Maude Julien was born for a purpose. Her father, Monsieur Didier, hand selected Maude’s mother, Jeannine, when she was a child; he took her away from her parents (with their permission) and sent her to the best boarding schools. When the time was right and Jeannine was fully indoctrinated in Didier’s beliefs he had her deliver him a daughter as blonde as she was. When Maude was three her wealthy father liquidated his assets and move his family of three to an isolated mansion in the French countryside. It was there that Maude was put through years of torture as part of her training.
According to her father Maude was born to be a super human.
I’d caution anyone who begins this journey that there is very little reprieve from the recounting of the years of child abuse and animal abuse that took place during Maude’s childhood. Maude’s super human training included endurance tests like holding a live wire to an electric fence without wincing and being locked in a dark, rat infested basement to commune with death. She had several disgusting chores throughout her childhood, namely emptying her father’s chamber pot, as well as being responsible for calming the veal calves moments before their slaughter. And she was only allowed to bathe in her father’s dirty bathwater to soak up his strength.
“Night after night I inflict abuse on myself, even drawing blood. It’s strangely calming. I know the pain will stop whenever I want. I was the one who decided when it should start; I will be the one to decide when it stops. However much it hurts, I draw some comfort from the idea that I’m in control.”
She suffered numerous physical abuses and was forced to drink the same amount of alcohol as adults did beginning as a Kindergartner. Her mother, who was well educated in order to be a proper teacher for her future daughter, didn’t seem particularly interested in Maude’s education or miserable existence. Maude was sexually assaulted by a hired hand for years and when her mother walked in on them she simply turned away and let the abuse continue. Her only solace were her animals, who were equally abused by Monsieur Didier, and music.
Maude, now a therapist, likens her upbringing to being raised in a cult and The Only Girl in the World is fascinating look at a depraved man as well as a survival story of a girl who is probably a little super human after all.