What was Jack The Ripper's motivation?

Answer 1

It is very hard to get inside someone's head over 120 years after the fact. But serial killers have certain things in common. They are driven by violent fantasies. And to them the actual murder is incidental, it's the power and control over another's life and death that motivates most killers like Jack The Ripper.

Answer 2

It can be difficult to draw anything but generalized conclusions in this particular case due to the fact the the killer was never caught or officially identified. But applying what is now known about serial killers from the Ripper's crime scenes can tell us some things about this elusive 19th century killer.

Modern serial killers like Jack The Ripper have taught us that the Ripper's crimes were sexually motivated. He was not just satisfied to kill the women he chose as victims but the mutilation of the bodies speaks volumes. The sexual organs were either mutilated or removed, possibly as a trophy, common enough behaviour with serial killers. Usually fueled by violent fantasies, the killer at some point needs more than a fantasy to fulfill his lust.

It is important to note that although his crimes were sexually motivated, with most serial killers the bottom line is control. Control and dominance over the victims lives and deaths is the need that these killers are trying to feed. It is only a temporary fix. In time, the urge to kill again becomes foremost in the killer's phyche, and the hunt for a new victim ensues.

So for the killer we know today as Jack The Ripper it is safe to say his motivations were of the same ilk as Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer and John Wayne Gacy. Violent fantasies become inadaquate, forcing the killer to finally act, which is very bad news for the victims. To hold a human's life and then death in their hands, they can for a very short time feel somewhat whole.