Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell’s classic graphic novel from hellIn “Jack the Ripper,” the Jack the Ripper murders are shown to be part of a magical ritual that enhanced the power of patriarchy in the 20th century. Although Moore combines real and fictional history, the story’s deeper meaning is metaphorical.
In the real world, the Jack the Ripper murders were a tragic serial killing in London’s East End in 1888 that left at least five women dead. Due to the gruesome nature of the murder, speculation about the identity of the killer, and the fact that the case was never solved, the murder became a media sensation and has become ingrained in the public consciousness ever since.exist from hell, the Jack the Ripper murders were fictionalized as part of a royal cover-up. However, their perpetrator, Sir William Seagull, had an ulterior motive for committing these crimes. Seagull is a Freemason who believes that London is an extremely mysterious city where he can use killing to perform a huge ritual.
The purpose of the Gull ritual was to prevent the liberation and equality of women that Gull believed would accompany the 20th century.In Chapter 4 from hellIn “The Seagull,” Seagull explains to his coachman John Nately what he believes to be the secret history of various London locations, expressing his Masonic belief in the superiority of men over women. In Gur’s mind, he could make connections between these places and the historical and mythological conquests of women, which meant they could be part of the rituals he was performing. As Seagull commits more murders and his mental state deteriorates, he experiences visions of the next century, implying that his ritual was indeed successful.
Although women lacked many rights in 1888, the tide was slowly turning. At that time, Britain’s early suffrage movement was flourishing and coalescing into larger organizations at the turn of the century would eventually lead to full suffrage. However, despite this victory, women continued to fight for equal rights throughout the 20th century and beyond. By alluding to the success of Seagull’s ritual, Moore expresses a pessimistic view: that despite its great progress, the 20th century, filled with war and terror, failed to live up to its potential. It’s a bleak outlook, but there is a silver lining. After Seagull dies, his soul travels into the future, where he finally sees Mary Kelly, the only victim he wants to escape. Kelly then felt the seagulls appear in some form and “return his soul to hell.” Kelly’s survival was a small victory, but a victory nonetheless.
Seagull’s hatred and implicit fear of the coming of women’s rights isn’t limited to him, either in the real world or in the comics. Metaphorically speaking, from hell It’s not just seagulls trying to fight change, it’s patriarchal society trying to fight change.from beginning to end from hell, Moore shows the culpability of the entire system from top to bottom; from the British royal family who condemned innocent woman Anne Crook to asylum to cover up her infidelity, to shopkeepers who showed no compassion for the victimized sex workers killed by seagulls and passers-by. The Seagull may be particularly scary, but he is not the cause of this social corruption, but merely a microcosm. Although Seagull believes London represents his ideas, he also represents London’s ideas. It doesn’t matter whether Seagull is right about the mysterious power of misogyny embedded in London.This is the point Alan Moore is trying to make, both in from hell Or in real history, the society in which Seagull lives already Broken, with or without magic.