Jack and his personality(s)

[synicalx]

Just a thought that I had in regard to a few things; first being the supposed 'Ripper Letters' and the differences in hand writing and apparent writing ability and secondly - the differences in any of the handwriting in the letters and the handwriting in the Maybrick diary.

What I'm getting at is the possibilty that Jack may have had some form of Dissociative Identity Disorder more commonly know as Multiple Personality Disorder.

According to this document, one of the obvious symptoms for someone with DID/MPD is possible differences in handwriting (on the above website, ctrl-f the word 'handwriting'). On a similar note, potential causes for DID stem from "repeated episodes of severe physical or sexual abuse in childhood" and/or "lack of a supportive or comforting person to counteract abusive relative".

I realise this is far fetched and there was very little in the way of proof for such a claim, but based on the manner in which his/her victims were murdered it stands to reason that Jack came from some form of abusive or undernurtured childhood.

Getting to my point (once again, I do apologise for my ramblings!), is it feasibly possible that JTR suffered from some form of multiple personality disorder? Based on differences in handwriting (first assuming none or some of the letters not to be fake) and also on what would be apparently erratic behaviour expressed in the 5 (potentially more) murders.

Anyone else agree with me or have alternative suggestions/opinions etc?

[smezenen]

Anything is possible and i have often considered this possibility. It would seem that someone with DID/MPD that manifests itself to a degree that would cause someone to commit these murders would have been noticed by the people around that person. In 1888 someone acting in this manner would surely have been commited to one of the assylums by friends or family. The only way Jack would have DID/MPD and not be noticed is if he was a total loner who hardly interacted with those around him. Of course these are only my observations and opinions and those dont count for much but it does give this thread options to explore.

[DVV]

Hi Synicalx,
I easily imagine Jack suffering from a "multiple personality disorder", even though he never wrote any letter signed JtR, or "catch me when you can" - imo.

Amitiés,
David

[The Good Michael]

Hi Synicalx,
I easily imagine Jack suffering from a "multiple personality disorder", even though he never wrote any letter signed JtR, or "catch me when you can" - imo.

But he did sign his name differently, but with identical styles.

Mike

[Barnaby]

Probably not. DID is 9 times more common in females than males. In addition, it was almost unheard of before the 1970s. There is great debate in psychology as to whether DID is a real psychological disorder (although it is in the DSM-IV) or if it is the result of suggestions of therapists to vulnerable patients. That is another topic altogether...

In any event, given that it is rare, much more common in females, and despite pop culture not associated with any serial killer that I know, I doubt he had this disorder.

Now, at the very least he was antisocial. I suppose he could have been a paranoid schizophrenic.

[Limehouse]

Probably not. DID is 9 times more common in females than males. In addition, it was almost unheard of before the 1970s. There is great debate in psychology as to whether DID is a real psychological disorder (although it is in the DSM-IV) or if it is the result of suggestions of therapists to vulnerable patients. That is another topic altogether...

In any event, given that it is rare, much more common in females, and despite pop culture not associated with any serial killer that I know, I doubt he had this disorder.

Now, at the very least he was antisocial. I suppose he could have been a paranoid schizophrenic.

I totally agree Barnaby. I knew a woman with this condition and she was strange at times, but completely harmless.

Thinking about JtR in these terms, I believe, stems from the Jekyll and Hyde story. It's a kind of narrative way of making sense of the killer and his crimes.
It can't have been someone normal. The killer must have undergone a personality change, committed the crimes and then returned to normal. That's why we can't find him.

[Steelysama]

It is within the realm of possibility that Jack the Ripper did suffer from multiple personalities. However, I think that there is no evidence to indicate that he did. Since handwriting is the reason that MPD would be suspected, we should examine that:

1) The Maybrick Diary. The problem with the Maybrick Diary is that it has been proven to be a fake with or without the handwriting evidence. Tests on the ink alone indicate a more modern origin.

2) The Ripper Letters. There is only one Ripper Letter which is considered by experts to possibly be authentic. That is the letter sent to George Lusk, known as the "From Hell" letter. It is generally accepted that the two other famous Ripper Letters - "Dear Boss" and "Saucy Jack" - were hoaxes, most likely by journalists.

So what we have available is one letter which might show us the Ripper's actual handwriting. That is the only probably legitimate sample of the Ripper's writing that is known. With no other sample to compare it to, I do not think that there is an indication of the Ripper having multiple personalities.