Lizzie Borden: Gender, Media, and the American Justice System
Abstract:
The case of Lizzie Borden is an influential historical case that has affected and continues to affect popular-culture in the United States. As a result, it is critical to analyze this well-known case to determine how and why it progressed in the ways it did. Further, this project will examine how this case can serve as a revealing lens in late 19th century society, as well as the present day. The Lizzie Borden case had three aspects that affected the outcome and led to the mystery surrounding the murder of Abby and Andrew Borden. The three aspects of the case were gender, and the societal ideas of women in the 19th century, the media, and the American Justice System. When examining the case, it can be seen that these themes were highly influential and the question of the extent of each theme’s influence is tied to how each of these themes affected each other. To examine these factors, books, newspaper articles from the time period, and court documents will be analyzed to show how the entanglement of gender, the media, and the American Justice System influenced the outcome of the Lizzie Borden case – even more than the facts underlying the case.