Who was the Elephant man?

Joseph Merrick was one of the most best-known Londoners of his time. He was also the most physically repugnant. Merrick was known as the terrible “Elephant Man”.

Merrick was a victim of Proteus Syndrome, an extremely rare condition that caused abnormal growth of the bones, skin and head. The mere sight of his distorted face caused some women to faint, so he donned a mask that covered his misshapen head -- a head so large that the cap that he wore measured three-feet in circumference.

When surgeon Frederick Treves discovered Merrick in a back room freak show, across the street from Whitehall Hospital (now Royal London Hospital), he assumed that the Elephant Man was severely retarded. Treves made arrangements with Merrick’s guardian, Tom Norman, to study the man and present him to a meeting of the London Pathological Society. It was then that Dr. Treves made an astounding discovery. Not only was Merrick highly intelligent, but he was literate and a great lover of prose and poetry. Inside, Merrick was the complete reverse of his physical appearance.

Joseph Carey Merrick was born on August 5, 1862, at 50 Lee Street, Leicester -- a slum. His mother, Mary Jane, was a teacher. When Joseph was about two years old strange growths started erupting on his skin. His head grew larger and his right arm became deformed. As he grew older, the condition worsened.

When Joseph was 10 years old, his mother died of pneumonia. His father remarried and his new bride rejected young Joseph completely.

At 12 year old, Joseph went to work in a cigar factory, but his right arm was now so deformed that he could not fill his quota. He was fired. After trying other jobs he signed himself into the Leicester Union Workhouse.

Of all the places for Merrick to end up, an English workhouse was the worse. The lowest ebb of society lived and worked there in exchange for a place to sleep and scarcely enough to eat. But it was here that Merrick taught himself to read.

Sam Torr was a promoter who operated an English music hall. Merrick, tired of the workhouse, wrote to the showman and asked him for a job. Torr knew a good thing when he saw it and immediately hired Merrick for his freak show.

A few months later, Merrick went to work for Tom Norman, who treated him with great care and respect. It was during this time that Frederick Treves examined Merrick and discovered his poetic nature. Before he returned to Norman that day, Treves gave Merrick his card, but he thought that he would never see him again.

Two years later, Merrick was in Belgium in a freak show operated by an man who cheated Merrick out of his money, then left him stranded in Europe. Somehow Merrick made his way back to England, but was cornered by a mob of gawkers when he arrived at the Liverpool Railway Station. The frightened man gave the police Treves’ card and the doctor was called. Treves picked up Merrick and took him to Whitehall Hospital.

Unfortunately, Treves had overstepped his bounds. Hospital policy forbade permanent patients -- especially ones who were public curiosities. But Treves wanted Merrick under his personal care. He knew that he couldn’t cure him, but he could make him more comfortable. The hospital board, on the other hand, was adamant. They wanted the notorious Elephant Man out of their hospital and into a permanent home -- preferably a workhouse.

Hospital administrator Carr Gomm sided with Treves. He took Merrick’s case directly to Queen Victoria. The Queen saw political value in giving Merrick asylum in a facility that could care for his special needs. She interceded and the hospital board was forced to capitulate.

Merrick was moved downstairs to Bedstead Square where he was given a small apartment. Treves discovered that if bathed twice a day, Merrick’s odor would vanish. Money was donated to buy Merrick new clothes and, suddenly, he became socially acceptable.

The creme dé creme of London society came to visit -- some out of curiosity and others because it was the trendy thing to do. One of these however, a popular actress named Madge Kendall, proved to be a lasting and valued friend.

Even though Merrick was the toast of London, he still craved one thing -- the simple ability to be able to lie down and sleep like everyone else. This position was impossible for Merrick. His head was so heavy that if he laid prone his windpipe would be crushed by the weight and he would suffocate. He slept sitting up, a mass of pillows behind his back and head.

But one night in 1890, Merrick decided that he would experiment. He removed the pillows from his mattress -- except one for his head -- and laid down. The next morning he was found dead -- strangled. He was 28 years old.

Frederick Treves was heartbroken, but not too heartbroken to order Merrick’s body boiled down to the skeleton. Then he had the misshapen bones mounted and displayed -- along with Merrick’s mask, oversized hat, and a model church he had made -- in the hospital museum. It is there to this day.

Treves was knighted, and the Elephant Man was forgotten. Ninety years later a film was made by, of all people, comedy producer Mel Brooks. The Elephant Man is a loving tribute. If the director took a bit of dramatic license with the script, he can easily be forgiven. In essence, The Elephant Man was an accurate portrayal of a great and courageous human being.