Artifact of Empire 1880s

"The Nemesis of Neglect"

What is it?

This artifact is an illustration of the infamous serial killer Jack the Ripper, the serial killer who terrorized the streets of Whitechapel in the year 1888. In this depiction, Jack is portrayed like a ghost, haunting the neighborhood; he is transparent and floating as well as having a ghoulish visage which depicts him as inhuman rather than as an ordinary person (because of this, he becomes more of a character than any person out loose on the streets of London). He is even described as a “phantom” and “spectre” in the picture’s caption. His cape – which symbolically serves as a veil of his identity – is branded with the text “CRIME,” a generalization which pictures Jack as only one aspect of the crime within London, not as the only source of it no matter how astonishing his crimes may be.  His background also hints at there being a problem with the bigger picture of London and extending it beyond one brutal murderer. The street is drawn as dark and unfriendly with broken bottles of what looks to be alcohol and shattered plates littering the streets while windows are either shattered or boarded up, portraying the nasty conditions of Whitechapel and the lack of care and notice taken for the area up until this point. Lastly, the ghoulish Jack is shown as being able to walk right up to the doorsteps of this neighborhood brandishing a rather large sharpened blade. This all ties in with the bolded title “NEMESIS OF NEGLECT” at the image’s base; the illustration censures the neglect Britain has for the poor neighborhoods such as Whitechapel and actively characterizes a nameless threat as a predator on this negligence in order to emphasize the real threat: Britain’s neglect.

Context

The illustration provides readers of Punch with a reason to question the wholesome Christian Empire that Britain portrayed itself to be during the Victorian Age. As with the previous decades, the Empire set itself on a pedestal as the prime example of order and prestige. Punch satirizes the horror of the five gory Whitechapel murders to ridicule Britain’s control over their own nation and criticize the way the Empire pictures itself. Upon looking at this image, however, readers do not see order let alone anything to be proud of. The portrayal of the Ripper as a ghost not only paints him as mysterious and haunting but also as elusive; for an empire in control of colonies extending into the Orient and in possession of a great deal of power, it is disgraceful, as portrayed here, that it cannot catch even one fiend such as Jack the Ripper who went as far as taunting police with gruesome notes recounting his pleasure taken in slaughtering the five women.

            Punch also criticizes the juxtaposition between how Britain boasts itself to be and the reality of life in the Empire. The setting of the illustration is not something to be proud of; in fact, the streets of Whitechapel have been known to have been the homes to many shifty and/or impoverished characters at the time, many of which were also immigrants. The five victims had been known as drinkers and morally questionable, and Mary Kelly had emigrated from Ireland before she had been slaughtered in her own residence. Also, she was the only one of the five to be brutalized inside and not in the streets, another detail to shock the public; not only had “CRIME” invaded their streets but it had also entered their households and brought along an onslaught of overkill and mutilation. This horror serves as a great contrast to the highly moral character the Empire prided itself in at the time, countering Victorian Values with Jack’s bloody reign of terror.

            The satire of Punch in relation to this image serves to show the duplicity and deception of the British Empire which used such cunning moves to advance its influence in the world. One on hand there is the caring Christian nation spreading its values to the “unfortunate” Orient with missionaries and their values, but on the other remains the nation itself which has plummeted into a state of chaos and terror all while the Empire denies the world of this truth.

How Does it Relate to What We’ve Read in Class?

            The reason this image applies to Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and is included as part of Appendix J is that there are strong parallels to the motif of duplicity and hidden dark sides in both cases. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde both symbolize a different side of the British Empire. Jekyll represents how Britain portrays itself; both have good reputations and relations within society and serve as helpers to man (in Jekyll’s case, he is a doctor and a healer whereas Britain is a missionary). In contrast, Hyde represents how the facts and cases such as Jack the Ripper’s portray Britain; both Hyde and the Empire step on the innocence of others to get where they are going. On page 33 of the narrative, Hyde “trampled calmly over the child’s body;” here, the child symbolizes innocence which is being overlooked in order for Hyde to heartlessly continue with his own plan. Britain may also be described as a “Juggernaut” (33) over the Orient, preying upon the innocence and lesser strength of the nation to conquer land in order to preserve its values and power. This connects to Darwin’s idea of adaptation with Britain adapting to its role as a great force in the Victorian Era and having the Orient fall behind as the region struggles to adapt to Britain’s force, technology, and scientific advances.

            The setting of the image also parallels the description of Soho given on page 48 of Stevenson’s narrative. The “rugged children huddled in the doorways, and many women of many different nationalities” reflects the conditions of Whitechapel and the sorts of people found there. These doorsteps mentioned are picture in the image above and, by connecting both the passage and the image, it is implied that these women, children, and nationalities are at risk due to the neglect Britain places on the poor and foreign. Punch and Stevenson heavily emphasize the dual identity of the Empire in these ways, portraying Britain like a bold missionary on the outside but a neglectful parent to its people on the other.

Other Artifacts

"With the Vigilance Committee in theEast End" from the Illustrated London News on October 13, 1888 (http://www.historytoday.com/william-d-rubinstein/hunt-jack-ripper)

Citations

Stevenson, Robert Louis, and Martin A. Danahay. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.2nd ed. Peterborough, Ont.: Broadview Press, 2005. Print.

"The Nemesis of Neglect." Punch 29 Sept. 1888: 152. Print.

Other Sources

"Europe PubMed Central." The Whitechapel murders: the case of Jack the Ripper.. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Oct. 2014. <http://europepmc.org/abstract/MED/7030054>.

"Punch." Google Books. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Oct. 2014. <http://books.google.com/books?id=MAYDAAAAIAAJ&pg=RA1-PA102&dq=punch+september+1888&hl=en&sa=X&ei=TAhIVIOOBpPnsASIo4GYCg&ved=0CEsQ6AEwBg#v=onepage&q=nemesis%20neglect&f=false>.