The story of the Elephant man – Part 2

This article is a continuation of “The story of the Elephant man – Part 1”.

Soon after, he was hired by another employer on a tour of Belgium. Once in Brussels and alone, the unscrupulous Merrick had his money stolen. Leaving him alone and wandering the streets without shelter and food.

As he could not return to London due to the unavailability of the cash he needed to pay the fair, Joseph returned from Brussels. Here Joseph met Fredrick Treves who had seen him perform before.

Treves was a doctor at the hospital in London. Joseph met him in the train station upon arrival in Belgium, sick and malnourished.

Then began a personal crusade which mobilized the press and people from all over Europe began to send their donations. Joseph was interviewed by Alexandria the Princess of Wales. Once the royal family had decided that Merrick deserved a home, all was said
and done.

The patient was given permanent accommodation in a wing of the hospital and welcomed as a perpetual guest. The Elephant Man was finally given a place where he would not be expelled.

Merrick was a gentle, polite, kind and appreciative human being. He was without any rancour despite all he had to live. He could read and write properly and had great intelligence.

On April 11, 1890, five days after Easter, his huge and heavy head finally overcame the resistance of his neck and fell back. Thus died the unfortunate Joseph Carey Merrick, as a result of asphyxiation and cervical dislocation under the weight of his skull
on the trachea, having lived a nightmare.

He was only 27 years.

Sir Fredrick Treves in his description of Joseph Merrick wrote:

"One thing that always made me sad about Merrick was the fact that he could not smile. Whatever his joy, his face remained impassive. He could mourn, but could not smile."

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Posted by Fouad Ashraf on Mar 5 2012. Filed under World. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry