Lizzie Borden Research Paper

1498 Words6 Pages

Lizzie Borden took an ax, gave her mother forty whacks. When she saw what she had done, she gave her father forty-one.” This is a traditional rhyme about a woman named Lizzie Andrew Borden. The rhyme is said today to be the staying power of the legend and the ax murders she was on trial for in 1892. The rhyme portrays that Borden was guilty of the murders; however, the case is still a mystery to this day. The Borden case was reminiscent of a murder mystery, with no one ever finding out who exactly was guilty. In 1982, Fall River was a prosperous industrial town, home to about 75,000 people. The demographics of Fall River consisted of a large population of people native to New England and some new immigrants. People paid close attention to one …show more content…

The women, including Lizzie, participated in all the community activities. Lizzie and her sister, Emma, still live with their father and mother. A maid was also present at the home. It is widely believed that the wife of Mr. Borden, Abby Borden, was not the mother of his daughters and that she was a stepmother to the sisters. The Borden household was not peaceful, Lizzie and Emma hated their father's wife. The Borden house was unusual, originally designed as a duplex. In July 1892, the sisters both departed on a trip for an extended visit to their friends in other towns. Lizzie, however, cut her trip short and returned home early and alone. This is when Lizzie was believed to start acting strangely. One day, Lizzie had tried purchasing a poison which she claimed she needed to “clean her fur coat.” She was turned away from the druggist, however. She had also visited a neighbor, confiding that she believed someone had been watching her family home. Lizzie told her neighbor that she was certain her family was in danger. Following these events, the brother of Andrew Borden’s first wife visited the town on August 3rd. It is regarded as suspicious that Lizzie’s blood uncle came to town at this