Parisian socialite Blanche Monnier was renowned for her beauty. She is known as “La Séquestrée de Poitiers,” which translates to “The Confined Woman of Poitiers,” in France. She received this title for a terrible reason that started with a love affair that never ended well.
Monnier came from a prosperous and well-known Poitiers family. She had a passionate love affair with a “penniless lawyer” when she was 25 years old.
This infuriated Blanche’s mother, Louise Monnier, who wished for her daughter to wed a wealthy and well-known man. Blanche wouldn’t give up on her lover, so her mother padlocked her to a bed in an upstairs room of their mansion.
Blanche would spend the next 26 years in this bed.
Louise and Blache’s brother Marcel would play the part of her running off and disappearing while she was in this room.
The family had a good reputation because they gave to charities and were thought to be smart, hardworking individuals.
The general attorney of Paris received a letter in May 1909 that provided specifics regarding Blanche’s predicament. He was so appalled that he gave an urgent order for the police to go to the Monnier mansion.
They noticed a bad smell coming from a room with a locked door as they made their way upstairs. They busted down the door and discovered Blanche lying on a bed with her waste, rotting food, bugs, and rodents all around her.
Blanch lived in nearly complete darkness for 26 years until the cops broke out a window that had been covered because the smell was so awful.
Marcel and Louise were put in custody. It was determined that Marcel was not mentally fit to face trial. A heart attack claimed Louise’s life two weeks after her daughter made the discovery.
Blanche spent her entire life suffering from mental illnesses after being admitted to a psychiatric facility. 1913 saw her passing. Even though he passed away at some time while she was being held captive, she never gave up on her boyfriend.
Blanche is depicted in the artwork above both before and after her incarceration. It is a true picture.
Whoever wrote the general attorney’s note remains a mystery.
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