Sad: “Horrible and Mysterious Murder of a Girl”

        On January 19, 1867, The Illustrated Police News (IPN) reported the “Horrible and Mysterious Murder of a Girl”. The girl, Elizabeth Hendricks, was found severely injured laying on her bedroom floor. There was a deep wound on the back of her head and there was blood all over where she lay. After a few hours of discovering her, Hendricks never regained her conscious and was declared dead. The criminal was investigated to have entered the room from the bedroom window. The incident was then concluded to be an act of robbery because there were a few items in the room missing, including some clothing. Other than leaving the reader a few unanswered questions about the case, The Illustrated Police News also ended the article with the line “it is inferred that robbery was the object of the assassin, and the murder premeditated.” A crime, which is “premeditated”, implies the possibility of an intentional and planned murder case. 

        Hendricks was a young girl attending school while boarding with the M’Linn’s family. The first description of her highlights her parents who “reside at Mandeville, across the lake”. She was away from home. While her name was not mentioned in the title, Elizabeth Hendricks was described in the article to be “admired” and was “a favourite” with her host family and her classmates. Hendricks’s own character and personality were never described or discussed. She was portrayed to be someone who was liked by those around her, but that was all there was. The question: Who is she? was answered with the image that reflected her from other’s eyes. Her character that shown to the reader was all based on the perception of others.
        In Christina Rossetti’s poem Goblin Market, the poet illustrates goblin men who tempt and lure women into purchasing their fruits. The poem unpacks that RIDICULOUS notion that women should stay home so that they will not be tempted by fruits (or in Hendrick’s case, a fruitful education). Similar to the Goblin Market, the report on Hendricks’s death may be inferred to as the girl’s mistake to leave home for the pursuit of education. IPN reporter begins the article by portraying the incident as a “sad” murder. The attention on the case immediately turns to the audience pitying the girl. It is so sad for this “young girl” to be away from home. It is so sad that even though there “can be no imaginable reasons” for the crime because of her “admired” persona, the poor girl still lost her life being away from home. It is so sad for the girl to be the victim of this “premeditated” murder, this wouldn’t have happened if she was not away from home. The reader may infer that this poor girl, away from home, should have stayed home "across the lake" in the first place.