# Monster: Lizzie Borden's Real Story > Netflix's Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story mixes historical facts with female rage. - Title: Monster: Lizzie Borden's Real Story · Rolling Stone | Shortify - Summary: Netflix's Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story mixes historical facts with female rage. lizzie borden, monster, netflix · reported by Rolling Stone. - Keywords: lizzie borden, monster, netflix, seattle, fall river, abigail borden, emma borden, bridget sullivan, nance o'neil, elizabeth bathory, aileen wournos, 1892 - Source: Rolling Stone — https://rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-features/monster-lizzie-borden-fact-check-aileen-wuornos-1235625274 - Author: Elisabeth Garber-Paul - Published: 2026-09-23T23:00:00+00:00 - Read time: 2 min - Topics: lizzie borden, monster, netflix, seattle, fall river, abigail borden, emma borden, bridget sullivan, nance o'neil, elizabeth bathory, aileen wournos, 1892 ## 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 ## Key takeaway Netflix's Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story depicts Lizzie Borden's 1892 murders with historical inaccuracies but explores female subjugation.