![]() ![]() In the current Broadway play about Merrick, the hero is portrayed without the use of disfiguring makeup. Treves calls him "one of the most contended creatures I have chanced to meet," and recalls Merrick saying more than once, "I am happy every hour of the day." In his own memoir about Merrick, referring to the later years of his life, Dr. In his book on Merrick, anthropologist Ashley Montague writes at length about the "strength, health, integrity, and gentleness" of his character. Rather, he impressed people with his meekness and generosity. Despite the severity of his handicaps, despite the brutal treatment he received from strangers and acquaintances, he never showed anger or hostility. The inspiring thing about Merrick was his complete lack of bitterness toward the world or his fellowmen. ![]() During the rest of his short llife he became a fashionable figure, visited and entertained by members of the highest society. Just when things seemed most miserable, he was befriended by a London physician named Frederick Treves, who took him in and sheltered him. Later, unable to function in ordinary society because of his appearance, he eked out an existence being exhibited by showmen (whence came his flamboyant nickname). As a child, he spent years in the workhouse. The actual elephant man was John Merrick, a handicapped Englishman born in 1864. Who was the elephant man, after all, but a person whose moral strength reundaunted no matter how difficult his physical circumstances became? Despite the sad underpinnings of the tale, its message is optimistic and charged with faith in the ultimate goodness of mankind. Books have been written about him, he is the subject of a long-running Broadway hit, and now a new movie tells his history.ĭoes all this interest amount to a positive sign of the times? I think so. The story of "The Elephant Man" has become a modern myth.
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