“Freak shows” were popular in the 1800s, when travelling bands put on shows with people who were disabled or had other physical flaws. As time went on, people with disabilities were often ignored and treated badly. In this setting, the story of Mary Ann Bevan, who was called “the ugliest woman in the world,” shows how powerful a mother’s love can be.
Mary Ann was born in East London on December 20, 1874. She grew up to be a well-liked nurse and a beautiful woman with many options. The two of them had four children together after getting married. Not long after, though, Thomas died, breaking Mary’s heart and making it hard for her to take care of her kids.
When things in Mary’s life got harder, she started having strange symptoms. She started to have changes in her face, and it turned out that she had a disease called acromegaly, which is a chemical problem that makes the body make too much growth hormone. She lost her job and couldn’t take care of her kids because of the abnormality in her face caused by this condition.
So that she could feed her kids, Mary answered an ad for “the ugliest woman” to be in a circus act. She had some doubts at first, but the offer of good pay and a long term job made her change her mind. People soon heard about Mary’s story, and she became famous. Her picture was in magazines, and everyone was talking about her.
Dr. Harvey Cushing, a well-known psychiatrist, became interested in Mary as her fame grew. He knew that Mary’s situation wasn’t just a physical flaw but a sign of a bigger health problem. With all the problems she had to deal with, Mary kept working at the circus and made enough money to send her kids to English boarding schools.
The story of Mary Ann Bevan shows how much a mother loves and sacrifices for her children. She put up with a lot of pain and shame because she wanted what was best for her children. Mary died at age 59, but her story goes on as a lesson of how much love from a mother can change a child.
