The Lizzie Borden Story’ Compares to Real Life

Key Points:

• The fourth season of the true-crime series Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story takes creative liberties by definitively portraying Lizzie Borden as the murderer, despite her historical acquittal in the 1892 axe murders of her father and stepmother. The show focuses on themes of women versus the system and reimagines Lizzie’s story as a coming-of-age tale of rebellion against Victorian misogyny.
• The series significantly alters historical facts, particularly in its depiction of Bridget Sullivan, the Borden family maid, as a feminist figure and Lizzie’s accomplice, whereas in reality, Bridget was a young, shy Irish immigrant with no evidence linking her to the murders.
• Key figures in the real case, such as Andrew Borden, Abby Borden, and Emma Borden, are portrayed with dramatic embellishments that emphasize family tensions, financial disputes, and personal struggles, though many aspects differ from historical records.
• The show introduces unrelated historical figures like Elizabeth Báthory and Aileen Wuornos to draw thematic parallels about female rage and violence, but these inclusions are viewed as tangential and exploitative, adding little to the understanding of Lizzie Borden’s story.
• The real-life context of the case included social tensions such as xenophobia against immigrants, as seen in the suspicion cast on Bridget and the later murder of Bertha Manchester, which fueled fears of a serial killer in Fall River.