Lizzie Borden Chronicles: Give them a break
There are those who decry what they deem an abuse of history whenever Lizzie Borden is depicted as the killer of her father and stepmother in 1892 because she was acquitted of the crimes. And there are those who pontificate how the new series due out in April on the Lifetime network is a complete bastardization of the story due to the depiction of Lizzie Borden as some sort of serial killer. To those folks I say give them a break.
Lizzie Borden has forever been depicted in plays, operas, musicals, books, and made for TV movies as responsible for the gruesome murders. It is an industry unto itself! Ever since Edmund S. Porter wrote The Fall River Tragedy in 1893, the first book on the case, dozens of writers have been firm in their belief in her sole guilt. To them, she got away with murder.
The most famous and popular depiction of Lizzie Borden on screen was produced in the 1970s, starring Elizabeth Montgomery— The Legend of Lizzie Borden. In that film, Lizzie did it—in the nude no less. And like the most recent movie, there was again no mention of Uncle John Morse and his curious visit to the Borden house on the day before the murders. The Elizabeth Montgomery movie also got the history wrong in many places: Andrew Borden did not embalm dead people in the cellar; the house on Second Street is not made of brick, nor is there a mountain in the background of Fall River; Lizzie didn’t return to Second Street following the verdict—among other smaller slights. And yet, this film is hailed by these very same “historians” as the ultimate contribution to the Borden oeuvre.
Now comes an 8-part mini-series on the heels of a popular television film on the same network (Lizzie Borden Took an Axe), again starring Christina Ricci, titled The Lizzie Borden Chronicles. According to Entertainment Weekly,
“While the film was inspired by real-life events, the series will take certain creative liberties, which draw from the mysterious events surrounding the deaths of those close to Borden in the years after her acquittal.
“‘It’s an imagining of what could’ve happened,’ Ricci told reporters at the Television Critics Association’s winter TV previews. ‘There are no limits of behavior. There are no rules. It’s the ultimate playing a fantasy.’
“Adds director Stephen Kay: ‘It’s what would happen if you let this woman loose on a community.'”
In addition to my interest in the Lizzie Borden case and the history of Fall River, Massachusetts, I am a theatre practitioner and critic. I hold a PhD in Theatre History and Dramatic Literature. I go to plays and have seen a goodly amount of Lizzie Borden-themes works. Most of them have been marvelous. The Off-Broadway rock opera Lizzie, created by writer/director Tim Maner, songwriter Steven Cheslik-DeMeyer, and Alan Stevens Hewitt (who co-wrote the score, orchestrated it, and contributed lyrics, in addition to serving as musical director), was STUPENDOUS! I am glad to see its popularly increase as it is produced in venues in America and abroad.
Likewise, the well-written one act plays by Carolyn Gage, Lace Curtain Irish and The Greatest Actress Who Ever Lived, also inspire deep appreciation from me for theatre done right.
If a creative effort is true to itself, makes dramatic sense in its own world, and works as a piece of theatre, then I say bully for them! I am never one to condemn a work of art because it does not conform to reality or history. I appreciate theatrical representations of Lizzie Borden even when they have her as the killer or a lesbian or maniacal bitch.
And while last year’s Lizzie Borden Took an Axe included modern music and took great liberties with their depiction of the historical costuming and societal manners of the late nineteenth century Fall River, Massachusetts, I very much enjoyed the film and especially liked the ending. I sat in a restaurant in Fall River with Lizzie Borden friends to see the premier on TV and my first reaction was shared with those in my party. Later, I watched it again and found the movie even more compelling. So I am looking forward to the new series and will give the show every opportunity to be as liberal with the truth of the story of Lizzie Borden as they like. They are, after all, playing with a fictional depiction. They are not creating a documentary or a work of historical importance. I doubt there will be much confusion that this Lizzie Borden is their Lizzie Borden. Anyone who thinks otherwise is lacking common sense.
So I plan on enjoying The Lizzie Borden Chronicles. It is good to see the old gal become more popular with time. Maybe this mini-series will bring more tourists to Fall River, a city that is in dire need of a boost in those types of dollars. After all, you can sleep in the murder house here. The Lizzie Borden B&B is a fabulous place to spend the night or take a tour during the day. I highly recommend it.
And if you really want to know of the history of the case, please visit the my website LizzieAndrewBorden.com, where you can download and read the primary source documents for free: the trial, the witness statements, the wills, and the inquest testimony. And/or read Parallel Lives: A Social History of Lizzie A. Borden and Her Fall River, written and published by the Fall River Historical Society. And when you are in town, visit the Society which has the largest collection of Lizzie Borden material anywhere in the world. You will be glad you did.
