Blanche Monnier (French pronunciation: [blɑ̃ʃ mɔnje]; 1 March 1849 – 13 October 1913), often known in France as la Séquestrée de Poitiers[a] (roughly, "The Confined Woman of Poitiers"),[2] was a woman from Poitiers, France, who was secretly kept locked in a small room by her aristocratic mother and brother for 25 years. She was eventually found by police, then middle-aged and in an emaciated and filthy condition; according to officials, Monnier had not seen any sunlight for her entire captivity.[3]
Monnier was a French socialite from a well-respected, conservative bourgeois family in Poitiers of old noble origins. She was renowned for her beauty and attracted many potential suitors for marriage. In 1876, at the age of 27, she desired to marry an older lawyer who was not to her mother Louise's liking; she argued that her daughter could not marry a "penniless lawyer".[4] Her disapproving mother, angered by her daughter's defiance, locked her in a tiny, dark room in the attic of their home, where she kept her secluded for 25 years. Louise Monnier and Blanche's brother, Marcel, continued on with their daily lives, pretending to mourn Blanche's disappearance. None of her friends knew where she was and the lawyer whom she wished to marry died unexpectedly in 1885. On 23 May 1901, the "Paris Attorney General"[b] received an anonymous letter, the author of which is still unknown, that revealed the incarceration:
Monsieur Attorney General: I have the honour 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.
Monnier was rescued by police from appalling conditions, covered in old food and feces, with bugs all around the bed and floor, weighing barely 25 kilograms (55 lb).[5][6]
One policeman described the state of Monnier and her bed thus:[4]
The unfortunate woman was lying completely naked on a rotten straw mattress. All around her was formed a sort of crust made from excrement, fragments of meat, vegetables, fish and rotten bread... We also saw oyster shells, and bugs running across Mademoiselle Monnier's bed. The air was so unbreathable, the odor given off by the room was so rank, that it was impossible for us to stay any longer to proceed with our investigation.
1901 drawing of Monnier's discovery. German caption: Das lebende Skelett von Poitiers ("The Living Skeleton of Poitiers").
Her mother was arrested, became ill shortly afterwards and died 15 days later after seeing an angry mob gather in front of her house. Her brother, Marcel Monnier, appeared in court and was initially convicted, but later was acquitted on appeal; he was deemed mentally incapacitated, and, although the judges criticised his choices, they found that a "duty to rescue" did not exist in the penal code at that time with sufficient rule to convict him.[5][7]
^See Procureur général for the closest translation of the office. At the time of writing, Paris was the capital of the Second French Empire; the "Attorney General" of Paris was Léon Bulot from 1900.
^Ivry, Benjamin; Gide, André (2003). "The Confined Woman of Poitiers". New England Review. 24 (3): 99–132. JSTOR 40244293.
^Vivi, Janouin-Benanti. La Séquestrée De Poitiers: Une Affaire Judiciaire Sans Précédent (in French) ISBN978-2914474009
^ abSee "English sources" under References section below.
^ abcPujolas, Marie (27 February 2015). "En tournage, un documentaire sur l'incroyable affaire de "La séquestrée de Poitiers"" (in French). France Télévisions.
^"Jacques Pradel et RTL reviennent sur l'incroyable histoire de la Séquestrée de Poitiers" (in French). Charente Libre. 19 May 2015.
^Moreillon, Laurent. L'infraction par omission, Librairie Droz, 1993, p. 65, (in French)
^"Pascal Audoux dévoile les mystères du Loir-et-Cher" (in French). La Nouvelle Republique. 25 April 2015.
^"Retronews – Le site de presse de la BnF" (in French). 31 December 1999. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
^Levy, Audrey (21 April 2015). "Destins de femmes: Ces Poitevines plus ou moins célèbres auront marqué l'Histoire". Le Point (in French).
English sources
Radeska, Tijana (5 January 2018). "Blanche Monnier was imprisoned in a tiny room for 25 years because her mother hated her choice of husband". The Vintage News.
. History Key. Archived from the original on 30 September 2018. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
External links
"She imprisoned daughter, Girl Kept in a Dungeon Twenty-five Years Because She Was True to Her Sweetheart". The New York Times. 9 June 1901. Retrieved 12 October 2017.
January 07, 2023
blanche, monnier, french, pronunciation, blɑ, mɔnje, march, 1849, october, 1913, often, known, france, séquestrée, poitiers, roughly, confined, woman, poitiers, woman, from, poitiers, france, secretly, kept, locked, small, room, aristocratic, mother, brother, . Blanche Monnier French pronunciation blɑ ʃ mɔnje 1 March 1849 13 October 1913 often known in France as la Sequestree de Poitiers a roughly The Confined Woman of Poitiers 2 was a woman from Poitiers France who was secretly kept locked in a small room by her aristocratic mother and brother for 25 years She was eventually found by police then middle aged and in an emaciated and filthy condition according to officials Monnier had not seen any sunlight for her entire captivity 3 Blanche MonnierBlanche Monnier in 1901 1 Born 1849 03 01 1 March 1849Poitiers Vienne Second French RepublicDisappeared1876 1877 23 May 1901 25 years and 2 months Died13 October 1913 1913 10 13 aged 64 Blois Loir et Cher Third French RepublicOther namesla Sequestree de PoitiersKnown forSecretly imprisoned by her family for a quarter century Contents 1 Biography 2 Legacy 3 See also 4 Notes 5 References 6 External linksBiography EditMonnier was a French socialite from a well respected conservative bourgeois family in Poitiers of old noble origins She was renowned for her beauty and attracted many potential suitors for marriage In 1876 at the age of 27 she desired to marry an older lawyer who was not to her mother Louise s liking she argued that her daughter could not marry a penniless lawyer 4 Her disapproving mother angered by her daughter s defiance locked her in a tiny dark room in the attic of their home where she kept her secluded for 25 years Louise Monnier and Blanche s brother Marcel continued on with their daily lives pretending to mourn Blanche s disappearance None of her friends knew where she was and the lawyer whom she wished to marry died unexpectedly in 1885 On 23 May 1901 the Paris Attorney General b received an anonymous letter the author of which is still unknown that revealed the incarceration Monsieur Attorney General I have the honour 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 Monnier was rescued by police from appalling conditions covered in old food and feces with bugs all around the bed and floor weighing barely 25 kilograms 55 lb 5 6 One policeman described the state of Monnier and her bed thus 4 The unfortunate woman was lying completely naked on a rotten straw mattress All around her was formed a sort of crust made from excrement fragments of meat vegetables fish and rotten bread We also saw oyster shells and bugs running across Mademoiselle Monnier s bed The air was so unbreathable the odor given off by the room was so rank that it was impossible for us to stay any longer to proceed with our investigation 1901 drawing of Monnier s discovery German caption Das lebende Skelett von Poitiers The Living Skeleton of Poitiers Her mother was arrested became ill shortly afterwards and died 15 days later after seeing an angry mob gather in front of her house Her brother Marcel Monnier appeared in court and was initially convicted but later was acquitted on appeal he was deemed mentally incapacitated and although the judges criticised his choices they found that a duty to rescue did not exist in the penal code at that time with sufficient rule to convict him 5 7 After she was released from the room Monnier continued to have mental health problems She was diagnosed with various disorders including anorexia nervosa c schizophrenia exhibitionism and coprophilia This soon led to her admission to a psychiatric hospital in Blois where she died in 1913 in apparent obscurity 8 9 Legacy EditIn 1930 Andre Gide published a book about the incident named La Sequestree de Poitiers changing little but the names of the protagonists 5 10 See also EditGenie A girl whose father kept her socially isolated until the age of 13 years and 7 months List of kidnappings List of solved missing person cases List of child abuse cases featuring long term detentionNotes Edit Pronounced in French as a rhyme as la sekɛstʁe d e pwatje See Procureur general for the closest translation of the office At the time of writing Paris was the capital of the Second French Empire the Attorney General of Paris was Leon Bulot from 1900 Then written in French as anorexie hysterique References Edit Caras y caretas 1901 Ivry Benjamin Gide Andre 2003 The Confined Woman of Poitiers New England Review 24 3 99 132 JSTOR 40244293 Vivi Janouin Benanti La Sequestree De Poitiers Une Affaire Judiciaire Sans Precedent in French ISBN 978 2914474009 a b See English sources under References section below a b c Pujolas Marie 27 February 2015 En tournage un documentaire sur l incroyable affaire de La sequestree de Poitiers in French France Televisions Jacques Pradel et RTL reviennent sur l incroyable histoire de la Sequestree de Poitiers in French Charente Libre 19 May 2015 Moreillon Laurent L infraction par omission Librairie Droz 1993 p 65 in French Pascal Audoux devoile les mysteres du Loir et Cher in French La Nouvelle Republique 25 April 2015 Retronews Le site de presse de la BnF in French 31 December 1999 Retrieved 30 October 2019 Levy Audrey 21 April 2015 Destins de femmes Ces Poitevines plus ou moins celebres auront marque l Histoire Le Point in French English sourcesRadeska Tijana 5 January 2018 Blanche Monnier was imprisoned in a tiny room for 25 years because her mother hated her choice of husband The Vintage News The Story of a Nightmare Blanche Monnier History Key Archived from the original on 30 September 2018 Retrieved 30 September 2018 External links Edit She imprisoned daughter Girl Kept in a Dungeon Twenty five Years Because She Was True to Her Sweetheart The New York Times 9 June 1901 Retrieved 12 October 2017 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Blanche Monnier amp oldid 1131615055, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
