They say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. And each of us could be convinced of it. Very often in the matter of determining the most beautiful opinions differ. This is normal, because it is impossible to please all …
The protagonist of this story was once called the ugliest woman on the planet. Her name was Julia Pastrana, she lived in the XIX century and earned her living by performing in a travelling circus. People were willing to give up their blood savings to see her.
Pastrana was born in 1834 in Mexico. She suffered from a disease called hypertrichosis. Her entire body was covered in hair, even her palms and feet. And although scientists have explained this phenomenon, of course, Julia had to endure the ridicule of others who claimed that the woman’s mother had a close relationship with an orangutan.
The first person to notice Julia’s earning potential in her appearance was an American named Wrights. After him, Pastrana changed several managers (in fact, owners) until she connected her life with Theodore Lent. In every sense of the word. At first, Lent wanted to marry the woman to the richest groom (interestingly, there were enough offers), but eventually, realising that Julia was getting rich from her performances, he married her himself.
In 1859, Pastrana began her tour in Moscow. It was then that she became pregnant. In 1860, the woman gave birth to a son, whose body was also completely covered with hair. The boy died three days later (some sources say after 35 hours), and Julia herself also died due to complications after childbirth.
At the same time, Lent decided that he could not stop touring. He contacted Professor Sukolov from Moscow University, who agreed to embalm the body of Julia and her son. Soon the new show was being successfully performed in England.
Moreover, Lent found another woman with the same disease. She too he took as his wife and named her Senora Pastrana. Now the enterprising man gave performances with his newfound wife in front of mummies of Julia and his son. Senora Lent was introduced as the sister of his late wife.
After Lent was committed to a mental institution, the rights to the mummies changed hands. For example, during World War II, they were exhibited in occupied Norway and the money was given to the Third Reich.
In 1976, vandals broke into the vault and mutilated the child’s mummy, whose remains were eaten by rats. It was not until 2012 that the University of Oslo agreed to hand over Julia’s mummy to Mexico. The woman’s body was finally buried in 2013. 153 years have passed since her death…..
This woman’s fate was cruel to her during her lifetime. But even after her death, Julia’s body had a rough time of it. It’s good to see that this story is finally over.
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