Class and Difference

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Throughout history, England has been known as one of the more tolerant European nations, but the Ripper case highlighted many of the prejudices that had been developing for many years prior. One of the quickest growing tensions was that of class, manifested in the changing social geography of London and the separation of the poor neighborhoods from the wealthy. Since Jack the Ripper worked quickly in the streets of Whitechapel in the East End – the poor section of London – and must have had to utilize many back alleyways and dark roads, it is believed that he must have lived there. This idea is further supported by the speed with which the Ripper disappeared following the murders; if he lived nearby, he could just go home. Additionally, the Victorian British public looked down on crimes of this gravity as repulsive, thus inherently "lower class." People in good social standing were not believed to be capable of this kind of delinquency. Indeed, many of the suspects, like Joseph Barnett, were residents of the Whitechapel district.

However, this theory may conflict with the medical knowledge the Ripper must have possessed. Witness testimony also generally referred to the Ripper as a respectable gentleman; Montague John Druitt was the well-dressed son of a medical practitioner who seemed to be a relatively good match for the descriptions given by witnesses. Francis Tumblety was also wealthy, a doctor of some disrepute formerly living in America who moved to England in time for the Ripper murders.

In addition to class, ethnicity was a factor in the hunt for Ripper suspects. Many witnesses described the Ripper as a Jew or "foreign-looking." After the body of Catharine Eddowes was found, a peculiar piece of graffito was found on Goulston Street, written on the wall in chalk above a piece of apron that was confirmed to be a part of the apron Eddowes wore on the night of her murder. The graffito, which said something close to "The Juwes are The men that Will not be Blamed for nothing"(1) might have been written by Jack the Ripper himself. The message, when happened upon by the police, was ordered to be erased immediately,(2) as the graffito appeared in a neighborhood highly-inhabited by Jews and though the word was "misspelled" the police feared riots and acts of violence against Jews should the news of the graffito be made public. The police’s quick action is evidence of the public’s anti-Semitic sentiment. Some of the suspects in the case, such as Severin Klosowski, were Jewish.

Also relating to Jews in the Ripper case, we come across the usage of the word "Lipski " from the testimony of Israel Schwartz about the night of September 30, 1888 (Please see: Elizabeth Stride). Michael D. Winkle asserts, "After the 1887 murder trial of a Jew named Israel Lipski, the word 'Lipski' became a slang term for murder. Schwartz's second man, therefore, was undoubtedly being addressed by a pseudonym."(3) However, the detail that Lipski was a Jew more realistically points to its usage as a slur. Detective Inspector Abberline, who led the enquiry into the Ripper murders, writes in a statement dated 1 November 1888:

I beg to report that since a jew named Lipski was hanged for the murder of a jewess in 1887 the name has very frequently been used by persons as mere ejaculation by way of endeavouring to insult the jew to whom it has been addressed, and as Schwartz has a strong jewish appearance I am of opinion it was addressed to him as he stopped to look at the man he saw ill-using the deceased women.
I questioned Israel Schwartz very closely at the time he made the statement as to whom the man addressed when he called Lipski, but he was unable to say.(4)

This report, coupled with the reaction to the Goulston Street graffito, helps us to understand the climate of tolerance (or lack thereof) in which the Ripper crimes were committed. Surprisingly, the Ripper case did not end up as a witch-hunt, though the cases against many suspects who are investigated even today lack substantial evidence. Since the police had such little hard evidence to go on, it was difficult for them to find any suspects, let alone many with which to satisfy the public desire for closure. The public craved answers and a conclusion to the case, which led to anger over police handling, which in turn led to the Berner street riot following the Stride murder.

(1) Stewart P. Evans and Keith Skinner, The Ultimate Jack the Ripper Companion, p. 184 (quote given as copied down in a Metropolitan Police report)
(2) This erasure caused quite a controversy, as the graffito would have been very useful in comparing handwritings and other analyses that could help lead to a capture. Today, Ripperologists bemoan the unknown order of the words, and the inclusion or exclusion of the word "not" which entirely changes the meaning of the sentence. The sentence was copied down, but appears in different forms in many documents.
(3) Michael Winkle, "The Wold-Newton Guide to Ripper Murders. http://www.geocities.com/laxaria/ripguide1.html
(4) Inspector F.G. Abberline, as printed in The Ultimate Jack the Ripper Companion, by Stewart P. Evans and Keith Skinner.

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