Jack the Ripper and Victorian London: Fear and Mystery
Jack the Ripper and Victorian London
London was a big and important city, but also a place of poverty and crime. Rich people lived well, but many poor people had a hard life. In 1888, the city was full of fear because of Jack the Ripper, a terrible killer. People were scared, and the streets were dangerous. Even with all its problems, London stayed strong and kept growing.
In the book, Jack the Ripper kills women who were prostitutes, alcoholics, and poor, which shows the poor and dangerous conditions of the time. These women were very vulnerable because they had no money and no protection, which made them easy for the killer to attack.
On the other hand, the inhabitants of Whitechapel were afraid because the murders were very violent and no one knew who the murderer was. Every time a new crime occurred, no one felt safe. They thought the killer could be anywhere, and that made people afraid to go out in the street, and they didn’t trust the police because they couldn’t catch him.
The victims of Jack the Ripper were:
- Emma Smith
- Pearly Polly
- Mary Ann
- Annie Chapman
- Elizabeth Stride
- Catherine Eddowes
- Elizabeth Stride
- Mary Kelly, the final victim, who was murdered brutally in her home.
Emma was surprised that Frederick Abberline had just left Whitechapel to work at Scotland Yard and now he was being sent back. She didn’t understand why he had to come back when there were younger officers who could investigate the case. He also didn’t know at first how terrible the crime was, and that made it all the more surprising to him.
Two women were murdered in one night. Charlie leaves home to go to Mitre Square, where one of the women, Catherine Eddowes, was murdered. He sees a crowd gathered at the crime scene, and some people treat it like a party. He gets the idea of making money by selling peanuts, so he buys a sack of peanuts and sells them to the crowd. While doing this, a man reads aloud a letter from the killer, “Jack the Ripper”.
Charlie’s Story
Charlie is a 15-year-old boy from Whitechapel, in the East End of London. He has lived on the streets since he was little, spending time with his friends and sometimes getting into trouble. He doesn’t go to school much and often steals food to survive. Charlie knows that Whitechapel is a dangerous place, but he loves it because it’s home. The people around him are like a big family, even though life is hard. But now he is frightened by the recent murders. He thinks it’s the same killer and worries about his sisters. Charlie wants to help catch the killer because he doesn’t want such a monster on the streets.
The Aftermath
After everything that happened, London changed. Whitechapel, the area where the murders took place, got better over time, with new buildings and neighborhoods replacing the old, dark, and dirty streets. Even though the city improved, the memory of Jack the Ripper’s crimes never went away. The story stayed in people’s minds, and tourists still visit the places where it happened, trying to imagine what London was like during those dark months of 1888.
Mary Kelly’s Fate
Jack the Ripper killed Mary Kelly because, like his other victims, she was a vulnerable woman living in poverty. On the night of her death, she was alone in her room after spending time with a man. Mary had been struggling to survive and make money, which led her to invite him to her home. The killer attacked her in her own room.
In the end, Mary Kelly becomes the last victim of Jack the Ripper. After her brutal murder, the police continue their search, but they never catch the killer. The terror eventually stops, but the fear and memories remain in the streets of Whitechapel. Over time, the area changes with new buildings, but the stories of the murders live on. Jack the Ripper’s identity is still a mystery, and although the killer was never found, the fear he caused is never forgotten.