Was Jack inevitable?

[sdreid]

I wonder if he could have had a tone that she mistook for a sunburn but was caused by some medical condition like chronic alcoholism or hepatitis.

That doesn't mean it couldn't have been a sunburn. I got a sunburn once in November by staying out all afternoon on a sunny day. The angle of the sun's rays would be close to the same in both February and November.

Lighting could have had effect as well.

I would suppose you could get a "sunburn" standing to close to an arc lamp too. You can get that from an arc welder.

[sdreid]

Does anyone know if there were any lighthouses in the region that used electric arc lighting?

[Fisherman]

Well, guys, there is always Rosaceae - a chronical skin condition causing a red colur of the skin combined with a marked blotchyness (!)

Not very uncommon either, actually.

The best,
Fisherman

[Observer]

Hi Godgifu

As a very pale person, I can tell you, you can get sunburnt at any time, even if it's cloudy. All you have to do is stand around outside, or even near a window, for a while in the daytime. My grandmother once got a sunburn while it was raining.

However, that would indicate the fellow wasn't usually a person to hang around outside a lot (or else he'd have enough tan to defend against it) but for whatever reason recently had been outdoors for a long period.

Firstly the sunburnt man attack on Ada Wilson was on March 28th, and not February,and not in White's Row, it's my fault, a bit of a **** up on the Ripper front don't you know.

I was mixing me Ada Wilson's up with me Annie Millwood's. Fatal. Seeing as it's nearly into April when Wilson was attacked I suppose it could have been sunburn that the man was displaying

All the best

Observer

[Barnaby]

Was Jack inevitable? Great thread. As a determinist I would add that Jack's behavior was determined by some interaction of his immediate environment, his learning history (upbringing), and his genetics. But what to attribute to each? My personal belief is that Whitechapel nurtured a propensity to kill in Jack that probably had genetic correlates. But I have no data on what those might be.