Abhiroop Das
Co-created by Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan, Netflix’s ‘Monster: The Ed Gein Story’ follows in the footsteps of ‘The Jeffrey Dahmer Story’ and ‘The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story’ as the third season of the acclaimed ‘Monster’ series. It charts the life of body snatcher turned serial killer Ed Gein, going from his beginnings and familial background, and continuing on to his eventual turn to the dark. This biographical crime drama brings the dichotomy of nature and nurture into the foreground, questioning whether Ed was a product of his time or something more sinister. In doing so, the show borrows from many details of the killer’s real life, which includes accounts of his personal relationships. The character of Adeline Watkins, who plays his confidante and love interest, elevates the narrative as a bridge between Ed’s psychological impulses and physical means of expression. Given that she is based on real life, the task of differentiating facts from fiction remains a challenging one. SPOILERS AHEAD.
The Real-Life Ed and Adeline Parted Ways Following His Proposal
While Ed Gein and Adeline Watkins’ on-screen relationship goes through numerous twists and turns to arrive at a bittersweet conclusion, the real-life set of narratives that inspires it has a vastly different ending. According to the real Adeline’s 1957 interview with the Minneapolis Tribune, which was later republished in the Wisconsin State Journal, their final interaction took place two years prior, in 1955, and marked a romantic high point. She explained, “That night he proposed to me. Not in so many words, but I knew what he meant.” Detailing the exchange further, Adeline stated, “I turned him down, but not because there was anything wrong with him. It was something wrong with me. I guess I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to live up to what he expected of me.” The show, on the other hand, employs its creative license to continue its story from the point of the proposal, while also dramatizing everything that built up to it.
In the series, Ed and Adeline’s final interaction happens shortly before his passing, as she pays him a visit in the Central State Hospital for the Criminally Insane. There, he explains that he has spent the last few years doubting whether his lover was real or a figment of his imagination, to which Adeline responds by unloading her own psychological grievances, which play a part in her episodes of mania. The moment serves to bring closure to both the characters, as well as highlight some of the fundamental differences and overlaps in their mindset. In real life, however, Adeline maintained her distance from the serial killer following his arrest and media exposure, and Ed Gein never publicly commented on his dynamic with her either. Across many of her interviews, she claimed to have never entered Ed’s house, nor maintained a close relationship with him. This is a far cry from how the show depicts their relationship as a continuation of their shared morbid interests.
Adeline Watkins Deemed the 1957 Report of Her Relationship Exaggerated
The curious and often contradictory nature of Adeline’s public interviews regarding Ed Gein puts their relationship in a new light. In the original Minneapolis Tribune report, she claimed to have had a long-term romantic relationship with the serial killer, spanning 20 years. Speaking about their common interests, she explained, “I guess we discussed every murder we ever heard about. Eddie told us how the murderer had done wrong and what mistakes he had made. I thought it was interesting.” While this vaguely resembles the show’s take on their obsession with death, it does not necessarily point towards a deeper connection between the two. Additionally, she described their love for movies and books, which shaped the general mood and spirit of their time together. Notably, in the 1957 account, Adeline expressed, “I loved him and I still do,” when faced with the knowledge of his criminal activity.
In the weeks following her Minneapolis Tribune interview, Adeline spoke to the Stevens Point Journal, where she retracted a number of claims that were recorded in the original report. She described the previous interview as “exaggerated…blown up out of proportion to its importance and containing untrue statements,” particularly regarding her dynamic with Ed Gein. She clarified that, while the two had known each other for two decades, their relationship only spanned seven months, and that too intermittently. Going a step further, she rejected the claim that she found Ed Gein sweet and denied having any serious commitments to him. As such, there are stark differences in how the relationship ends in the show and in real life, with much of Adeline Watkins’ interiority being fictionalized to enrich the narrative.
Read More: Monster: Are Ed Gein’s Skin Suit and Face Mask Real, Prosthetic or CGI?
