Scarlett Johansson may have topped People magazine`s list of the 100 Most Beautiful People of 2021, but Black Widow surely has nothing on 19th-century milkmaid Pilt Carin Ersdotter. According to legend, Ersdotter was so beautiful that she stopped traffic, became the 1800s equivalent of a supermodel, and even once got arrested for being too pretty.
Pilt Carin Ersdotter
Pilt Carin Ersdotter was born in 1814 in the Swedish town of Diura in Dalarna, and like many girls in her community, she worked as a milkmaid. She was petite, with a small frame and slender figure, and had dark hair, well-placed cheekbones, an aristocratic nose, rosy lips, and a startlingly smooth and clear complexion. Nearly everyone in Europe at the time contracted smallpox, which left unsightly scars on those lucky enough to survive, but many milkmaids—including Ersdotter—contracted cowpox, which was less severe and left with an immunity to the nastier poxes and thus an unusually unblemished visage.
Young women from Dalarna often take up seasonal jobs in the Swedish capital, Stockholm, and in 1833 19-year-old Elsdotter joins them, selling milk as a street vendor and running a “Vakla darkalan” (” She was nicknamed “Beautiful Girl from Dalarna”). ). It contains. With each day she comes to town, more and more people gather around her station as rumors of a beautiful milker spread, and eventually the traffic-blocking hordes become so annoying that she Arrested for rioting. Luckily for Ersdotter, the judge pointed out that he’d rather punish someone for being ugly than for being too attractive, dismissing the idea of punishing her instead of her perforated onlookers as absurd. rejected.
The Beautiful And The Famed
The spectacle of crowds gathering to see Elsdotter and her sensational arrest made her an overnight celebrity in Sweden. According to her legend, news of her beauty reached her crown prince, who disguised himself and went to her garrison in Stockholm to propose to her. Mr. Elsdotter is said to have cruelly rejected him, unaware of his true identity. He wasn’t the only high society interested in yogurt. Yoghurt has become a seasonal staple, providing money for the quiet and beauty of social events for Stockholm’s wealthy elite.
As a poor labourer, Elsdotter could not refuse this financial favor to her, but upon her return home at the end of her season, an unexpected ordeal met her. The people of Dalarna considered her a sex worker, which they considered very shameful as they could not believe that she could make so much money just by attending a party. Elsdotter was forced to obtain certificates of her good faith from several noble clients in order to restore her honor. She then permanently returned to her country life, got married, and disappeared from history as a wealthier but equally beautiful woman.