Who was Bridget Sullivan? Netflix’s ‘Monster’ series explores Lizzie Borden’s complicated relationship with maid
The recently released ‘Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story’ on Netflix has caught everyone’s attention with its unsolved murder mystery and the incident’s complicated nature. The streamer describes the true-crime series as “Trapped in a cruel Victorian-era household, Lizzie Borden kills her parents in a gory ax murder that shocks the nation.” While Lizzie is alleged to have killed her parents, there’s another individual who is at the center of it all: the Borden household’s Irish maid, Bridget Sullivan. Fans already familiar with the infamous case will be eager to see how Netflix’s latest true-crime series portrays the events as an unexpected unraveling at the Borden family home.
Bridget Sullivan, a 26-year-old Irish immigrant, worked for the Bordens doing light housework. She came to the United States approximately seven years before the murders took place. From August 1892, she worked for Andrew and Abby Borden for about two years and nine months. During that time, she lived in a small attic bedroom at the family’s Second Street home. Despite her name being Bridget, she was referred to as “Maggie.” At the time, it was said to be common for households to refer to their servants by nicknames. She was tasked with chores including cleaning, laundry, cooking, among other things.
Bridget was a live-in servant for the family. Although she was familiar with the household members’ routines and relationships, she did not realize she would become a crucial witness to the events of August 4, 1892. On the day, both Andrew and Abby Borden were found brutally murdered in their Fall River home. At the time, there were only two other individuals present: Andrew’s daughter Lizzie and the live-in maid, Bridget Sullivan. That day, Bridget had been in and out of the house doing chores, as Abby had instructed earlier. She saw both of them moments before they were murdered inside the house. Later, during the murder investigation, Bridget had become a key witness.
Based on Bridget’s testimony, investigators reconstructed the incident, and she had also become a crucial part of Lizzie’s murder trial. However, her presence has raised multiple questions regarding her relationship with Lizzie. First and the most important one: How did two people get murdered inside the house and she did not hear or see anything? Second, did she know more than she testified, especially about Lizzie being the other person in the house at the time of the incident? Evan Hunter’s 1984 novel “Lizzie” explores the possibility of Lizzie and Bridget joining forces to murder the Bordens. The 2018 film ‘Lizzie’ starring Chloe Sevigny and the latest series from Netflix also shed light on the similar possibility of Lizzie’s complicated relationship with Bridget. To know more, fans can now stream ‘Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story’ on Netflix.
