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The Elephant Man Anyone who has ever read the story of John or Joseph Merrick,
cannot fail to be captivated by this man's incredible sensitivity and courage.
He was an intelligent individual, being not only able to write and speak eloquently
but also able to read. Being able to read was a rarity amongst the poorer classes
of the 19th century and therefore one can only further admire John (Joseph)
for his inner struggle to become educated and to pull himself out of his impoverished
background and circumstances. John (Joseph) had a wonderful imagination. Unfortunately,
alot of the time, his imagination was all he did have. He was totally unable,
even although he was self-educated, to mingle in finer circles because of his
overall appearance. He had to rely heavily upon his imagination. His dignified
attitude would certainly be no less than that of an able bodied English Gentleman
and his manners equal, if not superior at times, to those of upper-class backgrounds,
although much of the time he was delightfully childlike, tending to over-simplify
things. He painted and created images from card which had been donated to him.
One such image being that of a nearby church. He built it by looking through
the window of his home in Bedstead Square, an annexe to the Whitechapel Hospital
(London Hospital). Parts of the church couldn't be seen from his room, and so
the finished article was a product of looking through the window of his own
imagination instead. He felt safe within the confines of his home - the only
'true' home he had ever known. Before arriving in London he had lived in several
places, one of these was a Workhouse' where he was forced to publicly work for
his keep, (despite his appearance). Another was living with his father and step-mother.
His father certainly didn't really want him around and there were untold rows
over him . As far as the step-mother was concerned, John (Joseph) was just an
embarrassment and inconvenience and finally gave the ultimatum of, "it's either
him or me". If they were going to give John (Joseph) a roof over his head they
at least expected him to work for it. He was forced to 'street-hawk', selling
shoe-black along cold and cobbled neighbouring streets. |
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