The Papin sisters have entered the realm of folklore in France, with a sordid story that has captured the public imagination to this day. They were maids in a bourgeois household in Le Mans between the wars, and their crime came seemingly without motive. After committing the brutal deed, their difficult childhoods and secretive lives came to light, fascinating leading intellectuals of the era. Everyone from Simone de Beauvoir to Jacques Lacan speculated possible interpretations of the murders, from themes of class rebellion to psychological trauma to a possible incestuous relationship.
