Astrakhan Fur

[kensei]

I don't know if Astrakhan was our Ripper or not and no one ever will. He is an intriguing character to debate though. The arguments against his plausibility are very good ones, but let me just play Devil's Advocate and throw out some maybes--

Maybe Jack thought that since he hadn't struck in over five weeks and people were murmuring about him being gone and starting to breathe a sigh of relief that there wouldn't be so much pressure on him anymore in that guise, one that was radically different from his usual "dark overcoat and peaked cap" in which he'd been seen by a few people before.

Maybe he thought that dressing like a man with money would make it easier to attract prostitutes to him.

If he was a poor man, maybe he stole the clothes.

Maybe- and I'm really getting a bit melodramatic now- his freakish luck, narrow escapes, and knowing that he was the most hunted man in the world had gone to his head, giving him an inflated sense of invulnerability. "I have nothing to fear from lesser men because I'M the most dangerous thing out there! I can do whatever I bloody well please." We may be talking about an unstable mind, after all. He may not have always made rational decisions.

Or maybe Astrakhan was real, but wasn't the Ripper.

Or maybe Hutchinson lied.

[Ben]

Hi Kensei,

Maybe Jack thought that since he hadn't struck in over five weeks and people were murmuring about him being gone and starting to breathe a sigh of relief that there wouldn't be so much pressure on him anymore in that guise, one that was radically different from his usual "dark overcoat and peaked cap

Good fortune was on his side, though, since none of the witness descriptions were especially uniform in terss of clothing, although all shared the theme of being conspicuous, contrasting markedly with the spooky reported description of "Leather Apron" which the killer would likely have taken advantage of.

While he might change his appearance, I doubt very much that he'd deliberately hinder his chances by dressing in a manner that is more likely to deter prostitutes and attract muggers and linch-mobs. Even the most narcissistic sufferers of grandeur delusions in the world of serial killers will go to pains to avoid capture, rather pursue elaborate lengths to jeapordize that prospect. He'd do so only if the bravado "Haha, the fools!" element was more of a motivating factor for him than the murders and mutilation, but I don't think it was.

Also, even if the killer did have the mentality than he was invulnerable, that still wouldn't have altered the reality of the situation, which was that slum-dwellers and wannabe vigilantees alike were likely to have made a kid-in-a-candy-store-esque beeline for Astrakhan man and divest him of his finery. At that point, it would cease to be a question of what the killer felt himself capable of.

All the best,
Ben

[kensei]

I just thought of another "maybe." With the extensive police presence in the East End throughout the search for the Ripper, could would-be muggers seeing Astrakhan strolling along have thought- "No way, that's too good to be true, it's got to be a copper under cover"?

Just a random thought.

[Ben]

Under cover, Ken?!

I would have thought that by dressing to the nines and with flashy gold watch chain on proud display, he had the virtual antithesis of a "cover".