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| Joseph & Erik | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| The similarities between these two individuals - one from the pages of history, the other from the pages of fiction - has always been interesting to me. It's my personal belief that these two are quite closely related, and in fact that Erik was in part inspired by Joseph Merrick. I realize that, being a fan of both of them, it's much easier for me to see the parallels than it is for most people. Therefore, I decided to set up this comparison to try and explain my reasoning. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Leroux had always kept a large library. Consulting his medical reference books he noted the effects on the human body when deprived of sunlight, clean water and sanitary conditions over a period of years. Leprosy was one disease that came from these conditions, but it usually occurred in tropical areas. Also, in 1909, he had obtained copies of recently published papers from London, in which, Dr. Treves' patient Joseph Merrick, known as the Elephant Man, was finally diagnosed as having von Recklinghausen's neurofibromatosis*. Although Dr. Treves' own account of Joseph Merrick were not published until 1923, one of the transcripts in Leroux's library told how Merrick cried when a woman visitor politely shook hands with him. The overwhelming emotion taxed his weak heart to the point where he almost had a seizure and died from the joy of the moment. The horrible deformities of the Elephant Man were too much. Leroux's character had to draft blueprints, draw and be athletic. The hand shaking incident, however, gave him some insight as to how kindness affects one whose life has been littered with abuse and rejection due to his physical appearance. ~"Phantom of the Opera", by Philip J. Riley (* - it's now believed Joseph actually had Proteus Syndrome) |
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| Erik | Joseph | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| His name was Erik | His name was Merrick | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ran away from home at an early age because his mother mistreated him | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ran away from home at an early age because his step-mother mistreated him | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lived in the 19th century, the most well known period of his life is in the 1880s. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lived in the 19th century, the most well known period of his life is in the 1880s. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kept a picture of his mother and father all his life (Kay novel) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kept a picture of his mother all his life. |
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| Wore a cloak and a mask | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wore a cloak and a mask | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Worked in the sideshow throughout Europe | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Worked in the sideshow throughout Europe | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Had a flat in the cellars of the Paris opera | Had a flat in the basement level of the London Hospital | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Left handed | Left handed | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Loved the theatre, and had use of a private box at the Drury Lane Theatre in London | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Loved the theatre, and had use of a private box at the Paris Opera | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Built beautiful models of buildings *model church built by Joseph* |
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| Built beautiful buildingss | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Loved music | Loved music (actually owned one of the earliest models of gramophones) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Loved art, literature, and poetry | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Loved art, literature, and poetry | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Just seeing if you're paying attention! No, he would never have done that... | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sometimes killed people | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Always a kind and gentle soul, in fact, he was often judged to be a better person than most 'ordinary' people, and had to live his final years shut away from the world due to his appearance | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "He had a heart great enough to hold the empire of the world, and in the end, he had to be content with a cellar" ~ Gaston Leroux | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "And now, what is going to be done with that skeleton? Surely it will not be buried in a pauper's grave! I maintain that the skeleton of the opera ghost belongs in the archives of the National Academy of Music; it is no ordinary skeleton" ~ Gaston Leroux | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| To this day, his skeleton has been preserved, and is on private display in the museum and archives of the London Hospital Medical College. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "The extraordinary thing is that out of the distorted frame came the most musical voice" ~ William Kendal (Victorian actor, husband of the actress Mrs. Kendal) on meeting Joseph | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Called the 'Angel of Music', as his voice was said to be the most beautiful sound imagineable.. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| I've also thought that the handshaking incident (quoted above) was probably the inspiration for the heartbreaking moment when Christine finally kisses Erik, the emotion of which so overwhelms him that he dies of love three weeks later. As an interesting aside, the makeup design for ALWs 'Phantom' was done by the same man (Christopher Tucker) who designed the makeup for Lynch's 'Elephant Man' film. There are some visible similarities in the makeup used by Michael Crawford in the original London production of 'Phantom'. Of course, there are a number of differences between the characters as well. To me, they are two sides of the same coin, where Erik is the darker side, and Joseph is the light. |
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| The Phantom of the Opera | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Joseph Merrick | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
