The Elephant Joseph Merrick: The Story of Life

Hearing the phrase "human elephant", many immediately remember the film, telling about Joseph Merrick, who suffers a terrible disease. Not everyone knows that such a person is not a fictional character, but a real person. Who was he, what is the story of his life?

A family

Born Joseph Carey Merrick (Joseph Carey Merrick) in the English city of Leicester in 1862. Running ahead, I must say that his life was too short - only 27 years, since he died in 1890.

Merrick's family was the most ordinary, parents came from the lower classes: the father worked as a coachman and his mother as a servant. They were married in 1861, and soon their firstborn was born - Joseph Carey Merrick. In 1866 and 1867, the family had two more children, but the youngest son of the four Merrick died from scarlet fever in childhood, and Marion's daughter suffered from epilepsy, which led to her premature death at the age of 24 years. In 1873, Joseph's mother died from pneumonia and bronchi. Father soon married again, but his stepmother did not love his stepson because of his ugliness and began to survive from home.

Appearance

At first nothing in the appearance of the boy did not foreshadow troubles, but at the age of five the first symptoms of the disease began to appear. The skin in some places became flabby, and in others - rough, rough. It began to change its color, it really began to resemble the surface of the skin of an elephant. In addition to all this, Joseph Merrick, as a child, injured the thigh during the fall, and this unpleasantness provoked the lameness, from which he suffered until the end of the day.

His illness progressed constantly, and for a short time, Merrick's head looked like this: there was a huge bone growth in the front part, and the skin on the right and behind hanged in rough folds, almost closing the right eye. It was like a huge swelling. In general, the head was 92 cm in diameter. The surface of the skin in its texture reminded the inflorescence of cauliflower. There was almost no hair. The tumor on the right side of the head pulled the nose and lips, and they were terribly deformed. Because of this, Joseph's speech was vague.

From the back, the rough skin also hung over huge folds. The right arm was more left several times: only the wrist was 30 cm in circumference, and the big finger - 12 cm. Merrick himself wrote that it resembled the elephant's trunk in shape. He could only work with his left hand, since the right one became inoperable with time. On the legs, too, there were growths and folds of the skin.

Recently anatomists have made a computer reconstruction of his appearance. That's what Joseph Merrick would look like if he were born healthy.

Why did Merrick call the "man-elephant"?

At the end of the 19th century, many prejudices were still alive, in particular, people believed that some emotional stresses of a woman during pregnancy could affect the appearance of a child. And since the mother of Joseph Merrick, being in position, was frightened by the enraged elephant, his ugliness was attributed to this very reason. Unfortunately, then they did not know anything about genetic diseases, that's why both doctors and Merrick believed in this version.

But from what did this unhappy man really suffer?

Diagnosis

Modern physicians identified several genetic ailments that disfigured the appearance of Joseph Merrick. First, it is Type I neurofibromatosis (or Recklinghausen's disease). It is characterized by tumor-like sack-shaped drooping formations and the presence of large-scale pigment spots. Also, the symptoms of neurofibromatosis include asymmetry of the limbs and facial parts, as was observed in Merrick. In simple words, this is a common pathology of the development of the skin, bones and nervous system. Unfortunately, medicine and now almost does not have the means to fight this disease, but the "man-elephant" Joseph Merrick was born in our time, he could at least remove all growths and sack-like skin formations surgically.

The second disease is Proteus' syndrome. It is described as a very rare genetic abnormality, characterized by excessively rapid and abnormal bone growth, as well as skin. This disease is also incurable, but physicians today are still able to prolong the life of patients with such a diagnosis.

Job search

How did poor Merrick manage to earn his own bread, because then there were no disability benefits? Because of humiliation and ridicule, Joseph left school at the age of 13. His father made him a street vendor, but all passers-by flinched at his appearance. Therefore, Merrick went to the tobacco factory, but soon he had to leave this occupation, too, because deformation of the right hand did not allow him to fully perform his work. Both father and stepmother constantly humiliated and often beat Joseph, so he left home at the age of 17 years.

"Circus freaks"

Tired of the vagabond way of life, in 1884 he went on to perform in the Tom Norman show. It was the only way to at least somehow earn a piece of bread for people like Merrick. In this show, various injuries were demonstrated. The troupe was treated well, especially since there he met people with a similar fate.

The work included weekly performances. The inquisitive public constantly came to gaze at human ugliness, in particular, and on the "human elephant". His role was to demonstrate his own body to the terrifying cries of the crowd. It was humiliating, but there was no other way to feed yourself. Joseph Merrick even managed to save a good amount - 50 pounds sterling. At that time, he would have lived comfortably for about 2 years with this money.

But soon the show of freaks was banned in all of England, and Tom Norman was forced to sell Joseph Merrick to the circus owner from Austria. But he turned out to be a dishonorable person and took all the money he had saved from Merrick. Without a penny in his pocket, Joseph returned to his homeland. He had nowhere to go.

Acquaintance with Dr. Trivz

Right at one of the London Underground stations Joseph had an attack of bronchial asthma. Passers-by called the doctor, whose business card was accidentally lying with Merrick in his pocket. He was a physiotherapist, a member of the London Pathological Society named Treves, whom Joseph met while speaking in the circus. He, of course, came and provided the necessary assistance. Later, he and Joseph became friends.

In his memoirs, Dr. Frederick Trives recalls that for the first time he saw the "human elephant" on stage, he thought that he, probably, was an idiot and fortunately did not realize the horror of his situation. But it was not so. Joseph was very intelligent. Moreover, behind a disgusting shell, Trivz managed to consider a kind and sensitive person.

Since at that time Joseph Merrick was already in need of care, Trivs had patronized, and that was identified in the Royal London hospital. There he was given a separate room where he could live. The medical staff, who at first treated the strange patient in a mood, quickly fell in love with Joseph for a meek and humble temper.

Trivz as much as he could support Joseph until the end of his days. He took him out in a carriage with closed windows on the nature, where he was very fond of spending time. Merrick was carried away by collecting herbariums. He also began to frequent theatrical performances. He had a new circle of acquaintances, most of them were high-ranking people.

The fact is that the "elephant man" has become a member of an elite society, because all of London has learned about it thanks to the press. They wrote about him, and many people wanted to see firsthand and talk with such a disfigured man. Even the princess of Wales Alexander often visited Merrick in the hospital. Of course, all this diversified his meager existence.

Inner world

Usually people whose life is like the fate of the "man-elephant", become angry with God, people and everything around. Merrick Joseph, whose biography did not leave him any reason for optimism, was, to his surprise, not. Although he was the object of cruel ridicule all his life, he did not hate either people or God. In addition, he retained his own dignity. A close friend of Trivz was amazed at how kind, sympathetic and even slightly romantic a man Merrick was.

Joseph was a creative person. His emotional experiences he expressed in poetry and prose. Also, a brochure with his autobiography was published. And although Merrick could only work with his left hand, he liked to design small cathedral models while in the Royal Hospital.

Death

Here is his brief biography. Joseph Merrick died young: at the time of his death he did not even turn 28 years old. This happened in 1890 at the Royal London Hospital.

In the last years of his life, Joseph could not sleep on the pillow, but only sitting, because he was hindered by tumors and growths on his head. But one day he wanted to fall asleep, like all normal people. This experiment ended pitifully: Joseph died of asphyxiation, because his head bent his fragile neck. His death was as tragic as all his life.

Joseph Merrick ("man-elephant"): quotations, aphorisms

The most popular is the poem that Merrick himself wrote. Here he expresses himself about the painful:

Yes, I know that I look more than strange,

But accusing me of this, you blame God.

If I could create myself anew,

I would not disappoint you.

If I went from pole to pole,

If I took a handful of the ocean,

Then they would appreciate my soul

And the mind of a normal person.

Another of Joseph's famous sayings: "Never ... never, never ... nothing disappears: the wind blows, drops of rain, white clouds, heart beats ... Nothing will die." Having experienced the full burden of human alienation, Merrick summed it up in one sentence: "People are afraid of what they can not understand."

A Trace in the Cinematography

Joseph Carey Merrick, known as the "man-elephant", became the hero of several films. In the film "From Hell" in 2001, he appears sporadically, in the British television series "The Ripper Street," Trivz and Merrick became characters in several series. But the full story of his life is shown in the David Lynch film "Elephant Man", where the main character was played by John Hurt, and his friend-doctor - Anthony Hopkins.

It is unfortunate that the life of Joseph Merrick was so, and not otherwise, but he provided a wonderful example of how one can always remain a man.