Jack the Ripper and Victorian London crime

¶ … psychological examination of the story of Jack the Ripper. The actions of Jack the Ripper would pale in comparison to some of the more modern serial killers but the tale of Jack the Ripper lives on as one of the most historical cases the world has experienced. The writer delves into why this is true as well as the psychological aspects of the case. There were four sources used to complete this paper.

One of the most compelling issues in the case of Jack the ripper from 1888 is the fact that it has never been solved. The person who committed the murders of five prostitutes vanished as easily as he killed, without a trace (Jack The Ripper (http://www.murderuk.com/serialkillers/jacktheripper.htm).One of the reasons that the case became as famous as it did and still holds the fascination of so many legal experts is because it was one of the first modern cases of serial killing. There had been murders in the past, where domestic squabbles ended in violence or because the involved parties felt they had been wronged by the victim, but serial killers were not a common occurrence. The case of Jack the Ripper sent a chill of fear throughout London that had not previously been experienced.

Jack the ripper was never caught and he delighted in taunting the law enforcement officials. He sent letters to the press that would be filled with self bragging for his violent deeds (Jack The Ripper (http://www.murderuk.com/serialkillers/jacktheripper.htm).He was so cocky in his ability to remain free that when the authorities once questioned whether or not the real Jack the Ripper was sending the letters to the press he then sent a slice of kidney from one of his victims. He also practiced cannibalism on his victims and tore apart the internal organs of four of the prostitutes that he murdered.

There have been many suspects through the years in the Jack the Ripper murders, but it has never been resolved. The case brought to light many psychological factors including the mental and emotional state of the perpetrator as well as the lifestyles and emotional backgrounds of the victims that he chose to kill.

Jack the Ripper has been profiled and examined for more than 100 years. From those examinations several things have been surmised about the killer. It has been believed for years that he had a problem with poverty and maybe resented his own mother not being able to move him from it. The London slums were historically depressing, and in Victorian times they were so dirty and filled with filth and disease it was a place that bred illness and death (Rumbelow, 1988). Psychologically it has been argued that whoever committed the crimes in the Jack the Ripper case probably had a deep rooted resentment of women who turned to prostitution and it has been speculated that the killer's mother may have been a prostitute who mistreated her child, or abandoned him (Rumbelow, 1988). This speculation has led to the foundational attempts to profile serial killers in later years, by taking the circumstances of their actions and putting together what type of person might commit the crimes.

While some think the criminal was from outside of the areas, many experts hold to the suspicion that he was someone who lived in the neighborhood and was one who could blend into the woodwork.

Those who believe that Jack the Ripper was a neighborhood resident also speculate that he was the son of a single mother who was most likely a prostitute. It is also possible that he was sexually abused either by his mother or by other prostitutes that his mother associated with. These speculations are derived from the actions of the Jack the Ripper and from later advanced and improved abilities to put together personality profiles based on the crimes committed (Cornwell, 2002).

Resenting one's mother for becoming a prostitute, or sexually promiscuous is something that has proven to be possible in later serial killer cases, and has been applied in the discussion and theory about what may have triggered Jack the Ripper to begin killing prostitutes. There has been additional speculation that his mom may not have been the offender. Instead, he may have been so shy around women that he could only approach prostitutes and may have been rejected or mocked by a prostitute. This would in turn challenge is self-respect and masculinity and cause him to become angry with all prostitutes.

Psychologically low self-esteem, rejection by a female whether it was his mother or a paid prostitute that mocked his advances, and probably poor are all things that experts have speculated may fit the profile of the jack the Ripper killer. However there are also experts who reject those possibilities and instead believe that Jack the Ripper was a well-known person. One author, Patricia Cornwell believes that the killer was none other than a famous artist named Walter Sickert. Sickert was born in 1860 and died in 1942 and Cornwell believes that the evidence points to him conclusively as the criminal in the Jack the Ripper case.

One of the things that the author believes cements the artist's guilt is the theme in his paintings (Cornwell, 2002). His works are filled with graphically violent scenes that could easily be construed as biographical in nature. Cronwell hired a team of experts who successfully traced DNA from an envelope the Ripper sent the press, with envelopes found in the belongings of the artist (Cornwell, 2002). Cornwell believes that the artist had a deep rooted need to murder and did so for his entire life. This possibility comes from the comparison of the language habits of the artist and that displayed by Jack the Ripper in his notes. Psychologically people cannot easily change their verbal patterns habits. It is something that has been studied for years in people. The artist and the killer turned phrases in the same way according to the author.