A girl named Blanche Monnier was forced to a painful existence for the offence of being too well-liked by males in her area in this old tale of utter depravity.
Discover what transpired, how the horrors she endured were exposed, and the sheer fortitude it took for her to endure for so long in such circumstances.
This is Blanche Monnier’s tale.
Blanche was a stunning French girl born in 1849 to an elite family. Numerous suitors were drawn to her because of her attractive appearance and charming demeanour. While having numerous options was sometimes praised, having that many guys interested in her would result in a genuinely awful predicament.
Her mother was very…protective, as you can see.
Louise Monnier, Blanche’s mother, grew irate when she got countless letters from all these men attempting to woo her. She came to the conclusion that her daughter was simply too valuable to be wed and needed to be preserved.
Blanche then vanished.
Or did she?
She did in front of the public, but Louise always knew where her daughter was. Blanche was sequestered in her chamber, with the windows even boarded up to block light and keep outsiders from seeing her. Blanche would spend the next 25 years in this room.
Even from the rest of her family, she was totally alone.
Even though she was kept in her room, her mother had very stringent guidelines for her to obey. She was not permitted to leave her bed, clean herself, or maintain any semblance of basic hygiene. She had to spend decades using the same restroom and eating and sleeping there.
Louise took care to hide her activities.
She said to her friends and relatives that Blanche had been sent to an English boarding school that she had not had time to visit because it was so busy and demanding. The untruth was that Blanche left to start a new life in Scotland when she was old enough to graduate.
How were Louise’s crimes detected with such a convincing deception in place?
25 years after Louise permanently closed Blanche’s door, in March 1901, the attorney general of Paris received an unidentified letter. The letter read, “Monsieur Attorney General: I have the honor to inform you of an exceptionally serious occurrence. I speak of a spinster who is locked up in Madame Monnier’s house, half-starved and living on a putrid litter for the past twenty-five years — in a word, in her own filth.”
At first, the police weren’t sure.
Even though the Monniers were extremely well-known and respected, they nonetheless conducted their investigation.
When they first arrived at the house, everything appeared to be in order—that is, until someone smelled something foul. The aroma led them directly to Blanche’s room. She was able to unlock her door for the first time in decades despite the locks.
What they witnessed is described in the reports.
“The woman looked extremely malnourished whilst lying completely naked on a rotten mattress. All around her formed a crust made from excrement and fragments of food… We also saw bugs running across Mademoiselle Monnier’s bed. The air inside the room was so unbearable, it was impossible for us to proceed with our investigation any longer.”
Additionally, they smashed the window boards, allowing Blanche to once more see the sun.
She explained to the authorities that she had been held captive here for 25 years and had been provided with minimum necessities like food and water. She weighed barely 55 pounds when they discovered her, and she was too weak to stand.
Blanche was taken to the hospital in a hurry, where the staff was astounded that she had survived. She remarked on how wonderful it was to breathe clean air once more.
What about Louise and her family?
Despite being imprisoned for her crimes, Louise died only 15 days later. Authorities thought she had a cardiac issue, but other people speculate that she might have drugged herself.
Marcel, Blanche’s brother, received a 15-year prison term for participating in his mother’s crimes.
And Blanche’s ending?
It’s unfortunate that it’s not a joyful one. She was no longer locked in her room, but the trauma she had through had left her with severe mental and physical health issues. After being taken to a mental health facility, she passed away in 1913.
Such incidents demonstrate the darkest aspects of humanity.
Even while we’d like to think that people would never act in such a way, there are a select few, the worst of the worst, who cause others’ lives to be filled with suffering.
These kinds of stories can be difficult to read, but it’s important to keep in mind that there are dangerous and ill people in the world, and that we should all be vigilant. Additionally, it serves as a lesson on doing the right thing, just like the letter’s anonymous author did.
