Primary Source #2
These two pictures are from Illustrated Police News during the time when Jack the Ripper was committing murders in London. The first image shows two police officers investigating a scene of vandalism or a murder. This is happening in front of a mother and daughter who are horrified like the rest of London was is 1888. The second drawing seems to serve as a warning to Jack the Ripper if he were thinking of committing another murder. The threat of the police didn’t seem to have any effect on the Ripper’s activities; regardless of whether or not women were actually carrying guns and knives, printing this picture may have been one of the last resort options people had to stop or at least slow the murders.
The audience of Illustrated was all of London, but especially for Jack the Ripper. The artists and publishers who created and printed them probably had several goals with both images. For the first one, the police could be viewed in a positive or negative light. Either they are seen as diligent in solving the cases and capturing the murderer, or they were too late again and are not doing all they could be doing to stop the Ripper. The mother and daughter are probably meant to depict innocent citizens who should be wary and careful while there’s a murderer at large. The second photo has a clear and very different message. In this one, the artist either believes the police aren’t protecting the citizens like they should or he’s pointing out that this is what others (particularly women) believe. It’s curious that the sign behind the women says gin. The artist may have put it there without any thought, but it probably serves a purpose of criminalizing alcohol and alcohol-drinkers.
The only examples of language seen here are the words, “The blood stains Hanbury St.” and “Ready for the Whitechapel fiend. Women secretly armed.” These statements are short and to the point because the art speaks for itself. People had already heard these stories from most if not all London newspapers of the time.
At this point, it was not only the police who were desperate to stop Jack the Ripper; the media, rather than glamorizing the murders, tried to help by making people wary and encouraging citizens to protect themselves (even if it was only because they wanted a good story about the Ripper being caught). In The Lodger, Mr. Bunting and other Londoners are intrigued and fascinated by the appalling murders. After some time, however, it becomes clear that people no longer find the Ripper amusing -- they just want him to be caught. The inactivity of law enforcement also seems to be a common theme in these images and the novel. Towards the end of The Lodger, a police officer is depicted talking with his friends while not taking notice of a man he knows to be a threat. Police work like this, if it is an accurate representation, is why the women of the second photo are arming themselves.
The audience of Illustrated was all of London, but especially for Jack the Ripper. The artists and publishers who created and printed them probably had several goals with both images. For the first one, the police could be viewed in a positive or negative light. Either they are seen as diligent in solving the cases and capturing the murderer, or they were too late again and are not doing all they could be doing to stop the Ripper. The mother and daughter are probably meant to depict innocent citizens who should be wary and careful while there’s a murderer at large. The second photo has a clear and very different message. In this one, the artist either believes the police aren’t protecting the citizens like they should or he’s pointing out that this is what others (particularly women) believe. It’s curious that the sign behind the women says gin. The artist may have put it there without any thought, but it probably serves a purpose of criminalizing alcohol and alcohol-drinkers.
The only examples of language seen here are the words, “The blood stains Hanbury St.” and “Ready for the Whitechapel fiend. Women secretly armed.” These statements are short and to the point because the art speaks for itself. People had already heard these stories from most if not all London newspapers of the time.
At this point, it was not only the police who were desperate to stop Jack the Ripper; the media, rather than glamorizing the murders, tried to help by making people wary and encouraging citizens to protect themselves (even if it was only because they wanted a good story about the Ripper being caught). In The Lodger, Mr. Bunting and other Londoners are intrigued and fascinated by the appalling murders. After some time, however, it becomes clear that people no longer find the Ripper amusing -- they just want him to be caught. The inactivity of law enforcement also seems to be a common theme in these images and the novel. Towards the end of The Lodger, a police officer is depicted talking with his friends while not taking notice of a man he knows to be a threat. Police work like this, if it is an accurate representation, is why the women of the second photo are arming themselves.
Primary Source #3
This source is a short newspaper article from London, claiming that Jack the Ripper had been caught. The only date provided is February 11, but if this was published soon after the murders, which occurred in 1888, it is probably from 1889 or 1890. This seems as though it was written to inform and calm the public. However, the title “Is He ‘Jack the Ripper?’” tells the audience that there is still a lot of fog surrounding the case. One may get the sense that this article was written hurriedly, as though the author was in a hurry to notify the public and perhaps be the first to publish the shocking discovery and arrest. Maybe the title is simply meant to catch one’s attention. It is clear that the police are going on very little evidence, for they have no way of knowing if a man is prone to “unconscious murder mania.”
Unfortunately, the actual newspaper is unknown, so today, one can not know how influential this particular article was; it can be assumed that no matter how prominent this paper was, this news must have spread around quickly. As people were desperate for some closure or conclusion to the Whitechapel murders, this news certainly must have come as a great relief to many Londoners. The overall ambiguity of the entire article is interesting, and mirrors the uncertainty and fear that people felt as the murders were occurring. At some points in the article, the author seems convinced that the man arrested was behind his wife’s and many other women’s murders; an example of this is shown at the very beginning, when he refers to the prisoner as “a wife murderer.” There are other areas in which the author admits the identity of Jack the Ripper is still very much unclear, such as when he says “he is probably ‘Jack the Ripper.’” |
In The Lodger, both Mr. and Mrs. Bunting (though separately and at different times) feels a continuous sense of dread, surely much more intense than that felt by the rest of London. Also unlike the rest of London, the Buntings were in no hurry to turn in the murderer who had paid a very generous amount for their rooms when they were on the brink of poverty. The man in this article is very unlike Mr. Sleuth, who is not married and who is very aware of what he is doing. Furthermore, there is no mention of religious devotion or obsession; Mr. Sleuth and W. H. Bury are both referred to as maniacs.