In June of 1886 Joseph was abandoned by Ferrari in Brussels. To compound his misery, Ferrari also stole his savings of �50. After pawning his few possessions, he managed to scrape together enough money to get back to London. A blow to Joseph came when he was refused passage on a boat by the appalled Captain, his horrid appearance would scare the passengers. He did eventually get to Britain, but by the time he arrived at Liverpool Street Station, London, he was mentally and physically exhausted. He collapsed down, surrounded by curious onlookers, and handed a card to an assisting policeman. The card was that of Frederick Treves, The London Hospital.
A New Beginning Joseph was initially put into one of the isolation rooms, usually reserved for cases of contagious disease. With the help of Treves and the hospital staff he slowly regained his strength. Joseph suffered from an incurable condition so he would not be allowed to stay at the hospital after he had recovered as much as he was likely to. After five months it seemed that he would again be turned onto the streets. A publicity campaign was sparked on his behalf, including a famous letter to The Times by the hospital chairman Carl Gomm. This helped convince the hospital committee to accept Joseph as a permanent resident, a unique occurrence. The Elephant Man had a new home.
Two rooms of the hospital basement, known as Bedstead Square, were specially converted for Joseph's personal living space. The larger of the rooms became a bed-sitting room containing a table, chairs, fireplace, a specially built armchair, and a bed. The bed had to be set up in such a way as to account for Joseph's strange way of sleeping. Because his head was so big, it would cause suffocation for him to lie on his back, so he slept crouched over with his hands and head on his knees. The smaller room became a bathroom. No mirrors were allowed in either. Joseph was astonished with his new home, and spoke of his gratitude often. It was the stable environment he had been longing for all his life.
The Last YearsOnly at the age of 23 could Joseph begin to enjoy life in a reasonably normal way. Treves kept up a close relationship with him, as both surgeon and friend. He learned to understand Joseph's obscured way of speaking and they enjoyed long conversations. It happened that beneath the horrific exterior, there lay an intelligent and sensitive young man who loved to read and to talk. To prevent him from feeling too isolated Treves would introduce him to friends and acquaintances. He met many people of high society, including members of the royal family, and exchanged letters with them. Among his possessions he could boast signed portraits of famous actress Madge Kendal and Princess Alexandra. It became a cult among friends of the Princess to visit the Elephant Man in his hospital home. People would remark on what a nice character he had. There was not a trace of bitterness in him.
Joseph particularly enjoyed building models and baskets, which he would give to members of the hospital, and to friends. He had a wonderful time when he visited the theatre to watch a production of 'Puss in Boots', and in the later years he spent time on holiday in the country, walking through the fields and sitting in the woods. He also regularly attended service at the chapel.

His condition was all the time deteriorating, and it was known that he would not live much longer. His heart was weakening and his strength fading. He had to walk with a stick on account for his damaged hip. One thing that didn't fade was his spirit. He remained content with his life, grateful for everything that had been done for him.
Joseph died suddenly on 6th April 1890 at the age of 27. His body was discovered at around three o'clock when the house surgeon came to see him. He was laying across his bed, his neck had become dislocated by the immense weight of his head. Joseph had often spoken of wanting to sleep like normal people, and perhaps he was trying to do it. After his death his body was dissected and his bones still stand in the private museum at the London Hospital, along with casts made, and some of his possessions.

The Elephant Man Joseph Merrick was described by many as the most degraded example of humanity they had ever seen. Almost all of his body was affected by deformity. His skull was a massive 32 inches in diameter and covered by huge lumps of bone and skin. The right arm was three times the size of the unaffected left, and basically useless. The legs and feet were like the right arm. All over his body, especially his torso, skin hung loose and had a rough feel to it. He was also short, only about 5'2" in height. In a perverse irony, the genitals remained entirely unaffected.
At the time a few theories were made as to what was wrong with Joseph, although no real conclusion has ever been made. An exaggerated case of neurofibromatosis was considered a strong possibility, a genetic disorder of the skin. Proteus Syndrome, involving an overgrowth of bodily tissues and bone disorder, is a more recent theory. With the advancement of genetic science it should one day be possible to say conclusively what the problem was.

Frederick Treves went on to have one of the most distinguished careers in medical history, including saving the life of the king by operating on his appendix the day before he was to be crowned. There is no doubt that the arrival of the Elephant Man helped his career considerably, although this is not to say that Treves took advantage of Merrick, or that he didn't possess the talent to reach such heights. In his final book before he died, 'The Elephant Man and Other Reminiscences' Treves wrote an account of his time with Merrick, although he chooses to call him John rather than Joseph (This led to him being called John Merrick in the film 'The Elephant Man' by David Lynch). In this book is an apt summary by Treves::

As a specimen of humanity, Merrick was ignoble and repulsive; but the spirit of Merrick, if it could have been in the form of the living, would assume the figure of an upstanding and heroic man, smooth browed and clean of limb, and with eyes that flashed undaunted courage.
Site Map Page
Hosted by www.Geocities.ws

1