Paper On Lizzie Borden

“Lizzie Borden took an axe, And gave her mother forty whacks, When she saw what she had done, She gave her father forty-one” (Linder). Lizzie Borden, daughter of Andrew and Sarah Borden, was born on July 19, 1860 in Fall River, Massachusetts. Her older sister Emma Borden was born on March 1, 1851. They lived a happy and normal life until the unexpected death of their mother, Sarah Borden. Three years later Andrew Borden was remarried to Abby Durfee Gray. Even though the two girls were never close with Abby Borden they began to call her their mother. Andrew Borden excelled in manufacturing and real estate, from this they became one of the most wealthy families in all of Fall River. All was well untill issues arose between the girls and their

At the beginning of the marriage the two girls called her mother until Andrew Borden bought a house for his sister-in-law that was better than their own. The house that Lizzie and Emma lived in contained no indoor plumbing, no running water, and no hot water. If they wanted to take a bath they had to heat water up in the furnace, then carry it upstairs to the tub. Emma started to become protective of her younger sister believing that she was the only true family that she had left. Lizzie and her began to grow closer and also started referring to Abby Borden not as mother but as Mrs. Borden (Biography.com). After a couple of months Abby Borden noticed that her jewelry and about forty dollars was stolen from the house. Both Lizzie and Emma denied having any acknowledgement of how this could have happened. The maid at the time was with Mrs. Borden the entire day and could not have committed the theft. The police began to investigate on the matter, however they were quickly dismissed by Mr. Borden’s request to drop all charges. However hatred still was high among the two girls and Mrs. Borden. Mr. Borden and Lizzie often clashed verbally on matters of money, Mrs. Borden and her social life. Mr. Borden wanted the girls to stay home instead of going to parties or buying new lavishing things such as dresses and outfits. Lizzie began to gain a reputation for shoplifting because she