Ripper a social reformer?

[Limehouse]

To be fair, Tom Cullen's theory was not a of a sensible -- if homicidal -- social reformer, but of a deranged social reformer.

Of course, Macnaghten ruled out any such motive, or any 'motive' at all beyond a lust for blood and a maniacal hatred of unfortunates. He thought Druitt was crackers, but 'protean' in his ability to conceal his insanity in his everyday life.

Yes - deranged would work.

Macnaghten must have been barking himself if he really believed Druitt to have been the killer. I think either Macnaghten didn't have a clue who the killer was and just resorted to the 'tragic and tortured toff' theory because Druitt fitted the frame (suicide) and slightly resembled witness statements OR - he was trying to deflect attention away from other suspects such as Cutbush.

[Jonathan H]

To Limehouse

Yep, you might be right.

After all, Littlechild was trying to alert Sims in 1913 about the real mad medico of 1888; who was affluent, and under-employed, and middle-aged, and the subject of a police dragnet.

And who was not Druitt (Dr. D).

On the other hand, contemporaneous sources agree that Macnaghten was hands-on, competent, affable, popular, kindly, and obsessed with notorious cases. His default position was to think the best of a fellow English gentleman -- especially a tragic chap in no position to defend himself.

I subscribe to the theory that Mac made a thorough -- albeit unofficial -- investigation of the long dead Druitt, in 1891, and it was his professional judgement, going against the grain of his own class, partisan and sectarian biases, that Montie was indeed the fiend.

[bolo]

Hi Greg, all,

given the public echo to his crimes, the East End murderer may have gotten the impression at some point in his "career" that his work may indeed be important in one sick way or another. Perhaps the publicity was one of the reasons why his crimes grew worse with every murder. Still, I don't believe that he had any other motivation for the murders than the urge to act out his delusional phantasies on helpless victims, he probably could not have cared less about the social conditions of the class of people he chose his prey from.

I think the Ripper crimes helped to advance the public discourse on poverty and cruel living conditions for a while and maybe led to some slight remorse for the "nemesis of neglect" as the Punch magazine put it. However, that was only a fragment of the political struggle and social unrest at that time. In my opinion, the murders played no major role in the grand scheme of things.

Regards,

Boris