(Mis)Remembering Secondary Characters

Holmes and the Ripper are the centres of their respective character constellations. If we posit that the latter’s narrative driving force is greater, does it mean that the representations of the historic figures belonging to “his” storyline are less affected by the Holmesian pattern? The majority of the versus narratives position the killer as the detective’s worthy opponent. Cunning, evil, or mad he may be, but remaining undetected by the police, the Ripper presents an exciting challenge, and for Holmes, there is nothing more interesting and engaging than a puzzle of that proportion. Despite the versus narratives’ (fictional) potential for resolving the ambiguity of the historic mystery, certain Doylean trappings make the majority of the texts present Jack the Ripper as a proficient perpetrator of inexplicable crimes. This chapter demonstrates that the versus narratives not only affect the cultural memory of historic figures, but also that the Holmesian strand of this hybrid storyworld enhances the myth of the Whitechapel killer.