Eddowes not a prostitute...

[Currerbell]

Anyone like me think that Catherine Eddowes WAS NOT a prostitute???

[Bob Hinton]

Yup me. I put forward the theory that Eddowes was not a prostitute in my book ' From Hell' in 1998.

[Currerbell]

Great! I thought I was the only one!

Excellent, its nice to meet another author...can I ask your reasons why you dont think she was, or do I need to buy the book?!

[Bob Hinton]

Originally Posted by Currerbell

Great! I thought I was the only one!

Excellent, its nice to meet another author...can I ask your reasons why you dont think she was, or do I need to buy the book?!

Well there is a copy for sale on Ebay at the moment.

Various reasons. Every other victim who was a prostitiute was acknowledged as such by friends and witnesses – not Eddowes.

When Eddowes and her partner ran out of money they hocked their boots. If she was a prostitute why didn’t Kelly just send her out to walk the streets for a few hours?

There are of course other arguments contained in the book but you could say those were the factors that started me thinking.

[Howard Brown]

Dear Judge Hinton:

What do you think of the likelihood or possibility that Kelly created the story of her going to see her daughter in Bermondsey...that it wasn't true...and that Kelly & Eddowes mutually accepted the condition that one of them needed to make money and quickly...and that the best way was for her to go out prossing since it would be the easist and fastest way ?

I put myself in his position here...and despite loathing to think that if I was Eddowes' partner and accepting that she'd have to prostitute herself....it may have been the quickest alternative to coming across some cash at that time. Maybe it was a lesser of two evils scenario...know she is out and about prossing being the lesser evil than shelter and food from those proceeds.

What do you think,sor ?

[Currerbell]

They are some of the reasons that got me thinking, at the inquest no one said she was one or hinted/accused etc of her being a prostitute...I dont think its fair to assume every female living in the East End was a 'hooker'...no matter how desperate they were, some would want to hold onto what dignity and pride that they could...

[Bob Hinton]

Originally Posted by How Brown

Dear Judge Hinton:

What do you think of the likelihood or possibility that Kelly created the story of her going to see her daughter in Bermondsey...that it wasn't true...and that Kelly & Eddowes mutually accepted the condition that one of them needed to make money and quickly...and that the best way was for her to go out prossing since it would be the easist and fastest way ?

Well it's always been my theory that she had the intention of trying to get money from Hutchinson as she believed that he might be the Ripper.

If you look at the circumstances Eddowes and Kelly did everything to raise money that night. As I said if Kelly knew she was a prostitute and had very little scruples about sending her out to walk the streets - why then did he pawn his boots and walk around barefoot? Why not send her out before pawning his boots?

And you still can't round the fact that after her death no one came forward to say she was a prostitute. Now compare that to all the other victims where this fact was acknowledged. Even Stride, who might not have been a full time street walker was said to have prostituted herself when in desperate need.

I don't think the average man in the street saw prostitution as such a terrible thing, given the appalling circumstances many of these women found themselves in.

[Mike Covell]

Originally Posted by Currerbell

Great! I thought I was the only one!

Excellent, its nice to meet another author...can I ask your reasons why you dont think she was, or do I need to buy the book?!

Bob's book is an excellent read and really well put together Currerbell. I would try and get a copy if I was you.

[Howard Brown]

Bell:

You cannot eat dignity,Bell. By 1888,those who fell victim to the Ripper probably had been reduced to the last shreds of dignity left for them. The Australian maxim " A slice off a cut loaf is never missed" might apply here. By 1888,these women knew that it was an alternative to 16 hours in a factory. Call 'em lazy...I call them worldweary.

We live in an age where the perception of being a prostitute is one of high heels,2 pounds of lipstick and rouge, coiffured hair...and a street corner...a little wiggle in the hiney and off into a car with a stranger.

Not so in the LVP. Many of the women...and in particular from the list of victims: Nichols,Eddowes,Chapman, and Stride...are older women... and had side jobs and took to prossing as an alternative to the low paying side jobs or the cessation of said side jobs.

While the motivation may be the same in 2009 as in 1888 ( support of a deadbeat man...support of a habit,such as drink...lack of willpower to get up and go to work...character flaw) the difference ( to me ) is that in 1888 it wasn't a matter of a woman like Chapman waking up with some plan to stash some of the cash for an orange grove in Florida in the future...but just to get enough to support their habits and wait for Death. I think it was easier and more acceptable in the minds of the citizenry in 1888, despite the percieved view of a stodgy LVP, to consider Aunt Bessie hiking her skirts to make ends meet.

There's a lot of fatalism inherent to studying the WM that some of us may overlook in our quest for data and the detached, emotion free, accumulation of facts.

True, not all women in the LVP in the East End were prosses. Empty barrels make the loudest noise. The X percent of the women who didn't pross get virtually no recognition.

Sorry to ramble on here...my head hurts from last night.

[Currerbell]

No probs How, I hope the head feels better soon...