 Women were not believed to be capable of violence for its own sake.At the beginning of the 19th century, the vanity motif was first questioned, and sadistic pleasure was considered a far more plausible motive for Báthory's crimes.In 1817, the witness accounts (which had surfaced in 1765) were published for the first time, demonstrating that the bloodbaths or blood seeker for vanity aspect of Báthory's crimes were legend rather than fact.