Joseph Merrick- Odd Beauty

“ 'Tis true my form is something odd,

But blaming me is blaming God;

Could I create myself anew

I would not fail in pleasing you.

If I could reach from pole to pole

Or grasp the ocean with a span,

I would be measured by the soul ;

The mind's the standard of the man.”

The poem written here is an adaption from “False Greatness” by Isaac Watts, it is also what Joseph Carey Merrick used to end his letters, you may also know him by the title of “The Elephant Man”. The story of Joseph Merrick is one of sorrow, rejectment and odd beauty. The tale starts on August 5th, 1862 on 50 Lee street in Leicester., Joseph Rockley Merrick and his wife Mary Jane have just had their child Joseph. He was born seemingly healthy with no obvious issues, his middle name was given to him by his mother who gave him the name after the preacher William Carey. At 12 months Joseph's began experiencing swelling in his lips, soon after a he began seeing a bony bump on his head followed by rough skin. By age 5 his skin started to become thick and lumpy, as he got older and older he saw size differences in his left and right arm and enlarged feet. It was believed these symptoms were due to a maternal impression, that his mother was frightened by an elephant which then caused the elephant type skin. Merrick believed this his entire life. Merrick continued going to school with his deformities. Joseph also had a very close relationship with his mother and her death due to bronchopneumonia in 1873 hit him hard. Not long after his wife's death Joseph's father re-married to the widowed and strict Emma Wood Antill. He left school at 13 and found work rolling cigars but eventually his deformities led him to have to leave that job. He then began looking for work on the streets but due to his deformities was extremely difficult. His home life was even worse, he was considered a burden by his father and stepmother. He was not cared for and at times teased, He eventually was able to gain a hawkers license but people were horrified by his appearance. Merrick failed to make enough money and couldn't support himself. One day when he came home his father severely beat him and Joseph ran away from home for good. He was homeless until his uncle took him in for a bit but eventually he could no longer afford to take care of Joseph in which he then joined the Union Workhouse. He stayed working there for about 4 years with a small break in the beginning. In 1882 he was able to have some surgery around his lips.

Joseph Merrick began writing to Sam Torr who was a music hall comedian. He decided that he could make money by taking Merrick on tour showing the world his deformities. On August 3rd 1884 Merrick left the workhouse and started his career as a sideshow attraction. For a small time Merrick was shown in Leicester but it was when he moved to London's East End and stayed in Tom Norman's sideshow stores that he started to become known. Norman eventually took over as manager for Merrick. Norman created signs, posters and there was even an “autobiographical” pamphlet made about his early life. These items drew in crowds expecting to see “The Elephant Man” and the exhibit did well, tho people were less mesmerized by Merrick and more horrified and disgusted. One of the visitors that came to see Merrick was a surgeon whose colleague was Frederick Treves. Treves went to a private viewing of Merrick and later decided that he would like to examine him. Both Merrick and Norman agreed to go the examination. It was hard for Joseph to travel without getting unwanted attention, he dressed in a brown hat and a burlap sack, Treves also payed for him to be escorted by cab.

Joseph Merrick was described to be shy and confused and Treves even believed him to be an ‘’imbecile’’. The circumference of his head was 36 inches, his right wrist 12 inches and one of his fingers had a circumference of 5 inches. Merrick's body was covered in papillomata, his skin was rough and loose. Under his skin were large bone deformities, tho his appearance gave the impression that he was in bad health it was deemed that in fact his health wasn't bad. Merrick still continued to have a hard time with his speech. After a few examinations Merrick decided he no longer wanted to come, Tom Norman was told by Merrick that he was “stripped naked and felt like an animal in a cattle market”. Things were beginning to change in Britain, views on the type of sideshows that Norman were putting on became harsh and his shows were no longer wanted by the police and the community. Soon after Merrick left his examinations, Norman's shop was shut down and he was no longer Merricks manager. For a small time he went on tour and befriended the “Ropers Midgets” who were strong defenders of Merrick when he was under scrutiny by the public.

Soon the police began closing down his shows every time they would pop up, his managers wanted to try out Continental Europe because they thought the people would be easier on Joseph. This tour was under new management by a man who was believed to be named Ferrari who when in Brussels stole all of Merricks savings and abandoned him. Trying to get home, Merrick was constantly denied transportation but eventually made it to Liverpool on June 24, 1886. He had nowhere to go, no money and his health was slowly dwindling. Eventually a policeman took him in, but Merrick was unable to speak and the only thing the policeman could find on him was a card, the card of Frederick Treves. They called Treves and he brought in Merrick and was treated for Bronchitis and was cleaned and given a room to sleep. The London Hospital is now where Merrick stayed for the remainder of his life.

Treves noticed over the past two years Merricks health was getting worse and it was believed he had a heart condition which would only give a few more years to live. Treves began to visit daily and spent multiple hours with Merrick to the point where Treves began to understand Merrick when he spoke. Now being able to communicate with each other they started to build a friendship. He began to learn more about him, that he was not mentally impaired, and that he was a kind and a timid man. He showed great gratitude to his previous managers and his exhibition days. Merrick was also a very emotional and caring human being, but he was showing signs of depression. Treves saw that Merrick never had any strong relationships in his life especially with women. Throughout his entire life women always were disgusted by him and appalled by his looks. Treves wanting Merrick to feel normal thought it would be a great idea for him to be introduced to a woman. This woman was a widow by the name Leila Maturin. She was warned about Joseph's presence and agreed to meet him, the meeting was short but fulfilling for Merrick. Overcome with emotion he said that Leila was “the only woman to ever smile at him and shake his hand”. They kept in contact with each other, sending each other letters. This gave Merrick the confidence to see and talk to other women and people around the hospital. Merrick wanted to be able to go to a home for the blind so he could be able to speak without people seeing his deformities but it was never known if that wish came to fruition.

Towards the end of Merrick's life he was able to leave the hospital to the countryside of 3 separate occasions. Merrick would visit Fawsley Hall. He spent his days there picking flowers and walking the woods surrounding the estate. In the last 4 years of Joseph Merricks life his health gradually dwindled and spent the last of his days in bed. On April 11th, 1890 around 3pm, Merrick passed away. He died in his sleep, the cause was asphyxiation. Joseph had to sleep with his head elevated and after an autopsy was done it showed that Merrick went to sleep laying down which inevitably killed him. Merrick always wanted to sleep lying down so “he could be just like a normal person”. Joseph Carey Merrick was only 27 years old.

In 1980, David Lynch adapted a screenplay from two books written about Merrick, one of the books being penned by Frederick Treves. The film was then directed by Lynch and starred Anthony Hopkins as Frederick Treves and John Hurt as Joseph Merrick. The film was shot in black and white and had phenomenal makeup by Christopher Tucker. The film was granted 8 academy award nominations as well as many other awards. The amazing film was able to show great emotion and sympathy for a man who was deemed a monster.

The story of Joseph Merrick is an amazing but sad tale and a moment in history we can all learn from. Throughout his life Merrick was ridiculed, shamed and bullied by people due to his appearance. His entire life Joseph had the drive to work and to learn whether it be working factories or learning art forms and poetry and the only thing that got in his way was humankind. The judgement from others due to the way he looked was breaking his heart, keeping him down when he tried to build himself up. Merrick put his trust in others, letting Treves observe his deformities and letting people manage him and take him on tour as an oddity, he was a kind and beautiful man. It would be interesting to think how Merrick's life would be without his deformities. Would he be a scholar? Or an artist? But do to something that was out of his control he was held down. Throughout Merrick's life trying to live a normally he saw glimpses of the beautiful side of humanity. What joyed Joseph the most was when he was treated like everyone else, which he should have felt his entire life. Merrick was no different than the rest of us, honestly he was a better human than the rest of us but he was treated less than that. Luckily there were people who saw Merrick as the beautiful human he was. As people we should not judge what we don’t understand and this story is something where we can see that is important. The Elephant Man was what he was called by society but the real person under the name, Joseph Merrick was a kind, curious and timid man who deserved nothing but the respect of being a human because that's exactly what he was….human.

“ Never. Oh, never. Nothing will die. The stream flows, the wind blows, the cloud fleets, the heart beats. Nothing will die.”

-Merrick’s mother from the 1980 film

Here is the pamphlet given out to people who came to see Joseph Merrick.