Ryan Murphy is at it again with the latest installment of his Monster anthology series, with The Lizzie Borden Story. This season takes on the infamous case of the murder of then-32-year-old Borden’s father and stepmother in 1892. While Borden (played by Ella Beatty in the show) was acquitted of the crime, no one else was ever charged, and popular opinion holds that Borden was the murderer.
In typical Ryan Murphy fashion, this true crime adaptation involves salaciousness and blurs the details of reality. Case in point: the vintage sex toy in episodes 1 and 2.
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It was known as the Veedee, a mechanical vibrator (meaning you have to do the work yourself — this was pre-USB charging) and branded as a medical tool more than a pleasure device. According to the Science Museum in the UK, the Veedee was a German-made vibrator that claimed to help with a variety of conditions, from gout to head colds, through “curative vibration.”
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The Veedee featured a hand-crank holding a device that looks like a stiff hot dog, prompting Vanity Fair and other outlets to liken it to a dildo.
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In Monster, the toy belongs to the Bordens’ maid, Bridget Sullivan (Vicky Krieps). She arrives at the Bordens’ home with the Veedee, symbolizing an awakening and coming-of-age within Borden.
“The way Ryan thought of it, she’s almost like a Mary Poppins that comes out of nowhere,” Krieps told Vanity Fair about Sullivan. Apparently, Murphy said of the project, “It’s women-driven, feminist, lesbian, dirty, unapologetic.”
Indeed, there are sapphic undertones to Borden and Sullivan’s relationship. There are rumors that Borden was a lesbian, but those are unconfirmed, and there’s apparently no historical evidence of a romantic affair between the two women. As is typical of Ryan Murphy, he’s taken a few artistic liberties in his historical retelling.
The same is true for the presence of the Veedee. According to the Science Museum, it was made between 1901 and 1930, years after the Borden murders. While Borden and Sullivan lived at a time of the emergence of the vibrator, it’s unlikely that they used it — to cure gout or otherwise.
Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story is now streaming on Netflix.
