Marie-Aurore-Lucienne Gagnon, simply known as Aurore Gagnon, was a Canadian girl who was a victim of child abuse. She died of exhaustion and blood poisoning from some 52 wounds inflicted by her stepmother, Marie-Anne Houde, and her father, Télesphore Gagnon. The story of l'enfant martyre received great attention in the media and Gagnon became an icon of Quebec sociological and popular culture.
Life
Gagnon was born into and raised in a Roman Catholic family. She was the second of five children of farmer Télesphore Gagnon and his first wife Marie-Anne Caron, whom he had married in September 1906. They lived in Fortierville, Quebec, a small village on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River, a hundred kilometers southwest of Quebec City. The Gagnons' first child, Marie-Jeanne, was born in August 1907. Aurore's birth was quickly followed by that of Lucina, then Georges-Étienne in 1910 and Joseph in 1915. In 1916, not long after Joseph's birth, Marie-Anne Caron was hospitalized for tuberculosis. Marie-Anne Houde, the widow of a cousin of Télesphore, soon moved into the Gagnon home, saying she wanted to "take care of the house and children." She was a 30-something-year-old mother of two sons, Gérard and Henri-Georges. She was born in Sainte-Sophie-de-Lévrard, a neighbouring municipality of Fortierville, Quebec. On 6 November 1917, 2-year-old Joseph was found dead in his bed; a coroner's inquest revealed that it had been a natural death. On 23 January 1918, Marie-Anne Caron died of her illness at the Beauport Asylum. Since Télesphore could not take care of the farm and his children all by himself, he married Marie-Anne Houde in a private ceremony the following week. The Gagnon children went to live with their grandparents for a few months in Leclercville, another neighbouring municipality. The children returned to their father's in the summer of 1919; it was then that Aurore began to be abused. Marie-Anne Houde did not abuse her stepdaughter only physically; several eyewitnesses testified that she had once tried to poison Aurore by urging her to drink detergent. In September 1919, 10-year-old Aurore was hospitalized for more than a month at the Hôtel-Dieu de Québec with a severe leg infection, which was caused by her stepmother branding her with a metal poker. Upon her release, the beatings resumed.
Death
Aurore died on 12 February 1920. Her autopsy was conducted in the church sacristy by Dr. Albert Marois, who noticed around 54 wounds all over her body. The wounds were a result of several blows administered over time. The most severe wound was located on the side of Aurore's skull. Her scalp was caked in dried blood and pus, and her left thigh was swollen. The skin on her hands and wrists had been ripped off down to the bone. Aurore Gagnon's funeral took place on 14 February 1920, with the Mass being led by Fr. Ferdinand Massé. After the funeral, Télesphore Gagnon and Marie-Anne Houde were promptly arrested. Marie-Anne Houde was initially sentenced to be hanged for murder, but her sentence was later commuted to life imprisonment. After serving 15 years, she was paroled for health reasons, and she died of breast and brain cancer in May 1936. Télesphore Gagnon was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to life imprisonment, but he was released from prison in 1925 for good behavior after having served five years. He returned to his hometown and previous life, where he wrote several letters to Marie-Anne Houde, who was still in prison. After her death, Télesphore remarried. He died in 1961. Aurore's older sister, Marie-Jeanne, died in Shawinigan in 1986.
Culture
Aurore Gagnon remains a popular cultural icon in Quebec, with almost mythical status. Numerous books have been published detailing her life. In 1920, the first dramatic production was written by Henri Rollin and Léon Petitjean. Télesphore Gagnon tried unsuccessfully to block the release of the 1952 film. On 7 December 2015, the town of Fortierville recognized Aurore as a historical figure.
