Murder or Menstruation? The rewriting of Lizzie Borden

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  • Опубліковано 24 гру 2024

КОМЕНТАРІ • 379

  • @silkshines00
    @silkshines00 4 місяці тому +539

    Look he may have been anti feminist but calling a period "the crisis" is hilarious and I want to use it.

    • @elizabethtangora4353
      @elizabethtangora4353 4 місяці тому +74

      Me cancelling plans from now on: “I can’t make it, I’m having a crisis.”

    • @thiskindasucks3536
      @thiskindasucks3536 3 місяці тому +2

      ​@@elizabethtangora4353Not a crisis, my dear... *THE* crisis!!!

    • @marygray7422
      @marygray7422 3 місяці тому +9

      I'm surprised we don't still call it that 🤣

    • @elfi643
      @elfi643 3 місяці тому +5

      Honestly it’s hilarious and I need to use it

    • @CleoHarperReturns
      @CleoHarperReturns 11 днів тому +2

      As I'm newly post-menopausal, there is no one in the world more grateful than I that the crisis is indeed over. Every month for 38 years there was a bloody crisis. Bring on the breaking bones! At least with those they give you painkillers while someone else does the dishes.

  • @quirkynewusername6378
    @quirkynewusername6378 4 місяці тому +765

    “The womb can’t wander if it’s full of baby” is by far my favorite line. I laughed so hard my womb went wandering! But on a serious note, absolutely love this channel. It’s quite remarkable to find this level of educational and humorous content and I appreciate it so much!

    • @SkyeID
      @SkyeID 4 місяці тому +17

      I'm not sure if my womb was able to wander after it was surgically removed. The surgeon never said...

    • @kalka1l
      @kalka1l 4 місяці тому +14

      The Greeks opinion on wombs still impacting modern law is real loud in this video. I do not like it but I appreciate it.

    • @Victoria-_
      @Victoria-_ 4 місяці тому +4

      😂😂😂

    • @emilyrln
      @emilyrln 4 місяці тому +7

      @@SkyeIDyour body is now haunted by the restless ghost of your womb 😂

    • @fulicious2991
      @fulicious2991 3 місяці тому

      I repeated this line a couple times after she said it 😂
      It's so wonderful

  • @roecocoa
    @roecocoa 4 місяці тому +1161

    Just want to reiterate that a properly fitted corset does not squeeze the organs and is, in my experience, more comfortable than an underwire bra. I recommend dress historian Abby Cox's videos on the subject, especially the one where she and some friends experiment with wearing full historical ensembles (made of cotton and linen) on a hot day and compare it to their experience wearing modern clothes (made of artificial fibers) under the same conditions.

    • @TomMinnow
      @TomMinnow 4 місяці тому +44

      I imagine that would vary a lot depending on body type. Someone closer to the "ideal" wouldn't have to contort their body, while a woman with a larger frame would be socially pressured to. Some people have big rib cages and unsnatched waists and we SHANT allow it!!!

    • @roecocoa
      @roecocoa 4 місяці тому +220

      @@TomMinnow That's where padding comes in. You add padding above and below the waist to make the waist itself appear smaller. The idea that the body itself is the fashion, along with the kind of painful compression that pop culture associates with the Victorian era, wasn't really a thing until the full-length rubber girdles of the 1920s.

    • @IceRiver1020
      @IceRiver1020 4 місяці тому +135

      ​​​@@TomMinnow It was all about using padding to achieve the desired silhouette, and when there was reduction, it was not done uncomfortably so. Additionally, a body with more fat on it can comfortably be reduced far more than a slender body can, because fat squishes. Also, not all slim women have curves. So the primary reasons slender women did not do reduction was because 1) it was not possible to do comfortably, and 2) it's not necessary, because padding.

    • @JeantheSecond-ip7qm
      @JeantheSecond-ip7qm 4 місяці тому +58

      It doesn’t squeeze the organs, but does prevent the lungs from fully expanding which can feel like being squeezed and the extra layers of fabric over your torso during a heat wave would feel even more constricting. (I’ve made and worn my own corsets, fitted exactly to my body.)

    •  4 місяці тому +51

      The major problem with corsets was (and is) very different from what most people think it is. It's not tightlacing, which was rare (although it did happen and still does.) It's that the artificial support drastically weakened all core muscles. The deep muscles of the abdomen were especially badly affected. In fact, you can get into a milder version of the same kind of trouble by wearing corset-style laced back support for too long. I see this a lot, and I've also had it happen to me.

  • @icefishcat
    @icefishcat 4 місяці тому +326

    As someone who has been obsessed with the Borden murders for 30+ years, I always found it fascinating how few people mention her aunt. Eliza Darling Borden, who almost definitely suffered from postpartum psychosis, murdered two of her children and then killed herself in the basement of the house just yards from 92 second st, the Churchill’s house. Her story is so shocking and feels so forgotten.

    • @sunnfIower
      @sunnfIower 2 місяці тому +8

      This comment is giving the adhd gremlin that is my brain a new hyperfixation lol

    • @books_ncats
      @books_ncats  2 місяці тому +8

      wow, I had no idea about her, will have to do some research - Rosie

    • @msjkramey
      @msjkramey 2 місяці тому +4

      @sunnfIower i need to start calling it that... lol. I'm a late-diagnosed ADHD adult and I work with disabled kids and other children with special needs, so my current fixation is learning every scrap of information I can about autism and the 8 senses & the corresponding accommodations for hypo- and hyperarousal sensitivity. I always find myself going back to that one. I'm so glad to see more people talk about disability in general. It's a part of life, and it's not a dirty word. It's something we need to say over and over until people have no choice but to acknowledge that the world is not accommodating to all types of people and that it needs to change

  • @jen_is_not_ok
    @jen_is_not_ok 4 місяці тому +133

    Honestly smart of her and her counsel to play into the misogyny of the times to convince everyone she was innocent

  • @lobstermash
    @lobstermash 4 місяці тому +137

    I think Angela Carter's emphasis on the physical discomfort of the heat is on the right track. According to a book I read ( sorry don't have the title) the house was particularly squalid, especially in the heat, and it was Andrew's fault. Evidently when he bought the house the small room at the head of the back stairs was a bathroom and accessible from Lizzie and Emma's bedrooms. Andrew had the bathroom taken out and the room was made into his dressing room. There was a sort of toilet in the cellar under the kitchen, and a cold water tap over the kitchen sink. The family had chamber pots under their beds. After the door from the senior Bordens' bedroom into Lizzie's room was blocked, Lizzie and Emma had to use the stairs that came out by the front door because they couldn't access the backstairs. Getting up in the morning, going down to the cellar to wash or fetch water, carrying your used chamber pot, you risked running into some visitor coming in the front door, and had to go through the sitting room or dining room with your pottie. They all washed themselves from a bowl of water. There was no bath. Andrew evidently wasn't bothered, but I bet the women smelt at times and knew they smelt. Good knows how they washed their hair. It must have been humiliating.
    Along with the other squalor, there was no way to keep food fresh. They ate quite a lot of boiled mutton, with left-overs for breakfast. In the heat it would spoil. On the morning of the murders apparently Brigid Sullivan (the maid) had been unwell and vomiting. This may have been from eating spoiled meat. (Despite her being unwell and the 95 deg heat, Abby Borden ordered Brigid to wash all the downstairs windows.)
    The house 'Maplethorpe' that Lizzie bought afterwards had four bathrooms.
    Another point about the possibility that Lizzie was menstruating is that the bucket of soaking napkins would be an ideal place to hide any cloth with which Lizzie had cleaned blood off herself.
    I think she did it but I don't think she was out of her mind or without motive. Along with the way that Andrew was giving away the sisters' inheritance, and the fact that the way they lived cannot have helped their chances of marriage, the squalor was the final straw.
    That's my two bob's worth.

    • @colleen6644
      @colleen6644 4 місяці тому +12

      I never heard this. What an interesting added layer!

    • @rosesweetcharlotte
      @rosesweetcharlotte 4 місяці тому +23

      Let's be real, this is enough reason to do someone in.

    • @lobstermash
      @lobstermash 4 місяці тому +7

      @@rosesweetcharlotte I reckon.

    • @cmaden78
      @cmaden78 3 місяці тому +14

      I don't know if I think she did, but God knows that is DEFINITELY motive😂

    • @books_ncats
      @books_ncats  2 місяці тому +2

      Thanks for this, if you remember the book title pls let me know! - Rosie

  • @letolethe3344
    @letolethe3344 4 місяці тому +227

    All my life, I've been told my anger is wrong, destructive, and dangerous, and needs to be changed, transformed, suppressed, gotten rid of. Thinking of it as empowering, nurturing, uniting, or sustaining is new to me. Thanks for the thought.

  • @JuniaLClark
    @JuniaLClark 4 місяці тому +310

    First day of my period and I now have a goal of being a menstruating spinster when I grow up

    • @Pretty_horrid
      @Pretty_horrid 4 місяці тому

      I hope to be a menstruating spinster too. I hope to scare off misogynistics as well

  • @timbofication9788
    @timbofication9788 4 місяці тому +286

    See how I dress properly for the courtroom? Very demure. See how I frame myself as the innocent daughter distraught by the murder of her beloved father? Very cutesy, very mindful.

    • @the-goddess-of-libraries
      @the-goddess-of-libraries 4 місяці тому +5

      This is gold standard comedy.

    • @shayelea
      @shayelea 4 місяці тому +6

      Was looking for this 😂
      Lizzie Borden: very demure, very mindful. 🤦‍♀️

    • @books_ncats
      @books_ncats  2 місяці тому +2

      Incredible

  • @cubbymumma3941
    @cubbymumma3941 4 місяці тому +326

    interestingly, Carter's depiction of the Bordens mirrored some of the struggles she had with her own parents, Both Carter's mum and dad babied her like crazy (for example, she was never allowed to close doors, not even when using the bathroom, as her mother was convinced that something dreadful would befall her if she did so). I know biographical readings of writers' work can be reductive, but it's interesting to see the paralells- intentional or not.

    • @books_ncats
      @books_ncats  2 місяці тому +1

      Ooh interesting, I didn't know that. Always fascinating to learn about that kind of context - Rosie

  • @calebarsenault382
    @calebarsenault382 4 місяці тому +81

    "The heat is terrible, the humidity unendurable and the atmosphere sultriness embodied."
    As someone outside in Fall River during the summer right this very moment, can confirm this is all still true

    • @icefishcat
      @icefishcat 4 місяці тому +2

      But we do know that the high on that day was 82.

    • @aimeet6970
      @aimeet6970 4 місяці тому +7

      ​@@icefishcatYes but if the humidity was

    • @oooh19
      @oooh19 4 місяці тому +2

      Plus add the clothing during the late 1800s it’d be so hot and uncomfortable

  • @Fallinghoshi
    @Fallinghoshi 4 місяці тому +90

    I don’t think it’s open anymore - but at one time you could stay in the Borden house overnight. It was a bed and breakfast.

    • @ruthspanos2532
      @ruthspanos2532 4 місяці тому +13

      I think it’s still open. The house she moved to afterwards is now a private home…my cousin’s son owns it.

    • @Fallinghoshi
      @Fallinghoshi 4 місяці тому +2

      Oh it is still open!

    • @Hag_of_Fangorn
      @Hag_of_Fangorn 4 місяці тому +1

      I had stayed there a number of years ago. There was a tour of the house and lots of photos. We were told that in all probability a young man had helped with the murders, a gardener/house boy. Lizzie's excuse was that she was gathering pears from the tree outside which is why she didn't hear what was going on inside. We stayed in Lizzie's bedroom.

    • @HuntingViolets
      @HuntingViolets Місяць тому

      @@Hag_of_Fangorn Wasn't she eating pears?

  • @joyofcookies
    @joyofcookies 4 місяці тому +52

    "A womb can't wander if it's full of baby" sounds like something Dr. Spaceman would say! 😂

  • @Dawn.Friesen
    @Dawn.Friesen 3 місяці тому +25

    "The womb and its wanderings have been globally documented [...]" - I'm now imagining a Carmen Sandiego-esque global map caper, with a theme song asking Where in the World is That Lady's Wandering Womb?
    Alternately, a world map with a LOT of red string on pins and some baffled-looking men.

  • @melusine826
    @melusine826 4 місяці тому +108

    Corsets dont have to be tight, and frequently werent. And other than the woolen stockings, the loose cotton and linen wouldnt be too bad. But other than that pretty good

    • @books_ncats
      @books_ncats  2 місяці тому +6

      Thanks, I've learned a lot about corsets since posting this video! - Rosie

  • @CraftyVegan
    @CraftyVegan 4 місяці тому +128

    Watching this after coming from a video commenting (favorably) about Tim Walz putting tampons in the boys restrooms in Minnesota schools is a smidge surreal. From one era to another in a matter of moments

    • @kalka1l
      @kalka1l 4 місяці тому +14

      The Walz stopping the red wave memes have been amusing. Learning he was just bringing Minnesota up to a level as states like Georgia and Alabama already had more progress in was a twist that keeps being left out.

    • @idk-jy6cc
      @idk-jy6cc 4 місяці тому

      ​@@kalka1lSouthern cope^^

    • @kalka1l
      @kalka1l 4 місяці тому +1

      @@idk-jy6cc That is absolutely the tactic. By banking on their followers to never investigate not only the rationale behind the sanitary product legislation but how it’s not a ‘radical political issue’ when countless other states pass similar access measures.

    • @CraftyVegan
      @CraftyVegan 3 місяці тому +6

      @@kalka1l but it isn’t “countless”. It’s like 5. Very countable.
      I’m not saying that he was particularly revolutionary, but he’s also still what would be considered an “early adapter”… and also it’s something that dark red states definitely don’t do.

    • @kalka1l
      @kalka1l 3 місяці тому

      Yes, it’s only 5 for this specific parameter. I searched legislation in similar spheres and stopped around 17…? Cheers to Aunt Flow and the Prison Flow Project for being so thorough!

  • @jodieg6318
    @jodieg6318 4 місяці тому +68

    My very favorite author Sir Terry Pratchett (GNU) was well know for channeling his rage into his work; Neil Gaiman said of him "Terry Pratchett isn't jolly. He's angry", not something you woukd expect when you read The Discwolrd Series as at face value it's a funny and absurd book series about a magical world but the critique of social, political, and general state of humanity is bubbling up in clever prose that makes you think about it, and indeed get angry about it, in such a way that you never thought it was that funny little book you read that first planted the idea in your head. And female rage is certainly never to be discredited on the Discworld; Granny Weatherwax's normal state of barely controlled fury gets more done on the Disc than any army could.

    • @thing_under_the_stairs
      @thing_under_the_stairs 4 місяці тому +13

      Absolutely. I'm currently rereading "Raising Steam", and the righteous anger of the -King- Queen of the Dwarves is magnificent to behold. Everyone best keep clear of her axe, since she's a very capable fighter, *and* the final legal authority to all Dwarves everywhere. Her story arc was, in my opinion, the perfect cap to Sir Terry's writing - the final statement that all people, regardless of their gender or how they choose to present it, deserve equality, simply because we are all people.
      As for Granny Weatherwax, apart from completing her narrative, my theory as to why she died in "The Shepherd's Crown" is that Terry knew his time was coming, and knew that she was the best, most competent companion and protector he could have in the desert of black sand.
      GNU Terry Pratchett indeed.

    • @HuntingViolets
      @HuntingViolets Місяць тому

      Well. Neil Gaiman.

  • @Voodoomaria
    @Voodoomaria 4 місяці тому +31

    I never believed that Borden was guilty, every scrap of evidence against her was VERY circumstantial, and open to many MANY interpretations.
    There was literally NO physical evidence to link her to the crime.
    That and the fact that the police never even considered another suspect, therefore neglecting the investigation in favour of the EASY answer.
    How many people in the last decade were rescued from Death Row for exactly the same reasons?
    Forget everything else, the Jury had no choice but to quit because there was far more than simply a "Reasonable Doubt".

  • @anetakibanaki6350
    @anetakibanaki6350 4 місяці тому +55

    Damn, my window for getting away with murder has closed because of menopause😂

    • @VioletteValentine
      @VioletteValentine 4 місяці тому +2

      😂😂😂

    • @SkyeID
      @SkyeID 4 місяці тому +4

      I'm womb-free because of a hysterectomy

    • @anetakibanaki6350
      @anetakibanaki6350 4 місяці тому +8

      @@SkyeID At least you can't be "tortured" anymore by the "wandering womb" 😬

    • @SkyeID
      @SkyeID 4 місяці тому +8

      @@anetakibanaki6350 lol it did indeed torture me with horrible periods, including one that lasted 1 month and 26 days. wtf, uterus? Well, it's gone now, and I am relieved.

  • @mariannacross2538
    @mariannacross2538 4 місяці тому +26

    your honor, in my defense, i had cramps at the time of the murder

    • @emilyrln
      @emilyrln 4 місяці тому +7

      your honor, my uterus was strangling me

  • @bec7080
    @bec7080 4 місяці тому +106

    I'm on my period and my foot hurts. Womb wandering checks out

    • @emilyrln
      @emilyrln 4 місяці тому

      Try putting a trail of chocolate syrup from your foot to your abdomen to see if you can lure your womb back where it belongs!

    • @JeremyBrett-v9z
      @JeremyBrett-v9z 2 місяці тому

      !!

  • @itshaylena
    @itshaylena 4 місяці тому +28

    Today I learned she was a whole ass adult 💀 I always assumed she was a teenager? The more you know

    • @emilyrln
      @emilyrln 4 місяці тому +6

      I legit thought she was a child and was impressed by her axe skills 😅

  • @monicaredwoods7175
    @monicaredwoods7175 4 місяці тому +58

    So good!! The only thing more delicious than listening to you read us stories is hearing your intriguing elucidations

    • @TomMinnow
      @TomMinnow 4 місяці тому +7

      ooh i need to find more excuses to use the word "elucidations"

    • @TherealLumpendoodle
      @TherealLumpendoodle 4 місяці тому +1

      @@TomMinnowIn the words of ‘Morecambe and Wise’,
      Ernie “Let me elucidate”.
      Eric “Do it, and you can clean it up yourself”.
      Boom! Boom!

    • @books_ncats
      @books_ncats  2 місяці тому

      Ah thanks very much, so pleased you enjoyed! - Rosie

  • @sleepingbee8997
    @sleepingbee8997 4 місяці тому +36

    The use of The Shining's elevator is an excellent touch

  • @hiamanda
    @hiamanda 4 місяці тому +61

    I see lots of parallels to the public’s opinion on Gypsy Rose after the release of the crime scene photos… although Gypsy has received justice in the eyes of the law, the public (once calling her “queen” and “mother” in praise after her release) turns sour when faced with the visual evidence of female rage.

    • @ChickadeeBoi
      @ChickadeeBoi 4 місяці тому +34

      I think people are salty because their "perfect victim" turned out to be what all humans are; immensely flawed. Also, it is a bit like watching NBK playout in real life.

    • @TheEverGrowingRosey-333
      @TheEverGrowingRosey-333 4 місяці тому +27

      I don’t know if this is an appropriate parallel cause G. Rose didn’t do it by her own hands. The creepy rapist boyfriend did, the photos are more evidence of his rage.

    • @ChickadeeBoi
      @ChickadeeBoi 4 місяці тому

      @@TheEverGrowingRosey-333 she is as blameless as Lady MacBeth in that tale of tragedy… he likely would have done something horrid eventually but she definitely used that existing rage for her own benefit. All the same, her hands are not clean and that damned spot shall never come out fully. G Rose the child is a victim but G Rose the woman became a perpetrator within a cycle of generational trauma and abuse. Like a coin, and all humans, she is dualistic and imperfect. Not a one of us is truly singular in nature or a perfect victim. Just my perspective on the cluster fuck. It’s weird the fan worship of her as some pop culture icon when we remember what made her famous, but also I can empathize with feeling powerless and trapped as a child.

    • @ClownHoundII
      @ClownHoundII 4 місяці тому +20

      The boyfriend was the one that killed GR's mother. Secondly do people really expect a child that was abused for over 18 years to be anger free and happy? Anger is just as common as sadness or guilt in abuse victims.

  • @msjkramey
    @msjkramey 4 місяці тому +10

    I usually skip true-crime adjacent stuff, but I'm glad I trusted you with this one. You are an amazing communicator, and I'm finding myself hanging on every word. I love how it's less trying to solve a "mystery" and more talking about the complete mess that was (and is) women's rights, prejudice, and the criminal justice system

  • @lonniereads
    @lonniereads 4 місяці тому +23

    i always really enjoy these but i have to say as a graphic designer i really love the backgrounds/set design of this video! the yellow wallpaper was the first video on this channel i stumbled upon and i've been subscribed ever since (:

    • @books_ncats
      @books_ncats  2 місяці тому +1

      Ah thank you, glad you like our set design - Rosie

  • @butters796
    @butters796 2 місяці тому +4

    4:55-5:13 as a womb haver, i actually agree. I hate when i'm visited by satan's waterfall, and i hate PMS. It does weaken my body when i have cramps. If it wasnt necessary for the whole "holding a baby" thing, I'd get rid of it lol

  • @Leticiapcosta
    @Leticiapcosta 3 місяці тому +4

    "I speak in jester" LOVE IT, will be using forever

  • @mewmew6158
    @mewmew6158 3 місяці тому +6

    With the heat, clothing, and cycle I'd have collapsed. Who would have the energy to axe murder 2 people in those circumstances? I think I'd be too dizzy to climb the stairs quickly.

    • @books_ncats
      @books_ncats  3 місяці тому

      Haha yeah, good point! She must be innocent...- Rosie

  • @bethstovell8608
    @bethstovell8608 4 місяці тому +32

    Thanks for your great work and the questions it raises. Female black rage is also powerfully explored in Broken Earth Trilogy by N.K. Jemisin. It asks important questions about who gets to be angry and why through a sci-fi lens.

    • @thing_under_the_stairs
      @thing_under_the_stairs 4 місяці тому +6

      Those books were some of the most powerful fiction I've ever read in a life of reading everything I can.
      Yes, I do have well earned issues with anger, and serious questions as to who gets to "belong" in a society and why, and who makes those determinations and how. We very much need to look at new and different ways to structure a society, because our current model is clearly not working for far too many people.

    • @books_ncats
      @books_ncats  2 місяці тому +2

      Thank you, I'll check them out - Rosie

  • @quaesitrix881
    @quaesitrix881 3 місяці тому +4

    I wouldn't be surprised if periods did give homicidal tendencies because of the *** PAIN and and being forced to go through life as usual because who cares if you can barely stand, "it's perfectly normal to be in pain during your periods so just deal with it".

  • @GilTheDragon
    @GilTheDragon 4 місяці тому +26

    While i GET that the explanation of the wanderings is meant to exert male power... like HOW does a wholeass organ get a-wandering
    There aint that much room!
    17:44 oh right the caniculae are days prone to driving folk to rabies

  • @MichaelKrinsky-hx1vu
    @MichaelKrinsky-hx1vu 4 місяці тому +38

    Oh, this is going to be good! I think I'd enjoy hearing Rosie recite from a telephone directory.

  • @lizc6393
    @lizc6393 2 місяці тому +1

    What an immaculate GEM of a channel, so glad the algorithm pointed me your way!

  • @lavenderrosecosplay5639
    @lavenderrosecosplay5639 4 місяці тому +9

    This topic is fascinating. I love the way your videos are written and filmed. Learning more about Angela Carter and Shirley Jackson gave me the push to read their work. Thank you!

    • @books_ncats
      @books_ncats  2 місяці тому

      You're very welcome! - Rosie

  • @jldisme
    @jldisme 4 місяці тому +14

    A properly fitted corset as worn by almost everyone during this time does NOT compress your organs. They are surprisingly comfortable. Very, very few women used tight lacing, which does compress your organs. I also take issue that Lizzie Borden would have been wearing wool stockings. At the very least, she would have been wearing cotton stockings. But, as she was rich, she probably would have been wearing silk stockings.

    • @elizabethtangora4353
      @elizabethtangora4353 4 місяці тому +5

      22:02 “Andrew Borden was notoriously tight-fisted” and earlier in the video it’s mentioned that he kept his daughters on allowance that was around a factory worker’s salary.

    • @jldisme
      @jldisme 4 місяці тому +2

      @@elizabethtangora4353 But later in the story Carter says his father indulged her.

    • @Snowfoxie1
      @Snowfoxie1 3 місяці тому +4

      Well Angela Carter wrote the story in the 1980s before fashion UA-camrs. All she had for resources were historical documents and first hand accounts from the times so maybe we can forgive her.

    • @jldisme
      @jldisme 3 місяці тому

      @@Snowfoxie1 Fair point.

  • @leitmotif7268
    @leitmotif7268 4 місяці тому +7

    I love seeing your patron list growing with every video ❤ you deserve to be noticed and appreciated! Another excellent work of literary analysis!
    Editing to add 18:50 I love that the description of the layers of Lizzie’s clothing is in reverse order, going from outter to inner garments finishing with the menstrual pad even though it’s discussing her putting them on in the morning. Undressing her as opposed to her being dressed. Love little inversions like that, adds to the discomfort and unease of the scene.

    • @books_ncats
      @books_ncats  2 місяці тому

      Oh that's such a great observation, I never noticed that! Makes her more vulnerable, too. And thank you so much, glad you like our stuff!

  • @sarka2008
    @sarka2008 4 місяці тому +6

    As a woman adjacent being in possession of a uterus I can confirm it makes me homicidal (or murdery the kids say) it also coincidentally grants me the ability cast spells and summon mainly cats but also newt, frogs, toads and spiders, the moon calls to me.

  • @Sidneycozzoi
    @Sidneycozzoi 2 місяці тому +2

    I thought I knew everything about this case, yet I had never heard about the bucket of bloody rags. What a crazy detail to leave out!

  • @shynye
    @shynye 4 місяці тому +10

    Your videos just get better and better. I'm always sitting here absolutely enthralled

  • @KitKat_293
    @KitKat_293 3 місяці тому +3

    25:18 unfortunately, often when a woman is in such a humiliating state but with relative power (wife of a rich man) she may take it out on other women, children and staff in her life. as a woman i've been lucky enough to not be harmed or exploited by men but have had horrific experiences with a handful of women who had direct control over me. sometimes the abuse of men is removed by a degree or two

  • @gremlinjabberish
    @gremlinjabberish 4 місяці тому +14

    My great grandma grew up where Lizzie Borden lived. By then she was an old lady but the neighborhood kids would run with sticks along her fence singing the song “lizzie borden took an ax”
    I’d hear a lot of stories growing up about what it was like with her being in the neighborhood
    She was known as a hermit and would constantly chase of the children that would terrorize her

  • @OrionKingsley
    @OrionKingsley 4 місяці тому +6

    You are truly so engaging. You could make a video just reading off a shopping list and still have me glued to the screen

  • @sarahallegra6239
    @sarahallegra6239 4 місяці тому +12

    Wow, somehow I didn’t know that Angela Carter, one of my favorite writers, had written about Lizzie Borden, one of my favorite historical mysteries! Thank you for this delicious dive into what she had to say and all the implications of the case! ❤

    • @books_ncats
      @books_ncats  2 місяці тому +1

      Yeah I think it's a bit of a sidelined story really, but I'm so glad I stumbled upon it. And thank you for your kind words! - Rosie

  • @dendroleon
    @dendroleon 4 місяці тому +40

    tortoiseshell cat!
    'having fleas' is hilarious (flea comment unrelated to cat comment)

    • @books_ncats
      @books_ncats  2 місяці тому +1

      haha! she did have actually have fleas recently (actual fleas, not menstruation fleas) - Rosie

  • @Orchidbonbon
    @Orchidbonbon Місяць тому

    Rosie I am so obsessed with your channel. As a person who is just now getting into more literature with a preexisting interest in the disturbing and uncanny you are such a gem of knowledge. I am so excited to binge your videos in the background doing my art projects! Love your cat btw!!

  • @memelchang
    @memelchang 4 місяці тому +10

    Great video as always! Also Little Girl Gone is a really good song, so it's nice to see it referenced for its deeper meaning

    • @books_ncats
      @books_ncats  2 місяці тому +1

      I adore it, she has such a great voice and it's just such a delicious song - Rosie

  • @lesleygoodall-page8035
    @lesleygoodall-page8035 4 місяці тому +4

    Why has the algorithm only just shown your channel to me? Loving it already.

  • @lindafarnes486
    @lindafarnes486 3 місяці тому +4

    I saw an interesting presentation about Lizzie, via a historical society. They never found the murder weapon, and they looked everywhere including a well and on the roof. The presenter had a look at a few things actually and I gather even today it is unlikely Lizzie would be found guilty. But if not Lizzie, then who? This is an interesting aspect though I must say.

  • @angeline-a-gale
    @angeline-a-gale 4 місяці тому +17

    I swear the deep state of depression i get into each month is awful. It’s like I’m constantly frustrated and ready to cry. It last forever. Sometimes it doesn’t seem i get that “one week of normalcy” we’re promised lol

    • @NoiseDay
      @NoiseDay 4 місяці тому

      Unsolicited unprofessional medical advice- I take St. John's wort a couple days a month when the depression comes on. It's sold in grocery stores as a supplement. Don't take it if you have a prescription that might interfere because it is legitimately effective.

    • @StargazerSkyscraper
      @StargazerSkyscraper 4 місяці тому +7

      PMDD, perhaps? It may be worth a look. I have a couple friends with this condition and knowing it had a name and treatment plan was a life-changer for them.

  • @ceres090
    @ceres090 4 місяці тому +39

    I always thought Lizzie Borden was a tween because everyone calls her Lizzie. It feels innately infantilizing now.

    • @Sanecrist
      @Sanecrist 4 місяці тому +11

      That was just how nicknames were back then. Lots of cultures, Russian comes to mind, find it insulting or just plain weird for people you know to call you by your real first name. Unless you’re a complete stranger, or government official, don’t call someone by their full first name. Promotion to acquaintance comes with a new title. haha
      It didn’t even fall out of practice that long ago! Lots of old men still go by Randy, Rusty, Billy, Bobby, etc. I doubt they feel infantilized.
      Donny Osmond is still proud of his name. He never changed it to “Donald” even during his “bad boy” rebrand phase in the 80’s. 😅
      At some point, your “kiddie” nickname just becomes your name. It’s what everyone knows you as and you respond. It’s not that deep.

    • @sapphireredwood5612
      @sapphireredwood5612 3 місяці тому +6

      lizzie was actually her legal name, not elizabeth or anything it could be a nickname for. i agree, the fact that she was named that definitely adds to the infantilisation.

  • @joyachill
    @joyachill 3 місяці тому +4

    I love your deeply objective view on these things. There's a lot of discourse about true crime media and how the people discussed within should be treated and respected by consumers, but aside from that, applying narrativity to real, actual individuals to suit whichever satisfying story one wants to (sub-)consciously tell is dangerous - and - bad for analysis.
    I think you did a great job being cautious as well as laying out all the facts here! Your set and writing are wonderful, too!

    • @books_ncats
      @books_ncats  2 місяці тому +1

      Thanks very much! - Rosie

  • @KitKat_293
    @KitKat_293 4 місяці тому +16

    she IS the original OJ for me. I think her very real marginalization combined with her wealth and status and public spectacle put just enough doubt to get acquitted, if she did it that is.
    Black mens brutalization under the corrupt LAPD was all TOO real both then and now. but OJ's lawyers cleverly spun that horrific reality to work in his favor and instill genuine doubt and guilt in the jury that an innocent man was being framed. Women were subjugated and dehumanized for their anatomy, but Lizzie's lawyers cleverly spun that legitimate societal evil to work in Lizzie's favor instead. All this because unlike most of their demographic there was money and power behind them. just a strange and unnerving twist of tables that feels parallel to me

  • @JudithRBos
    @JudithRBos 4 місяці тому +9

    As I understood the Lucy Worsely documentary, Lizzy started living with her lady-friend possibly as a lesbian... As the social norms stood, I can immagine the people thought a lady could nog commit crimes, but a lesbian surely could...

  • @cassiusvoidkin
    @cassiusvoidkin 4 місяці тому +28

    It's quite funny to hear what men of the past, and currently, think that Women are dangerous during their menstrual period knowing now that our Testosterone is highest during that time. We are as mean and irrational during our periods as men are every day.

    • @books_ncats
      @books_ncats  2 місяці тому

      Huh, I didn't know that about testosterone, interesting! - Rosie

  • @_letstartariot
    @_letstartariot 3 місяці тому +2

    Books and cats is literally my personality, I’ve never hit sub faster. Also the ‘ye ol’ female hysteria’ thing that the title reminds me of. We can’t experience blinding anger outside of it being our hormones according to tales as old as time told by men.

    • @books_ncats
      @books_ncats  2 місяці тому

      Glad you found us, lots more female hysteria and rage to come

  • @marieroberts5664
    @marieroberts5664 4 місяці тому +13

    20:37 starting here and ending at 21:00 , reminds me, as the culmination of the section about the oppressive heat, the Twilight Zone episode (no, not Midnight Sun, although that works too) where a researcher? insurance agent? is visiting a very hot tenament on a heat wave breaking day. The man warns the lady of the house that the kind of heat she is experiencing can lead to all kinds of trouble...and as the day ends, her husband comes home, they start arguing...and he grabs his small hand axe. Fade to black (and this might be Alfred Hitchcock or Outer Limits, don't remember). It's been long known that the heat will drive you crazy!
    Love this video so far... Funny though. In the tv movie starring Elizabeth Montgomery, I don't remember a word about the bloody rags or the menstruation...maybe it just blew past me, it's been 40 or 50 years since the show.

    • @fabrisseterbrugghe8567
      @fabrisseterbrugghe8567 4 місяці тому +5

      I remember that one. It did mention the "fleas" and indirectly explain what it was a euphemism for, but, if I recall correctly, it really was glossed over quickly.

    • @marieroberts5664
      @marieroberts5664 4 місяці тому +1

      @@fabrisseterbrugghe8567 thanks, likely why I didn't get it.

    • @pompe221
      @pompe221 24 дні тому

      I remember the short story that the episode was based on. The argument was that when the temperature reached a particular level, murders were more likely to happen. Below that temp, it was still cool enough for people to keep their tempers and above that, it was too hot to murder or even fight because the heat just saps your energy so much.
      I can't remember if the person(s) warning the woman were life insurance agents or what.

  • @Systemofafan17
    @Systemofafan17 4 місяці тому +3

    I love the way you explain things, and the mention of a racial disparity in what is celebrated as female rage. I’m officially a new sub lol

  • @incineroar9933
    @incineroar9933 4 місяці тому +6

    Buttress' Brutus might be right up your alley if you haven't already heard her music. She put out some great tracks, but Brutus is especially poignant.

    • @spacecowboybunnies5890
      @spacecowboybunnies5890 4 місяці тому

      I love that song a lot but she’s a huge huge transphobe, just in case you weren’t aware!

  • @kariannecrysler640
    @kariannecrysler640 4 місяці тому +3

    I focus my rage more often than not, on finding the solutions. Conflict does nothing in the long run, but soothe the ego. So I soothe my ego by learning more.

  • @teethlordd
    @teethlordd 3 місяці тому +3

    MOUSY THE MALEVOLENT IS SUCH A CAT NAME

  • @Dunybrook
    @Dunybrook 4 місяці тому +2

    As far as the actual murders there were apparently two other people in the house (Lizzie and their maid), besides the victims, neither of whom claim to have seen or heard anything.

  • @warcats-cat
    @warcats-cat 4 місяці тому +5

    I was so excited to see a new video when I got home today, and I'm enjoying it thoroughly!

  • @kyraevans3052
    @kyraevans3052 4 місяці тому +6

    not this video popping up on my feed while im on my period 💀

  • @bettyg9707
    @bettyg9707 4 місяці тому +2

    Your content is amazing, as always! I have to ask-how do you get your video quality to look so good? I honestly thought it was done by a TV station at first!

  • @ChickadeeBoi
    @ChickadeeBoi 4 місяці тому +11

    Asking for, um reasons, but how do I convince my womb to wander its way off a high pier at low tide? 😅
    But more sincerely, listening to that list of old timey remedies for PMS makes me mildly less infuriated by my own body's monthly mutinous actions. Oh and does bleeding make one weak or terrifying? Do the AMAB mascs mistrust us who bleed without death, or do they fear what is undeniably a display of anatomical power? I mean if I was being confronted by something/someone that seemed to survive the impossible it would not be a lack of trust consuming my mind. It would be a staggering sense of both fear and bewilderment. *mic drop*

  • @finchcarvingadiamond
    @finchcarvingadiamond 4 місяці тому +5

    I'm related to lizzy! Her family to this days stands by her innocence.... they uh... never spoke of the menstrual stuff

  • @CynthiaMcG
    @CynthiaMcG 4 місяці тому +11

    The Overlook Hotel is now canonically female. 😆

  • @basementdwellercosplay
    @basementdwellercosplay 4 місяці тому +9

    When I ever have my period and someone asks if I feel okay, I'll tell them my womb is wandering

  • @coronarii
    @coronarii 4 місяці тому +2

    ur videos always blow me away u gotta be my fave UA-camr !! keep it up

  • @themerryspinster905
    @themerryspinster905 4 місяці тому +4

    Just found you, and love your take on this.

  • @alsafyche
    @alsafyche 4 місяці тому +3

    i've watched, read, and listened to a few borden re-tellings and this is the first time i've heard there was a blood bucket. lmao

  • @Dantalliumsolarium
    @Dantalliumsolarium 4 місяці тому +2

    Oh this is such an awesome video!!!

  • @YouRemindMeOfTheBabe08
    @YouRemindMeOfTheBabe08 4 місяці тому +5

    How did you get Lucy Worsley to narrate???!??!! AMAZING!! 🤩😍 there's a few other voices I recognized, but am unable to pinpoint!🤔
    Great video (as per usual) !
    💚

    • @lavenderrosecosplay5639
      @lavenderrosecosplay5639 4 місяці тому +4

      I believe the audio is taken from Lucy Worsley's podcast episode about Lizzie Borden.

  • @Huorfern
    @Huorfern 4 місяці тому +4

    Another great song is 'RAGE' by Samantha Margret

  • @fluffymcsnuggles1825
    @fluffymcsnuggles1825 3 місяці тому +1

    Fun but random fact I’m actually related to both Lizzie Borden and her stepmother who was murdered. Heard this story a million times before I even knew that ancestral connection.

  • @editdebreceni3186
    @editdebreceni3186 3 місяці тому +2

    Another lovely essay ❤ thank you 😊

  • @lilykatmoon4508
    @lilykatmoon4508 4 місяці тому +3

    This was absolutely fascinating. I definitely want to read that short story and see that movie-AND read Audre Lord! ❤

  • @skyllalafey
    @skyllalafey 4 місяці тому +4

    Excellent as always.

  • @natgrafton5138
    @natgrafton5138 4 місяці тому +2

    Your content is fantastic, thank you for the effort, research, and passion you put in to it all

    • @books_ncats
      @books_ncats  2 місяці тому +1

      Thanks so much - Rosie

    • @natgrafton5138
      @natgrafton5138 2 місяці тому

      @@books_ncats aw of course, I really dig your content because you bring a level of access I just haven't found elsewhere. I always struggled w reading Gothic lit but listening to you read it my brain can comprehend the story without getting bogged down by anything. Thanks for making something that lets more people get into this really wonderful literature 💖

  • @Thenewboidahlia
    @Thenewboidahlia 4 місяці тому +5

    I’m sorry, I’m at the Wandering Womb bit and I’m just…wow 😂😂😂😂 science has come so far 😅😂

  • @Maude_T
    @Maude_T 4 місяці тому +3

    Loved watching this while menstruating! Amazing video as always Rosie

  • @ActiveAdvocate1
    @ActiveAdvocate1 4 місяці тому +24

    I'm sorry, I feel the need to raise my voice, but ARE YOU F*CKING KIDDING ME? I suppose I'm not surprised that men invented the idea of PMS, but I get it really badly every month (yes, TMI, I know), and I have heard that, in cultures where it's not considered a problem, well, it's less of a problem for people who go through it. Social support much, eh? Like, I practically have to cut myself off from human contact for a week out of every month, and I sh*t you not, my WOMAN DOCTORE basically said, "Are you homicidal? No? Suicidal? No? Then it's not an issue." I mean both "my doctor who is a woman," and "my doctor who addresses, ahem, woman issues." Same caveats apply as were given in the video, eh: I recognize that not everyone who menstruates is a woman, and not everyone who does not menstruate isn't a woman. I do wonder what it's like not to have to deal with this sh*t, though.

    • @FartVolcano
      @FartVolcano 4 місяці тому +6

      Not sure if i'm reading your comment correctly but I think I agree lol. I'm the same with pms and to women that don't go through it, it does read like misogyny. I'm a different person when I have pms, if pushed I probably would attack someone/gen

    • @thing_under_the_stairs
      @thing_under_the_stairs 4 місяці тому +5

      I used to get *terrible* PMS that made life unbearable for me and everybody around me. Insult was added to injury when I could only have this taken seriously when I came at this complaint from the perspective of a nonbinary person who was experiencing awful dysphoria from my periods and PMS. Then I could get period surpressing contraception no problem. But when I was still living as a woman? No dice. Someone please explain this to me in a way that isn't flat out misogynist.

    • @jwolfe1209
      @jwolfe1209 4 місяці тому +3

      I thankfully don't have intense hormonal mood effects the way some poor gals do, but I do get 2-3 nights of insomnia and that alone is enough to lower my BS tolerance. I really think a lot of the "oh she's crazy/hysterical because she's on her period" is because we just don't have the energy to put up with the crap we do the other 3 weeks of the month 😒

  • @cheerfulremorse
    @cheerfulremorse 4 місяці тому +2

    "Womb wandering" sounds a lot like PMDD.

  • @Lady_dromeda
    @Lady_dromeda 4 місяці тому +4

    I never even heard of the menstruation part of the case.

  • @MichaelKrinsky-hx1vu
    @MichaelKrinsky-hx1vu 4 місяці тому +10

    Oh, this was as good as I expected! Your writing and presentation is incisive, eloquent and entertaining as always!
    Just as I was thinking how natural and at-home you look in Victorian fashion, you stated how uncomfortable it actually is. It made me wonder if I would have viewed you or any other woman any differently if I had lived in the era; if I would have simply accepted it because "that's just how women were supposed to look". Never being a particular fan of hot weather, I must confess that your narration of Angela Carter's description of the oppressive heat and that of what all the restrictive clothing Lizzie would have worn made me distinctively uncomfortable. Bleh.
    Thank you for your work!

  • @PriestEater
    @PriestEater 2 місяці тому +2

    Im a transman who just got his womb removed due to a precancerous condition and hearing/reading the wandering womb being "hungry for semen" just docked several decades off my lifespan 😭🤮

  • @jubileethreesixtynoscope632
    @jubileethreesixtynoscope632 3 місяці тому +2

    Good for her, sometimes you just gotta let girls be girls

  • @MisterNym
    @MisterNym 2 місяці тому

    Extremely surreal to hear a British voice say the name of my hometown. Very excited to see more of this.
    Edit: Belly laugh when I heard "Portuguese Community" in the part about immigrants, so weird to think about how the tables have turned.

  • @MarMasterM
    @MarMasterM 4 місяці тому +2

    You make such great content!

  • @sarahwatts7152
    @sarahwatts7152 4 місяці тому +1

    I like discussing menstruation with everyone - either to horrify or to educate. The best is when you can manage both 🤪

  • @PorkSzoda
    @PorkSzoda 4 місяці тому +1

    PHENOMENAL video ma'am!

  • @MP-qq7cl
    @MP-qq7cl 3 місяці тому

    What is the classical piece that starts playing around 28:13?

  • @lindakay9552
    @lindakay9552 4 місяці тому +5

    Omg how have I never found your channel before? I'm only on the intro still and you're like a Brit Lady on too much caffeine and letting some macabre precariously ooze out.
    I'm in love already.
    It only sweetens the pot to learn a new take on Lizzie.

    • @books_ncats
      @books_ncats  2 місяці тому

      'a Brit Lady on too much caffeine and letting some macabre precariously ooze out' is going in every future personal statement I ever write - Rosie

  • @janelaroque
    @janelaroque 4 місяці тому +3

    A Private Disgrace: Lizzie Borden by Daylight by Victoria Lincoln - ~Winner of the Mystery Writers of America Edgar Award for Best Fact True Crime Novel of the Year, 1967

    • @gloriamontgomery6900
      @gloriamontgomery6900 4 місяці тому +1

      Great mention of a really terrific book. It has so much information that can’t be found elsewhere. I’ve read it. Definitely the best book written on the subject by far. I don’t agree with the author’s conclusion about epilepsy contributing to the murders-Lizzie had plenty of provocation without that.
      The summer heat was badly exaggerated. It was in the low to mid 80s. Probably stuffy and uncomfortable at worst, but hardly likely to drive a person to a homicidal rage. Lizzie had had 2 comfortable front buttoning blue dresses made of light fabric made in the spring to wear in the summer. She had more than enough time to clean herself up thoroughly after killing her stepmother. Less time after killing her father, but that can still be explained by covering her hair with a kerchief and quickly changing afterwards, washing her hands and face and hiding a bloodied dress under a clean one on a hanger in her closet. Any dampness of her hair, even to the extent of being a little wet would dry very, very quickly in the warmth of the day, perhaps in as little as 10 minutes. I know because my method of avoiding heatstroke while distance running for years was to get soaking wet, hair included . It would be dry looking after 10 minutes, completely dry in 15-20.

    • @janelaroque
      @janelaroque 4 місяці тому +2

      @@gloriamontgomery6900 I like the notion that she grabbed her father's coat hanging in the hall and after stuffed it under his head where it was found, also the garment covering a garment in the closet theory. I too found the epilepsy problematic and likely not the correct diagnosis (though popular at the time). but I come from a family of five girls and none of us were wholly sane. I myself tend to black out traumatic occurrences and have to piece together what happened later. Thank goodness rage has not been an issue, I do very much like this take on the subject. _ Thank You!.

  • @ActiveAdvocate1
    @ActiveAdvocate1 4 місяці тому +22

    Also, I've heard another very interesting theory surrounding this discourse: same caveats as before, but I'm just going to use "men" and "women" in their cis-not-necessarily-het sense, okay? But the theory goes that guys did this to us because they are AFRAID of us. It's the reason why among the most ancient religions on Earth, you had Mother Goddess worship (see not just Mother Earth Herself, of course, but also the goddess Ishtar in Mesopotamian mythology, Isis in Egyptian, Amaterasu in Shinto/Japanese tradition, Maa Kali in Hinduism--She's a total badass, by the way--so on), but, as people began to settle down, and defend the land on which they farmed, appeasing the Sky Father became the thing to do, because no farmer wants drought, and also does not want flooding, so the sky gods, who were and still ARE traditionally male, took over the vast majority of pantheons. But one of the key things here, too, is the DEFENSE of the land, and men were also, usually, the warriors of any given group, just like nowadays. Now, what happens to a guy when he's cut by a sword, especially before modern medicine? Well, he often dies, now doesn't he? Dies from infection and/or blood loss. But the warriors look at us and go, "Wait, she bleeds heavily every month, regular as the moon goes in her cycles, but she doesn't die? MAGIC!!!!!!!!!" In other words, this is a very ancient fear, but post-Goddess-worship ancient, so...3000-ish BCE and onward. Not as much here in North America, surprisingly, because, while there were Nations who settled down, of course, a lot of them somehow stayed matriarchal, PROBABLY because of the life-giver aspect. Not all of them, mind: the Seminoles are patriarchal, for example.

    • @books_ncats
      @books_ncats  2 місяці тому

      Wow, that's interesting, I'll have to look into the blood loss/goddess/ancient fear angle! - Rosie

  • @ladyredl3210
    @ladyredl3210 4 місяці тому +3

    I see Angela Carter, I click

  • @jenniferharris61
    @jenniferharris61 4 місяці тому +4

    This is a FAVORITE!

  • @jadesola_artist4041
    @jadesola_artist4041 2 місяці тому

    This outfit and location is so fun I love this! Is it actually a real like stone building or green screen?