutes and sex-servers was not an astonishing news for many at that time since these prostitutes were at the mercy of clients, owners of the brothels and even the gangsters. Constant tortures, physical attacks, and murders were part and parcel of prostitution industry. Even discussing these subjects was considered inappropriate in the civilized part of London. However, a wave of fear captivated London where a similar pattern accompanied by threatening and rather mocking letters was identified by London Police and Scotland Yard. These methods of conducting murders bear striking resemblance giving it a profile of serial killing and the letters received further assured that there is a murderer in town, with notorious intentions for women. Although Jack the Ripper only committed five murders which only lasted for three months, the question arises what makes him stand out when the history is full of serial killers with much brutal methods of murdering. Careful analysis would reveal that there are various elements that added to the mystery and made it eternal. Historical analysis of the print media would show that it was mainly the newspaper which added fury to the living conditions of East London. East London, itself was full of low-life residents with economic depravity, living in violent neighborhoods where disease was common. What gave Ripper a menacing outlook was the intensive reporting by printed media, heavy police patrolling and enthusiastic investigations along with unfavorable living conditions which made people prone to accepting a presence of wrath among them. According to Caputi, “One cannot emphasize too much the role of the popular press,itself a creature of the 1880s, in establishing Jack the Ripperas a media hero, in amplifying the terror of male violence, andin elaborating and interpreting the meaning of the Rippermurders to a "mass" audience. (p.19)” In addition to that, the fact that the murders kept on taking place despite the aggressive approach by law-enforcing agencies and Scotland Yard, and thorough persuasion by the crown itself, made this murderer high-profile criminal. Furthermore, the method used for killing was highly brutal since it did not involved traditional methods of killing such as strangling, poison, use of sharp weapons to attack victims’ bodies. Rather it included brutal slaughtering, mutilation of victims’ bodies including removal of their body parts even genitalia. Where East London was a hub of social unrest, full of Victorian myths, these legends took shape of a live creature in the form of Jack the ripper. In addition, the name “Ripper” itself was enough to correlate to the fear associated to it. Other than the living conditions of East London, the profile of Jack the ripper is also worth noticing as it has been a subject of extensive research and investigation over past century. There are many books, novels and articles written on the subject matter which have discussed over hundred suspects at length. Some of these suspects were also arrested followed by an immediate release. These suspects were not just men from middle-class backgrounds but included noble men like royal men, lawyers, doctors etc. The area within which these murders took place was known as Whitechapel. Although there were several other murders that took place in Whitechapel at the same time which was thought of as a series of the same murders but found unrelated later. Careful investigations strengthen by letters from the murderer showed that only five murders were committed where all the victims were prostitutes. These victims included Mary Ann Nichols, Annie Chapman, Elizabeth Stride, Catherine Eddowes and Mary Jane Kelly. All of these victims faced mutilation of different sorts. Out of these victims, Eddowes happened to fall prey to the mercilessness of fate since she was already arrested by Police for being drunk and when Police thought that she was lucid enough, she was made to let go which was followed by her murder within three miles of the police station. Eddows and Stride’s murders were later on named as “Double Murders” since they both took place on the same day. Earlier profiling derived out of the victims’ post-mortem reports included that the murderer is expected to be well-versed with human or animal anatomy and surgical skills. The manner in which the throats of the victims were slaughtered explained that either the murderer belong to profession such butchering, medicine or has been well-versed with handling sharp weapons due to family background. Second important part of this prognosis included that the murderer had intense emotions for female gender especially those offering sexual services. Although no victims was subjected to sexual assault but the manner in which bodies were mutilated and placed explained that the murderer drew sexual pleasure out of the torture and inhumane treatment itself. Another profiling of Jack the Ripper illustrates that the murderer was a homicidal manic and may have belonged to an economically stable family. But these homicidal instincts might have developed due to cognitive dissociation with the society or religious instincts. The phenomenon of religious motives was also acceptable since one of the murders was followed by wall chalking with the help of victim’s blood saying, “The Juwes [sic] are not the men to be blamed for nothing” (Gibson 156). Although there is a disagreement between the investigators as to whether this message was actually written by the Ripper but finding of victim’s apron near the wall chalking strengthen this notion. Where the methodology of murders was daunting itself, receiving letters from the murderer, further added to the panic in public. In most of these letters, the pleasure that the murderer drew through these slaughters, was discussed and the policemen and investigators were mocked for their failure to identify the culprit. The most daunting letter received by the investigating committee was enclosed in a parcel containing one half of a human kidney. The letter is known as “From Hell” since it began with the same words. According to the content of the letter, the kidney belonged to one of the victims (i.e. Eddows was deprived of her kidney during mutilation). In the letter, it was claimed that the rest half of the kidney has been eaten which showed maniac nature of hysteria. However, there are multiple opinions regarding the fact that this letter was actually sent by the Ripper since the police investigation reached the conclusion that it could have been a prank of anyone mainly some medical student since they have easy access to the human body parts of the deceased (Metropolitan Police, n.p). During these investigations, many letters were received by the Police and investigation Committee however only few of them were accepted as a message from the Ripper. The investigation was continued for almost a decade however no empirical evidences were found despite many arrests. There have been various suspects for these murders. Out of over 300 arrests and 8- detainees, Prince Albert Victor, Michael Ostrog, Montague John Druitt, Nathan Kaminsky and Walter Sickert were considered as the main suspects (BBC London). However, according to the records of metropolitan Police which are mainly left over of the evidences gathered during main investigation showed that Aaron Kosminski was the most preferred candidate for the title. The main characters in the investigation of Jack the Ripper were Sir Robert Anderson and Chief Inspector Donald Swanson. In the memoirs of three investigators of these murders, all of them have claimed that the murderer was identified but was kept hidden from the public. The vague directions given by these investigators showed this person to be a Polish Jew belonging to a lower society (Tendler, n.p). This criterion was matched well with the profile of Aaron Kosminski. The notes have revealed that Aaron Kosminski had spent his life under the influence of women in the dominating role. Kosminski had no father and was fed by his mother and three elder sisters. Since their living conditions were highly unfavorable therefore he was made to share his resources even his bed with his sister. Spending a considerable time with a female in a bed had developed sexual desire and fantasy in him in a very early age. Viewing blood stains from sisters’ menstruation made him relate blood to sexuality. In addition to that, during his childhood, he witnessed murders, violence and even rape in his neighborhood which changed the definition of sex for him. Further ridicule from his sisters for his sexual desires made him fantasize himself as an aggressor who was more powerful than women. In addition to that, he was recognized by one of the witnesses in the initial interrogation however the witness later on refrained from giving any supporting statement. According to the investigators, this was done since the witness did not want a murder of a fellow Jew man on his conscience. Kosminski was detained at his brother’s house for further investigation and a threatening attack on his sisters also supported the notion that he was Jack the Ripper. However, this statement was never made official where Kosminski was sent to asylum and he spent last days of his life over their where he was given drugs to suppress his violent desires (Tendler, n.p). Another investigation by historian Mei Trow explained that a local morgue attendant, Robert Mann was the culprit. This speculation is based on FBI investigation followed by geographic profiling. According to Trow, Mann had spent much of his life without a fatherly figure and was well-versed with human anatomy. His suspected behavior during police investigation failed to make an actual suspect but Trow’s psychological analysis showed Mann as a primary suspect. Recent investigations have shown that where the limelight remained on the primary suspects including a Duke, Butchers, doctors etc, the investigation committee failed to derive criminal patterns within their own department. According to the Spanish Writer, Jose Louis, Frederick Abberline who was the Chief Inspector in Scotland Yard, was Jack the Ripper. Louis is a hand-writing specialist and he has based his argument on the similarity present between the letters received from Jack the Ripper and the diary of Abberline (dailymail.co.uk). Where there are various suspects identified by the researchers in the past whole century, the truth is Jack the Ripper is still unidentified. Although he is deceased now but he has acquired an eternal status in the history. Through Jack the Ripper, general public became aware of the poor living conditions of East London. Many slums were removed in the following decades. In addition to that, Jack the Ripper was replicated many times in visual and print media. Many movies were made in which an ordinary man wearing hat and a long coat with hidden intentions and secret was made the subject. Following characters like Dracula and Frankestien were also projected as an extension of Jack the Ripper. The fictional world is full of replicas of Jack the Ripper. Even today, there are many movies such as “I know what you did last summer” which actually comprised on innocent victims completely unaware of what life has in stores for them reflects presence of fear of unknown, secrets followed by ill-intention and violence (Searles and Berger 163). Although Jack the Ripper was a living person but he has been depicted as a shadow in history. Be it sketches of newspaper from the same time or present day movies, Jack’s horror is symbolized as a shadowy creature with unknown intentions (Nixon 139). Up till now, there are many songs, movies, short stories and novels which have been written either on Jack the Ripper or a character similar to him which makes an ever-fearing character who despite of his limited ventures managed to gain fame requiring extraordinary accomplishments. Jack the Ripper has been one of the most mysterious characters in the history. Although Jack had committed only five murders in a very limited time but the horror that he managed to instigate in East London, made him a living legend. Where the role of print media cannot be denied in creating hype about this man, the role of Police and Scotland Yard and their faulty and rather publicly witnessed manner of investigation can also be considered a potential contributor in making Jack the most feared criminal. Over past 120 years, there have been suspects who have been declared as Jack the Ripper but the truth is none of them have managed to won a unified vote. It does not matter who Jack the Ripper is now but the horror that he has left behind him makes him live and relive again in the form of movies, song and even bedtime stories. Works Cited Caputi, Jane. The Age of Sex Crime. Bowling Green State University Popular Press, 1987. Print. Gibson, Dirk, C. Clues from Killers: Serial Murder and Crime Scene Messages. Westport, CT: Paeger, 2004, Print. “History of the Metropolitan Police”. Metropolitan Police. 2012. Web. 2 Dec. 2012. “Is this Jack the Ripper? Scotland Yards Chief Inspector Frederick Abberline named as serial killer in new investigation.” dailymail.co.uk. 2011. Web. 2 Dec. 2012. “Jack the Ripper”, BBC London. 2008. Web. 2 Dec. 2012. Searles, Patricia and Ronald J. Berger. ed. Rape and Society: Readings on the Problems of Sexual Assault. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1995. Print. Nixon, Nicola. Psycho Paths: Tracking the Serial Killer through contemporary American Film and Fiction. Gothic Studies, Vol. 8, no. 2. Tendler, Stewart. “Official: Jack the Ripper Identified”. Timesonline.co.uk. 2010. Web. 2 December 2012. Trow, Mei. “Jack the Ripper’s indentity finally uncovered?”. telegraph.co.uk. 2009. Web. 2 December 2012. Read More