Why Did The Whitechapel Murders Attract So Much Attention In 1888?

In this essay I am going to address the variables that influenced the attention focused on the Whitechapel murders in 1888.

During the Victorian times people didn’t really take much notice of Whitechapel. What attracted these working class citizens to take an interest in the place were the murders. But it wasn’t only the murders it was the nature of the murders and how grotesque and sickening they turned out to be. People heard about the extent to which the victims were harmed and suspense grew with every time the murderer got away scott free (due to the failure of the police) so obviously took a deeper interest into what was happening.

The working class had to take an interest because these murders could have possibly caused an uprising among the poor people which would have automatically caused disorder among the residents (This could have affected their jobs). Also prostitutes were scared for their own lives because they saw the pattern of all the victims being prostitutes and realized that they were targets. They were particularly focusing their attention on whether Jack the Ripper gets caught because his savage acts were interrupting their businesses.

But overall everybody was on the look-out for the murderer so that they could feel safe in their own homes. The middle class felt sympathy for the poor prostitutes (for being poor and prostitutes) that died but didn’t really care about the prostitutes or the kids that they left behind.

Around this time serial killers were not common so a physco going around the town killing helpless prostitutes was quite new to them. The rich people took a huge interest but were also confused by the fact that they were not being murdered for their fortune and only poor people were being killed. The reason for this could have been because the streets of the poor were dirty, damp and unprotected (with satisfactory street lightings) where as the streets of the rich were well-lit, policemen looked after them particularly, they travelled via private transport and lived in big houses so it would have been harder for Jack to manipulate their area and get away with it because they were so protected (so the streets of the poor was the easy option).

The main factor that fueled the attention on the Whitechapel murders was the press. At the time when the Whitechapel murders were taking place this was the time when the tabloid started to become popular and everybody wanted fresh stories that interested them (These murders did just that). The press would describe the murders in graphic detail 'a woman with…. her throat cut from ear to ear…the wound was about two inches wide and blood was flowing profusely…as the corpse lies in the mortuary it presents a ghastly sight.' (The Star August 31st 1888) Another article in the Star said 'The throat is cut in two gashes….the instrument having been a sharp one but used in the most ferocious and reckless way…making a wide and horrible hole nearly severing the head from the body…no murder was ever more ferociously and brutally done.'

Of course the murders were exaggerated from time to time but when the papers started focusing on Jack the Ripper they started relating his Modus Operati with the murders that were happening. Jack The Ripper’s Modus Operati was slitting the throat of his victim from left to right twice in two sharp cuts and cutting open the stomach.

This caused a lot of commotion among the residents of Whitechapel and made them want to know more for their own safety so they knew what places to stay away from. There were theories that Jack would meet the people first, gain their trust, kill them and then live his life normally. Also