This update mentions the Whitechapel murders of 1888-1891.
The sensationalisation of these murders and the classism, misogyny, and racism surrounding their reporting are discussed in the post below.
The sensationalisation of these murders and the classism, misogyny, and racism surrounding their reporting are discussed in the post below.
November 23, 2022
This update references the Whitechapel murders that took place between April 1888 and February 1891, as well as slumming, a form of poverty tourism where wealthy Londoners would recreationally visit the East End.
When the Whitechapel murders took place, the violence the victims experienced was highly sensationalised, contributing to pre-existing misogyny as well as classist, racist and xenophobic beliefs that East London was a place of violence and iniquity. Many people went slumming as a direct result of this, travelling to the East End in order to flirt with taboo at the expense of people living there. The reporting of the murders emphasised the so-called depravity of East London, notably without any compassion for the women whose lives were taken.
This part of the comic's story is set in 1889, shortly before a series of social reforms took place. Many of these reforms were developed with little to no input from those living in East London, and as a result, thousands of people were displaced and whole neighbourhoods vanished.
The fictional disappearances taking place in the story are happening within the context of these events.
For those interested in learning more about how East London was portrayed in Victorian fiction, as well as the effects of gentrification on its past and present, I've included some links to further reading. These links also include information on how the reporting of the Whitechapel murders heightened existing antisemitism, misogyny, racism and xenophobia.
When the Whitechapel murders took place, the violence the victims experienced was highly sensationalised, contributing to pre-existing misogyny as well as classist, racist and xenophobic beliefs that East London was a place of violence and iniquity. Many people went slumming as a direct result of this, travelling to the East End in order to flirt with taboo at the expense of people living there. The reporting of the murders emphasised the so-called depravity of East London, notably without any compassion for the women whose lives were taken.
This part of the comic's story is set in 1889, shortly before a series of social reforms took place. Many of these reforms were developed with little to no input from those living in East London, and as a result, thousands of people were displaced and whole neighbourhoods vanished.
The fictional disappearances taking place in the story are happening within the context of these events.
For those interested in learning more about how East London was portrayed in Victorian fiction, as well as the effects of gentrification on its past and present, I've included some links to further reading. These links also include information on how the reporting of the Whitechapel murders heightened existing antisemitism, misogyny, racism and xenophobia.
Further Reading
- A Redemptive History of East London
- Murder, Media and Mythology: The Impact the Media's Reporting of the Whitechapel Murders had on National Identity, Social Reform and the Myth of Jack the Ripper
- The Setting of London in Oscar Wilde’s "The Picture of Dorian Gray" and "Our Mutual Friend" by Charles Dickens
- New Book Chronicles the Lives of Jack the Ripper’s Victims
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