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Joseph Merrick
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- For the Jamaican missionary to Cameroon, see Joseph Merrick (missionary)
Joseph Carey Merrick (5 August, 1862 – 11 April, 1890), known as "The Elephant Man" gained the sympathy of Victorian era Britain because of the extreme deformity of his body.
Early biographies of Merrick inaccurately give his first name as "John"; an error repeated in many later versions, including the 1980 film The Elephant Man. This error arose and propagated because most of the early works which mentioned the Elephant Man (including Ashley Montagu's The Elephant Man: A Study in Human Dignity and Frederick Drimmer's Very Special People) all took their information from the memoirs of Sir Frederick Treves, written many years after his first-hand experience with Merrick: Treves mis-recalled Merrick's first name as "John," causing Montagu and Drimmer to repeat this error in good faith. Montagu's book, in an appendix, quotes a document by Doctor F.C. Carr Gomm, written shortly after Merrick's death, in which Gomm correctly identifies Merrick as "Joseph"; Montagu dismisses this as Gomm's error. The stage play identifies Merrick as "John" throughout, except when Gomm (also a character in this play) reads aloud the same document later quoted by Montagu, correctly naming the Elephant Man as "Joseph Merrick." In the play, Treves considers this an error, "correcting" Gomm by remarking "His name was John."
Contents
- 1 Life
- 2 Medical condition
- 3 Family
- 4 In popular culture
- 5 Further reading
- 6 Footnotes
- 7 Online references
- 8 External links
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Life
Born in
Leicester to Mary Jane (
nee Potterton) and Joseph Rockley Merrick,
[1] he had a younger brother and sister. In an autobiographical note which appeared on the reverse side of his 'Freak Show' pamphlet, Merrick mentions that his deformity began developing when at the age of five.
[1] His mother died when he was 11. According to family accounts, she too was "crippled." His father remarried, but his stepmother did not want the younger Joseph. Forced to earn a living by selling
haberdashery on the street, Joseph was harassed constantly by local children. When the then young Joseph Merrick could no longer take the lashing of his stepmother's tongue at his inadequacy to take in a profit, he left home.
Ending up in the Leicester Union workhouse not once but twice, Joseph was unemployable for the better part of his life. On August 29, 1884, he took a job as a sideshow attraction where he was treated decently and made a large sum for the time; it amounted to around fifty pounds. (To get an idea of the sum, a pound could support a three-person family for a week, if used frugally.) At one point during his sideshow career, Merrick was exhibited in the back of an empty shop on Mile End Road in London, where he was seen by the physician Frederick Treves (later knighted). As Treves recalled decades later in his memoirs, he gave Merrick one of his calling cards in the event that Merrick would be willing to submit to medical examination. The two men then went their separate ways. When sideshows were outlawed in the United Kingdom in 1886, Merrick traveled to Belgium to find work. There, he was mistreated and ultimately abandoned by a showman, who stole Merrick's 50-pound savings.
After making his way back to London, Merrick unintentionally became the cause of a disturbance in Liverpool Street train station. Suffering from a severe bronchial infection and hampered by his deformities, Merrick was only barely able to speak coherently. However, he had carefully retained the calling card of Frederick Treves, who was duly summoned by the authorities. In his role as physician at London Hospital, Treves enabled Merrick to be given a permanent home at the hospital. There, Merrick thrived.
He became something of a celebrity in Victorian high society. Alexandra, then Princess of Wales and later queen, demonstrated a kindly interest in Merrick, leading other members of the upper class to embrace him. He eventually became a favourite of Queen Victoria. Treves later commented that Merrick always wanted, even after living at the hospital, to go to a hospital for the blind so that he could find a woman there who would not be frightened of his appearance.
In his later years, he found some solace in writing, composing both
prose and
poetry.
In the summer of
1887 he spent some weeks vacationing at the Fawsley Hall estate,
Northamptonshire. Special measures were made for his journey, and he was forced to travel in a carriage with blinds drawn to avoid drawing attention. He greatly enjoyed his time away from urban London, made many new friends and collected wild flowers to take with him back to London. He visited again in
1888 and
1889.
He was cared for at the hospital until his death at the age of 27 on
April 11,
1890 from
suffocation while sleeping, which was apparently accidental. Joseph, unable to sleep horizontally due to the weight of his head, may have tried to do so in this instance in an attempt to approximate normal behaviour.
Merrick's preserved skeleton was previously on display at the Royal London Hospital. While his remains can no longer be seen by the public, there is a small museum mostly centered around his life and has a few items from his past.
He returned to popular attention in 1979 and 1980 when two high profile productions made him their subject. His life story became the basis of a 1979 Tony Award-winning play (portrayed by Philip Anglim initially, followed by David Bowie), and in the following year an Academy Award-nominated film, in which he was played by John Hurt. Each production took a different approach to the story.
See The Elephant Man (play) and The Elephant Man (film) for more information on these productions.
Medical condition
Joseph Merrick was originally thought to be suffering from elephantiasis. In 1971, Ashley Montagu suggested in his book The Elephant Man: A Study in Human Dignity that Merrick suffered from neurofibromatosis type I, a genetic disorder also known as von Recklinghausen's disease. This disease is still strongly associated with Merrick in the mind of the public; however, it was postulated in 1986 that Merrick actually suffered from Proteus syndrome (a condition which had been identified by Michael Cohen just seven years earlier).[2]
Unlike neurofibromatosis, Proteus syndrome (named for the shape-shifting god Proteus) affects tissue other than nerves, and is a sporadic rather than familially transmitted disorder. In July 2003, Dr. Charis Eng announced that as a result of DNA tests on samples of Merrick's hair and bone, she had determined that Merrick certainly suffered Proteus syndrome, and may have had neurofibromatosis type I as well. As it stands, many people still mistakenly refer to his condition as elephantiasis.
In 2002 a television research team, along with genealogists, put out a BBC appeal to trace the Merrick family line. In response to the appeal, a Leicester resident named Pat Selby was discovered to be the granddaughter of Merrick's uncle. A research team took her DNA samples in order to try to diagnose the condition that caused his deformities. The TV crew also discovered that Merrick's sister, Marion Eliza, also suffered from a crippling disease called myelitis. Marion Eliza died at the age of 24.
Family
There are not many known facts about Joseph Merrick's family. He was named after his father, Joseph Rockley Merrick (March 1838 - January 30, 1897), who was born in Leicester to Sarah Rockley, the third wife of Barnabas Merrick (August 23, 1792 - 12 April, 1856). Joseph Sr. married the reportedly "crippled" Mary Jane Potterton on December 29, 1861.
Their eldest son, Joseph was born on August 5, 1862 in Leicester. Their younger son, William Arthur Merrick, was born on January 8, 1866, followed by their daughter Marion Eliza Merrick on September 28, 1867. William contracted scarlet fever and died on December 21, 1870. Marion Eliza had been disabled since birth, but would survive until March 19, 1891, dying from a seizure.
The Elephant Man, a film first released on October 3, 1980, features Mary Jane's son "John" speaking highly of her. "She has the face of an angel," he says. John is depicted looking at a small picture of his mother very often in the film.
Mary Jane died from bronchial pneumonia on May 19, 1873. Joseph was re-married to Emma Wood Antill on December 3, 1874, and she soon convinced her new husband to send the deformed Joseph away.
In popular culture
- In the mid-1980s, singer Michael Jackson attempted to purchase Merrick's remains from the London Hospital Medical College. A press release on May 29 1987 from Jackson's manager, Frank DiLeo, stated that the singer "has a high degree of respect for the memory of Merrick. He has read and studied all material about the Elephant Man, and has visited the hospital in London twice to view Merrick's remains. His fascination with the historical significance increased with each visit, along with hopes to add them to his collection of rare and unusual memorabilia at his California compound." He went on to claim that Jackson had no intentions to exploit the remains for profit and only wished to treat them as art or antiques. Michael Jackson's offer of US $1 million was turned down. He later went on to extensively deny that he had tried to obtain the Elephant Man's bones. In 1993, during an interview at his Neverland Ranch, Michael Jackson told Oprah Winfrey that it was, "another stupid story. I love the story of the Elephant Man, he reminds me of me a lot, and I could relate to it, it made me cry because I saw myself in the story, but no I never asked for the... where am I going to put some bones? And why would I want some bones?"[3][4][5]
- In a 1989 music video for the song "Leave Me Alone" (from Moonwalker), Jackson could be seen dancing alongside a claymation version of the Elephant Man's Bones.[6] This was most likely a self-parody, as other parts of the video dealt with how he felt he was unfairly portrayed by the press. Also, his song "Morphine" from Blood on the Dance Floor - HIStory in the Mix (1997) contains an audio clip from the film The Elephant Man.
- Perhaps as a parody of this, American post-hardcore band The Fall of Troy have a song titled, "Wacko Jacko Steals The Elephant Man's Bones".
- Another parody of this was on SNL's TV Funhouse spoofs of Michael Jackson. The parody was however, somewhat indirect, Joseph Merrick's skeleton (called "Elephant Man Bones") is a recurring character in the skit.
- Rufus Wainwright's song "In My Arms" contains the words "feeling as helpless as the Elephant Man".
- The Canadian band Barenaked Ladies also makes a reference to the Michael Jackson incident in their song "If I Had $1000000" with the line "If I had a million dollars, well I'd buy you John Merrick's remains, oh all of them crazy elephant bones"
- Australian writer Ignatius Jones in his book How to be Hip reminds writers that attractiveness is not necessary to be well regarded, citing The Elephant Man as an example.
- According to the band's story, Deadboy and the Elephantmen frontman Dax Riggs found his faith in God's benevolence tested so much after viewing the Elephant Man documentary as a child that he left his life with a devout Jehovah's Witness practicing family to live with his father. He later created the band, aptly named after his childhood catharsis.
- Heavy metal band Mastodon have ended each of their past three albums with a track about the Elephant Man: "Joseph Merrick" on Leviathan, "Elephant Man" on Remission, and "Pendulous Skin" on Blood Mountain.
- The Avant-Garde guitarist Buckethead makes numerous references to The Elephant Man, including a song on the album Bucketheadland 2 called "The John Merrick Elephant Man Bones Explosion" and an album called The Elephant Man's Alarm Clock. During live performances he will sometimes play a sampling of dialogue from the 1980 film.
- Rapper Immortal Technique makes a reference to Merrick in his song "Freedom of Speech".
- Rapper Last Emperor makes a reference to Merrick in his song "Suzie Wong".
- Rapper Necro makes a reference to Merrick in the Circle of Tyrants song "Carnivores."
- Rapper Busdriver put out an album called "Memoirs of the Elephantman"
- Merrick has been mentioned several times in the television series Seinfeld:
- In the episode "The Pitch," the character Jerry tells his friend George: "You know, you really need some help...A team of psychiatrists working around the clock thinking about you, having conferences, observing you, like the way they did with the Elephant Man."
- Merrick is also mentioned briefly in the episode "The Dog," when the character Elaine describes a woman she dislikes: "If you could see her personality it would be like one of the Elephant Man exhibits, you know, where they pull off the sheet and everyone gasps."
- Merrick's most famous line was parodied in the episode "The Pick," when Jerry is caught picking his nose in public and declares "I am not an animal!."
- The R.E.M song "New Test Leper" uses the same quote: "I thought I might help them understand/But what an ugly thing to see/'I am not an animal'/Subtitled under the screen"
- In The Mighty Boosh episode "Killeroo" Vince Noir makes mention to Howard Moon's deformity by saying "Mick Jagger didn't hang out with the Elephant Man."
- In The Mighty Boosh radio series episode "Mutant" Vince Noir makes a joke about Joey Mooses' swollen head by saying "That's hilarious, John Merrick."
- Sam Wood, goalkeeper for thriving Football Club Toll FC is often referred to as the "Elephant Man".
- In the film From Hell, Merrick is briefly portrayed being displayed in front of a crowd.
- Canadian musical group the Matthew Good Band perform a song about Merrick entitled "Haven't Slept in Years."
- The first track on Webb Wilder's 1996 album Acres of Suede is a song about Merrick entitled "The Olde Elephant Man." It features the chorus: "Took a lick from the ugly stick/made the people of London sick/he had looks that could fry a toad/make a train take a gravel road."
- The Elephant Man is referenced in episode 1 of the first series of the BBC Television series Little Britain. The pupils of "Kelsey Grammar School" are reading from a book and the teacher constantly changes between the boys who are reading. The teacher then asks the boys to read "in the style of the Elephant Man".
- In the FOX television program That 70's Show, the character Hyde remarks about his friend Eric's new ring that "the Elephant Man wears that ring to distract people from his face."
- The Elephant Man is referenced in the Murder City Devils song Bride of the Elephant Man in conjunction with Margaret Fox. The song appears as track five on the album Thelema (2001).
- The Elephant Man is a supporting character in Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell's acclaimed graphic novel From Hell and is visited by the tale's Jack the Ripper, Royal physician William Gull, who likens him to the Hindu deity, Ganesha.
- In the episode Bill and Peter's Bogus Journey of the Fox television show Family Guy, Stewie sees Peter flexing his muscles and says, "Ugh, look at him in that tanktop, he looks more pathetic than John [sic] Merrick when he went on match.com."
- Referred to in the movie (The Tall Guy) Dexter King (Jeff Goldblum) is given what becomes the title role in a new Royal Shakespeare Company musical about Joseph Merrick the Elephant Man, called Elephant! (an over-the-top production featuring a song called “He’s Packing His Trunk” and ending with the lyric "Somewhere in heaven there's an angel with big ears!").
- In the Robert Rankin novel The Witches of Chiswick, Merrick is an alien-human hybrid who is secretly preparing for an invasion of earth by Martians. He's also considered something of a ladies man.
- The introduction of the song "Deform" from the self-titled album of the extreme industrial death metal band The Berzerker uses as a sample the speech of Anthony Hopkins in front of the scientists during the presentation of the Elephant man in which he says :"Gentlemen,in the course of my profession I have come upon many deformities of the face due to injury or disease as well as mutilations and contortions of the body from like causes..."
Further reading
Following are books about or inspired by Joseph Merrick:
- Sir Frederick Treves, The Elephant Man and Other Reminiscences, 1923, Henry Holt & Co. (OOP)
- Ashley Montagu, The Elephant Man: A Study in Human Dignity
- Michael Howell and Peter Ford, The True History of the Elephant Man
- Christine Sparks, The Elephant Man! (based on the movie)
- Frederick Drimmer, The Elephant Man
- Bernard Pomerance, The Elephant Man (the stage play)
- P. W. Graham and F. H. Oehlschlaeger, Articulating the Elephant Man: Joseph Merrick and His Interpreters
- Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell, From Hell - (Merrick makes a cameo in book and movie)
- Tom Baker, Joseph: A Victorian Fairy Tale (horror novel featuring Merrick as a main character)
- Kenneth Sherman, Words for Elephant Man (the story of Merrick told in poetic form)
Footnotes
Online references
