The Late Night Show with Jack the Ripper
The Victorian Age and Jack the Ripper
It is England 1888 and suddenly women are showing up with their throats cut and disemboweled. Following these murders were various letters that were sent to newspapers and law enforcement, including the infamous “Dear Boss” letter that gave the killer his name- Jack the Ripper. There was doubt at the time whether these letters (and one kidney) were pranks or real relics from the actual killer but that didn’t matter to the public. These sensational murders were taking place in lower class areas (mostly the Whitechapel area of London) and targeting prostitutes. For more information than you will ever need (and nightmares, don’t forget the nightmares) you can check out https://www.jack-the-ripper.org/writers.htm. It’s where I found out all the facts about Jack the Ripper (beyond the basics that everyone knows) and is the reason I have all the lights on in my house at the moment.
Jack the Ripper aka the Whitechapel murderer aka The Leather Apron is one of the most famous serial killers of all time. I mean, everyone knows about that guy, right? Though everyone knows about Jack the Ripper, he was never caught (in this case knowing is not half the battle.) He ravaged England during the Victorian era… there was of course a massive man hunt, but his murders were almost a form of entertainment for the upper-class denizens of London. Had his victims not been lower class Jack the Ripper would have been more in danger of being caught and not nearly as fascinating to the fashionable people as he turned out to be.
I know what you’re thinking. Say what!? People actually found entertainment out of those graphic awful murders? These were horrid crimes that still have an impact on culture today. However, in the article “Victorian Culture and Society: Jack the Ripper as Victorian Entertainment” Jamie Kinsler explains that, “although the Ripper’s crimes were heinous and grotesque, they managed to captivate the entire country, serving as titilating entertainment for the repressed Victorian culture” (1). In other words, people were fascinated by the murders, horrified, but captivated. In this repressive era people suddenly had an outlet for their emotions. Within Victorian society, people didn't talk about sex or murder, but Jack the Ripper made it socially acceptable to discuss both (Kinsler 4). One would think that there would be more fear than fascination, but because of the nature of the murders this was not the case. This was partly because of where the murders were taking place (lower class areas) and because the victims were prostitutes. Most Victorians had an extremely negative outlook on prostitutes, these fallen women were of lesser importance than respectable women of the time (Kinsler 1). Which is why these murders became a form of entertainment for the masses. THIS IS NOT MY OPINION just to be clear, but it is an opinion that was prevalent in the Victorian era and can still be found in modern times as well.
In the article “Why Are Sex Workers Often a Serial Killer's Victim of Choice?” the author writes, “One reason a serial killer might target prostitutes? Because he believes the police won’t look as hard for a missing sex worker as they will for a more “respectable” victim” (Janos). The author, Adam Janos, goes on to explain that there is some truth to this. Furthermore, it is more difficult to investigate sex worker murders because there is less information to be gained by these victims. They are often the people that live in the cracks of the world and as such are more vulnerable to people who are up to no good. Think about how the media portrays murder of a “respectable” young woman vs the murder of a sex worker. Think about the amount of apathy that is given to one and not the other. I am not saying this is right, because it is absolutely not, but it exists.
So, maybe it is not surprising that this Victorian serial killer became a spectacle for the masses rather than a cause of mass hysteria. It is also not surprising that many serial killers target sex workers as their victims because they are lower risk. If Jack the Ripper were murdering “respectable” citizens would it have changed peoples’ reactions? It makes me wonder, if Jack the Ripper had chosen different victims would he have been caught? I think so!
(See my list of references below)
Works Cited
Jack the Ripper-1888. www.jack-the-ripper.org/writers.htm.
Janos, Adam. “Why Are Sex Workers Often a Serial Killer's Victim of Choice?” www.aetv.com/real-crime/why-do-serial-killers-target-sex-workers.
Kinsler, Jamie. "Victorian Culture and Society: Jack the Ripper as Victorian Entertainment."
Images found on Wiki commons, all unknown authors and in public domain.
About the Creator
Katie L. Oswald (BookDragon)
I am not a book worm, I am a book dragon. I love comics, books, photography and all things creative. I have always been drawn to the stories of life and have been writing for as long as I can remember. Twitter: @BookDragonklo
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