The Enduring Mystery of Jack the Ripper

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The Enduring Mystery of Jack the Ripper
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Background

• In the mid-19th century, England experienced an
  influx of Irish immigrants, who swelled the
  populations of England's major cities, including
  the East End of London.
• From 1882, Jewish refugees from Eastern Europe
  Russia moved into the same area. The civil parish
  of Whitechapel in London's East End became
  increasingly overcrowded. Work and housing
  conditions worsened, and a significant economic
  underclass developed.
• Robbery, violence and alcohol dependency were
  commonplace, and the endemic poverty drove many
  women to prostitution. In October 1888, London's
  police estimated that there were 1200 prostitutes
  and about 62 brothels in Whitechapel.
• The economic problems were accompanied by a
  steady rise in social tensions. Between 1886 and
  1889, frequent demonstrations, such as that of
  Nov. 13, 1887 (Bloody Sunday), led to police
  intervention and further public unrest.
• Racism, crime, social disturbance, and real
  deprivation fed public perceptions that
  Whitechapel was a notorious den of immorality. In
  1888, such perceptions were strengthened when a
  series of vicious and grotesque murders
  attributed to "Jack the Ripper" received
  unprecedented coverage in the media.

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• "Jack the Ripper" is the best-known name given
  to an unidentified serial killer who was active
  in the largely impoverished areas in and around
  the Whitechapel district of London in 1888. The
  name originated in a letter, written by someone
  claiming to be the murderer, that was
  disseminated in the media. The letter is widely
  believed to have been a hoax, and may have been
  written by a journalist in a deliberate attempt
  to heighten interest in the story. Other
  nicknames used for the killer at the time were
  "The Whitechapel Murderer" and "Leather Apron".

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• Attacks ascribed to the Ripper typically
  involved female prostitutes from the slums (East
  Side) whose throats were cut prior to abdominal
  mutilations. The removal of internal organs from
  at least three of the victims led to proposals
  that their killer possessed anatomical or
  surgical knowledge. Rumors that the murders were
  connected intensified in September and October
  1888, and letters from a writer or writers
  purporting to be the murderer were received by
  media outlets and Scotland Yard.

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• FYI (I Digress!!)
• - Scotland Yard is a metonym! (101 Dalmatians)
• The Metropolitan Police Service in London had
  its original location at 4 Whitehall Place and
  its rear entrance was on a street called Great
  Scotland Yard.
• This rear entrance became the public entrance
  and the street name became synonymous with the
  Met. Police.
• This is just like in New York city where the
  Financial district is called Wall Street. The
  district is more that one street, that that
  street name became synonymous with the district
  and the name stuck.

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Jack continued

• - The From Hell letter, received by George
  Lusk of the Whitechapel Vigilance Committee,
  included half of a preserved human kidney,
  supposedly from one of the victims. Mainly
  because of the extraordinarily brutal character
  of the murders, and because of media treatment of
  the events, the public came increasingly to
  believe in a single serial killer known as "Jack
  the Ripper".

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Conclusion

• Due to Jacks influence at the time, many works
  of literature began to take on a more scary or
  horror feel. This type of literature was
  appealing at the time because it fit into the
  mood of the surroundings.
• Wilde would have felt this influence and this is
  where Dorian Gray fits in!