From Rolling Stone · Elisabeth Garber-Paul · · 2m
Monster: Lizzie Borden's Real Story
Netflix's Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story mixes historical facts with female rage.
In brief
Netflix's Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story mixes historical facts with female rage. Netflix's Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story depicts Lizzie Borden's 1892 murders with historical inaccuracies but explores female subjugation. Originally reported by Rolling Stone.
Lizzie Borden's 1892 murders
Lizzie Borden killed her stepmother Abby and father Andrew with an axe in Fall River, Massachusetts in 1892.
“Lizzie Borden took an axe”
Lizzie's real life
Lizzie was 32 in 1892, a Sunday school teacher, and had taken a 19-week European tour two years earlier.
“Lizzie was 32”
Abby Borden's role
Abby was a 5-foot-3, 200-pound matronly woman who cooked and raised Lizzie and Emma after being plucked from spinsterhood at 37.
“Abby was a 5-foot-3”
Emma Borden's life
Emma was 42 in 1892, agoraphobic, and visited friends in Fairhaven 15 miles away when the murders occurred.
“Emma was 42”
Bridget Sullivan
Bridget was Lizzie's maid who testified she was outside washing windows the morning of the murders.
“Bridget was outside washing windows”
Nance O'Neil
Nance O'Neil was a stage and silent-film star who met Lizzie in 1904 after Lizzie was 44 and O'Neil was 29.
“Nance O'Neil was 29”
Elizabeth Bathory
Elizabeth Bathory was a 16th-century countess who allegedly murdered hundreds of virgins and was bricked into a chamber to die.
“Elizabeth Bathory murdered hundreds of virgins”
Aileen Wournos
Aileen Wournos killed six johns in Florida in 1991 after being raped and shooting her attacker in the late 1980s.
“Aileen Wournos killed six johns”
Monster's accuracy
The show mixes historical facts with female rage, but Lizzie was 32, not naive, and Abby wasn't a cold stepmother.
“Lizzie was 32”
Lizzie's acquittal
Lizzie was acquitted of the murders in 1892 with no one else charged, and lived in Maplecroft for decades.
“Lizzie was acquitted”
Lizzie's legacy
Lizzie's story has become a blank slate for projecting ideas about women and parricide for over a century.
“Lizzie's story has become a blank slate”
The show's message
Monster links Lizzie's crimes to female subjugation, suggesting women's rage drives parricide across time.
“Monster links Lizzie's crimes to female subjugation”
Lizzie's real life
Lizzie was a Sunday school teacher who had taken a 19-week European tour two years before the murders.
“Lizzie was a Sunday school teacher”
Abby's real role
Abby was a 5-foot-3, 200-pound matronly woman who cooked and raised Lizzie and Emma after being plucked from spinsterhood at 37.
“Abby was a 5-foot-3”
Emma's real life
Emma was 42 in 1892, agoraphobic, and visited friends in Fairhaven 15 miles away when the murders occurred.
“Emma was 42”
Bridget's testimony
Bridget testified she was outside washing windows the morning of the murders, which helped the prosecution.
“Bridget testified she was outside washing windows”
The main idea
Netflix's Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story depicts Lizzie Borden's 1892 murders with historical inaccuracies but explores female subjugation.
