CONGRESSIONAL INTEGRATED HIGH SCHOOL

Poinsettia St, Via Verde, San Agustin 2, Dasmarinas

City, Cavite
City of Dasmarinas, Cavite

PRECIS:

From a Facebook video, a woman from France named, Blanche Monnier was
imprisoned in a tiny room for 25 years because her mother hated her choice of
husband. Blanche was once a beautiful French socialite from a well-respected family. In
1876, when she was 25, the young Monnier fell in love with an older lawyer who lived
nearby and wanted to marry him. However, Madam Monnier disliked her daughter’s
love interest so much that she locked the girl in a tiny room until Blanche changed her
mind. Blanche stayed with her choice, even after she had 25 years to think about her
decision while living in the same tiny room.

It seemed as if Blanche suddenly disappeared from the face of the Earth, or at

least Paris. None of her friends knew where she was. Her mother and brother mourned
her and continued with their daily lives. Soon, Blanche was forgotten. Years passed, the
lawyer she loved passed away, and Blanche’s fate remained a mystery. Until one day in
1901, when the attorney general of Paris received a strange anonymous note saying
that the Monniers were keeping a person locked in a room against his will. Such claims
were shocking for the police. It was a monstrous scenario, and no one could believe
that Madam Monnier was capable of such a thing. Officers were sent to inspect the
house, they searched the home and discovered a tiny, dark, foul-smelling room on the
second floor. And when they pried open the windows, there was Blanche Monnier,
malnourished, lacking sunlight, and cut off from any social contact for 25 years, Blanche
seemed like a scared animal when the officers took her out. Her mother was
immediately arrested but died in prison after only 15 days. Blanche’s brother, Marcel,
was first sentenced to 15 months in prison, but later released as he never physically
restricted his sister’s movement. He even said that it was her choice not to move, not
that she wasn’t permitted to leave. While the real author of the note that saved Blanche
was never found, some people believe that it was Marcel. As for Blanche, she was
admitted to a psychiatric hospital and lived in a French sanitarium until her death in
1913.

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 CONGRESSIONAL INTEGRATED HIGH SCHOOL
Poinsettia St, Via Verde, San Agustin 2, Dasmarinas
City, Cavite
City of Dasmarinas, Cavite

REFLECTION:

If Blanche Monnier hadn’t made the wrong choice for a future husband, history
might not have recorded her existence. She chose someone whom her mother disliked.
In fact, Madam Monnier disliked her daughter’s love interest so much that she locked
the girl in a tiny room until Blanche changed her mind. Blanche stayed with her choice,
even after she had 25 years to think about her decision while living in the same tiny
room. Perhaps she would have been willing to hold out even longer if it weren’t for the
attorney general in Paris, who released Blanche from her prison cell.

Like the story from another literature, Blanche’s story is like the story of
Rapunzel. In many fairy tales, is a damsel in distress that is beautiful, locked up in a
tower by her ‘mother’ and a male character who comes to rescue her. However, in
Blanche’s story, it is only the part where her mother locked her up, without her prince to
rescue her. It is because she is from a rich, well-respected family who fell in love with a
poor lawyer in which her mother disapproved.

Women have been viewed as the weaker vessel compared to their stronger
male counterparts since the beginning of time. From ancient mythology to popular
modern media, women are easily portrayed as the damsel in distress, unable to take
care of herself and constantly in the desperate need of being rescued. Women who
stand up against this belief and make effort to support themselves were usually deemed
fools. However, Blanche’s story clearly showed the opposite. Though there’s no one to
rescue her, she showed the meaning of true love. She, being locked up is a portrayal of
bravery for her to stand up to her decision.

Nowadays, women in the modern society is brave, not afraid to express

themselves and to stand for themselves. The fact that Blanche stood up for her love is
bravery and enough proof that women could be as strong as men. I could go on in
bravery of women in all cultures, nations, religions, to prove that bravery isn’t about
physical strength but character, integrity, strength of the mind, and those who willing to
fight, live, die for their dreams.
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