From August to November of 1888, the infamous serial killer Jack the Ripper roamed the darkened streets of Whitechapel, England (Eckert, 1). Eleven unsuspecting murders occurred with six of the murders being linked to signature characteristics (Keppel, et al, 1). The ongoing serial murders baffled authorities leading to several suspects of the unsolved serial murders (History.com Staff, 1). Due to the mysterious circumstances, a number of conspiracy theories have developed as a result (1). Was Jack the Ripper an infamous murderess Mary Pearcy who was executed for murdering her lover’s wife and child in a manner similar to that of the notorious Jack the Ripper, or was the Jack the Ripper someone local and well known, such as Charles Ludwig Dodgson the famous children’s author Lewis Carrol (1)?
Illustration of Jack the Ripper from Wikipedia
Though Lewis Carroll, the pseudonym of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, is often remembered as the renowned children’s author, he took an unnatural interest in young girls (Hanson). According to Hanson, Charles was a pedophile who befriended little girls more effortlessly than he befriended adults (1). Lewis Carroll’s personal life was described by Karoline Leach as follows,” A man who ‘had no life’, who lived apart from the world and apart from normal human contact, was monkish and chaste and who ‘died a virgin” (Leach). How do experts such as author Karoline Leach describe Lewis Carroll? “Perhaps above all else, it is a portrait of a man who emotionally focused on pre-pubescent female children; a man who sought comfort and companionship exclusively with ‘little girls’ and who almost always invariably lost interest in them when they reached puberty” (1).
One famous example of a prepubescent girl he was interested in was named Alice as described by the BBC, who he later named his most famous character after in Alice and Wonderland (Williams). A BBC article states, “Alice's Adventures in Wonderland began, so the story goes, when Charles Lutwidge Dodgson – aka Lewis Carroll – wove a yarn to entertain a real child named Alice Liddell and her sisters one summer's afternoon in 1862” (1). He adored children, and he told this spellbinding story to these young girls who encouraged him to publish the fantasy adventure (1). This became Alice and Wonderland, which made him famous for years to come (Woolf 3). The story is about a brave and young girl who falls down a rabbit hole. She proceeds to go on an adventure and must stay the course of righteousness.
Though Carroll is known for his writing, he was an intelligent mathematician who spent a number of years teaching at Oxford University (Ables 302-303). There are uncounted mathematical and logical paradigms cataloged in all respects of his literary works such as Alice and Wonderland and “The Mad-Tea-Party (302-303). This bled over into his writing with many numeral examples in his famous children’s story Alice and Wonderland (302-303). “The Alice books contain many supreme examples “The “Mad Tea-Party”, for instance, has the Hare, Hatter, Dormouse and Alice circling around static place settings like numbers on a circle, as in a modular system, rather than in a line ( 302). Carroll developed the earliest modern use of today's 'logic trees', a graphical technique for determining the validity of complex arguments that he called the 'method of trees' (302).
Over the years, Lewis Carroll has developed a copious fanbase all over the world with a love for his work (The Lewis Carroll Society). There many active Lewis Carroll fan clubs from all over the world, two examples of fan clubs are the Lewis Carroll Society of North America and The Lewis Carroll Society (1). The Lewis Carroll Society of North America as described by their website as, “The Lewis Carroll Society of North America (LCSNA), founded in 1974, is an organization of Carroll admirers of all ages and interests, as well as a virtual center for Carroll studies (Morgan). The Society has members throughout the world, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Israel, Japan, The Netherlands, Russia, Sweden, and the UK, with interests in virtually all of Lewis Carroll’s many pursuits and in his continuing impact on our current culture” (1). The Lewis Carroll Society is based in the United Kingdom, and it is described on the website as follows “The Lewis Carroll Society was formed in 1969 with the aim of encouraging research into the life and works of Lewis Carroll (Charles Lutwidge Dodgson) (The Lewis Carroll Society). This includes works such as 'Alice in Wonderland', 'Alice Through the Looking-Glass', 'The Hunting of the Snark', his poetry, his logic, his puzzle books, and his photography (1). The Society has members around the world, including many leading libraries and institutions, authors, researchers and many who simply enjoy Carroll's books and want to find out more about the man and his work (1). '' Through in depth research utilizing what is available through The Lewis Carroll Society of North America and the Lewis Carroll Society, there is nothing on his Paedophilia, as defined by Stop It Now! relates to a specific disorder where there is a preference for sexual activity with a prepubescent child or children (Definition of Paedophilia (Pedophilia).
Lewis Carroll, the pen name of Charles Ludwig Dodgson, was a famous children’s author and university professor (Woolf). He became famous for his children’s books such as Alice in Wonderland, Jabberwocky, and Alice Through the Looking Glass. He felt sorrowful about his fame stating in a letter to an old friend published by Smithsonian magazine,“and I hate all of that so intensely that sometimes I almost wish I had never written any books at all.” (Griggs). According to Cambridge University Press, he even conversed with his publisher Macmillan & Company about putting an end to the well known first edition of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (Cohen, et. al). “In 1889, Carroll condemned the entire first run often thousand copies of The Nursery “Alice.”” He later ordered Macmillan to eradicate copies of Through the Looking Glass (1). Did he become so livid that he adopted another alias well known to the public as Jack the Ripper?
Jack The Ripper was an infamous serial killer who traveled the darkened streets of White Chapel, England from August to November of 1888 (Eckert, 1). Throughout his time spent in White Chapel, eleven unforeseen murders occurred (Keppel, et al, 1). Though the serial murders remain unsolved to this day, multiple theories have developed to explain the unexplained events of those nefarious killings. One popular suspect of the Jack the Ripper murders is Mary Pearcy; another suspect is Charles Ludwig Dodgson. (History.com Staff, 1). Traveling back to the Victorian Era will develop new insights into the unspeakable duration of the god-awful murders of White Chapel.
One popular suspect of the Jack the Ripper murders is Mary Pearcy; “As the theory goes, the most likely suspect may be Mary Pearcey, who was convicted and hanged in 1890 for the murder of her lover’s wife and child—and who had used a method similar to the Ripper’s to commit the crime ” (History.com Staff 1). Both Pearcy and Jack the Ripper murdered women by cutting their throats (“History - Historic Figures: Jack the Ripper” 1). Research states that, “Mary invited Phoebe over for Tea, later that day her body was found, with a fractured skull and a cut throat so severe, it almost severed the head (Fortney et al.). Originally known as Mary Eleanor Wheeler, Mary Pearcy was only twenty-four years old at the time of her execution (1). She had a subtle affair with Frank Sammuel Hoggs although he had a wife and child both named Phoebe; later she was convicted of murdering his wife and daughter (1). The motive was simple – jealousy. According to Spencer A. Rathus, studies find that parental rejection increases the likelihood of developing aggression in early childhood (Rathus 144). As a result of the groundbreaking research by Albert Bandura, children copy the violent behavior they observe (142). Mary Pearcy was abandoned by her father who was convicted of murdering Edward Anestee (Fortney et al.) Her last words were, “My sentence is a just one, but a good deal of the evidence against me is false (1)." Due to the lack of evidence, Mary Pearcy cannot be definitively named as Jack the Ripper because the evidence from this case is circumstantial, and there is a clear opposing motive to commit the murders.
Charles Ludwig Dodson, better known as Lewis Carrol, has another alias well known to the public as Jack the Ripper (History.com Staff 1). In his famous book Jack the Ripper: Light-Hearted Friend, Richard Wallace says, “In The Nursery Alice, Wallace says Carroll confesses to the gruesome murders being perpetuated (Rossen and Wallace 1). Setting about deciphering a suspected anagram from one passage, Wallace pulled the following:“If I find one street whore, you know what will happen! ‘Twill be off with her head!” (1). Twill be off with her head! is a phrase commonly used by the Red Queen in Alice and Wonderland and may offer new insights into the world outside the rabbit hole in Victorian times (1). Was the works of The Nursery Alice a written confession from Lewis Carroll to the gruesome murders?
After Wallace published his research in Harper Magazine, two readers wrote in demonstrating an opposing viewpoint (Wallace 1).When rearranging a paragraph written by Wallace in the article, it read: “The truth is this: I, Richard Wallace, stabbed and killed a muted Nicole Brown in cold blood, severing her throat with my trusty shiv’s strokes (1). I set up Orenthal James Simpson, who is utterly innocent of this murder (1). P.S. I also wrote Shakespeare’s sonnets, and a lot of Francis Bacon’s works too”(1). Like the readers state, the anagrams may have been a coincidence; however, Charles Ludwig Dodgson frequently wrote anagrams dating back to childhood (Shankar 1). For instance, when he was a student, he sent a letter to his brother revealing an extensive first hand account of his experience playing “red lion”, a game animalistic in nature (1). An article published by Times of India states, “by rearranging the letters Lewis Carroll wrote to his brother Skeffington Wallace discovered something eerie” (1). Charles wrote to his brother: “My Dear Skeff: Roar not lest thou be abolished" (1). When reconstructed the letter reads, “Ask mother about the red lion: safer boys fled” (1).
Image of Lewis Carroll from Wikipedia
From the time that serial murders of Jack the Ripper took place, numerous suspects have developed as a result. One of the four original suspects of murders developed by the investigators was Lewis Carroll (History.com Staff 1). When Dodgson was twelve years old, he was sexually assaulted by a homosexual (“Was Lewis Carroll Jack the Ripper?”). That experience made him feel outraged and revengeful toward society. Dr. Wallace explained, “"He retreated into a world consumed by one goal - revenge on society” (1). Additionally the evidence in his famous work “the Jabberwocky” provides an insight into the murders of Jack the Ripper, "The vorpal blade went snicker-snack! He left it dead, and with its head; He went galumphing back;” this offers a new perspective because the poem was published sixteen years before the murders took place” (1).Likewise, in his famous poem “The Hunting of the Snark,” more details are revealed about the infamous serial murders, "They sought it with thimbles, they sought it with care; They pursued it with forks and with hope; They threatened its life with a railway share; They charmed it with smiles and soap” (1). The victims of the heinous crimes were found with forks, thimbles, and soap with their bodies (1).
Through the years, many suspects have developed as a result of the Jack the Ripper serial murders including the murderer Mary Pearcy and Lewis Carroll (History.com Staff, 1). Due to the evidence present, Lewis Carroll was in fact Jack the Ripper (1). Now, the case remains closed but not unsolved, offering answers to the many questions arising over the years about the haunting case causing the death of five women in the atrocious autumn of 1888 (Eckert 1).
There are many potential solutions to unsolved serial murders committed by the infamous serial killer Jack the Ripper; two possible suspects of the abominable crimes are infamous murderer Mary Pearcy and Charles Ludwig Dodgson, the author of Alice and Wonderland (History.com Staff 1). Charles Ludwig Dodgson was a prominent mathematician and pedophile, who used a young girl as the inspiration for his famous book Alice and Wonderland (Ables 302) (Hanson) (Williams). Research suggests that he was the vile serial killer due to his literature and the anagrams embedded in his literal confession (Shankar). Now, the case is closed offering answers and evidence to the many questions arising with the mysterious circumstances in White Chapel, England.
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Newspaper headline detailing the atrocities of the Whitechapel Murders from Wikipedia