Augusta Gein
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Augusta Wilhelmine Lehrke Gein (July 21st, 1878 - December 29th, 1945) was the mother of the infamous psycho killer Ed Gein also known as "The Mad Butcher". Augusta was a deeply religious woman who was known for her extremely misogynistic outlook on the world which was influenced by the Bible's (old testament) misogyny. Augusta could ultimately be considered the leading contributor in her son's downward spiral into insanity.
Augusta idolized her own father who was very domineering and strict. He believed in "to spare the rod was to spoil the child".
Villainy edit
Augusta, often characterized as that of a misanthropic and jealous person was known for her treatment of her son during his childhood. She often read him handpicked verses from the Bible, specifically from the old testament due to its heavily misogynistic approach. She also taught her son that women, with the exception of herself, were all whores and instruments of Satan, and therefore should be treated with hatred.
Augusta's husband, an alcoholic died from his lifelong trouble with the substance in 1940 and her eldest son, Henry was killed in a fire while he and his brother were burning marsh.
This left Augusta and her son alone were she controlled his outlook on the world. While at school, Ed was often characterized as a shy and socially awkward boy which his mother took advantage of.
In 1945, while Gein and Ed were visiting a man named Smith he was beating a dog to a bloody pulp. A woman inside his house confronted him in a state of distress and aggression. Augusta was noted to have been appalled at the incident by observers, but it seemed she was more disgusted with a woman commanding authority over a man, and referred to her as "Smith's hooch" a slang term meaning whore.
Augusta died later that year and her son was left by himself. In 1957, after years of human trophy collecting and robbing graves of women buried in cemeteries near to his home, Gein murdered Bernice Worden and Mary Hogan, both of the crimes admitted to and was acquitted by reason of insanity. Many authors and media figures who have examined Ed Gein's life claim his mother played the biggest role in his psychopathic misogynistic actions.
Trivia edit
- She allowed her son to crawl into bed with her, when she was dying staying right beside her all throughout the night praying she would not die and leave him to face the world alone.
- The relationship between Augusta and Ed may have been incestuous.
- She was believed to have been schizophrenic.
- She also despised her husband when ever he got drunk.
- Although most people do not know Augusta herself, her role in life has been immortalised in the character Norma Bates, mother of Norman Bates, who is based off of her son Ed.