The Elephant Man

John Merrick, the titular character, is based on the historical Joseph Merrick. Joseph Merrick most likely had the extremely rare Proteus syndrome (there have only been about 200 known cases in world history), which was undiagnosable during his lifetime. Proteus syndrome causes tumors and masses all over the body and other physical conditions that start in early childhood and then progress throughout a person’s life.

The play takes place over the last four years of Merrick’s life. Treves brings Merrick into the hospital from a life of abuse and exploitation in “freak shows,” determined to give Merrick what society calls “normalcy.” Merrick, surrendered to a workhouse at three by his mother, trusts Ross to take care of him and his money because he has never had a parental figure to look out for his well-being. He is devastated by the betrayal when Ross abandons and robs him. But shortly before that betrayal, Merrick humanizes the three microcephalic women referred to as “Pinheads” and offers the first glimpse into his own innate humanity.

When he first arrives at the hospital, Merrick is perceived as intellectually impaired and verbally stunted. But, along with everyone else, Merrick discovers that when other people interact with him as a person, he can express himself through heightened thoughts and verbal expressions. He builds the model of the church just as he constructs his sense of his own humanity and spirituality.

But Merrick remains isolated and alienated, even as he steadily builds a relationship with Treves and Mrs. Kendal. Merrick is also a metaphor for the repeated theme of colonization and imperialism, as Treves works to civilize and reshape him into a socially acceptable form rather than recognizing that Merrick only needs kindness and safety to develop and grow as his own person. But the more Merrick becomes “normal” and accepted, the more his condition progresses, making him less “normal.” His final act of pursuing normalcy kills him, possibly intentionally, harking back to his assertion that Romeo has to kill himself when the illusion ends.

Based on the historical Francis Carr-Gomm, Gomm is the administrator of London Hospital and Treves’s employer. Gomm is kind to both Treves and Merrick, but he is also pragmatic. He sees Merrick as a financial boon for the hospital, a magnet for investors, and a prestige booster for both the hospital and Treves’s career. Although Treves uses Merrick in the same way, Gomm has no delusions of saintliness or egoless charity. Gomm often serves as a reality check to Treves’s idealism, following through with Treves’s threat to fire Snork and Porter for staring and bursting Treves’s illusions that Lord John is anything but a swindler. Gomm puts forth the public face of Merrick’s case, first successfully pleading for donations and then informing the public of Merrick’s death while smoothly justifying the reappropriation of those donations into the hospital’s pockets. Gomm also serves as a foil to Bishop How’s sometimes uncomprehending Christianity and to Treves’s naïveté. Believing himself to be both realistic and accomplished, Gomm feels he’s seen as much evil as Merrick has and that they both, therefore, are grateful for smatterings of good.

The character of Mrs. Kendal is based on the famous 19th-century actress Madge Kendal. The fictional Mrs. Kendal develops a close friendship with John Merrick, but there is no evidence that the real Mrs. Kendal ever met Joseph Merrick. Rather, Madge Kendal spearheaded fundraising efforts for Joseph Merrick’s care after her husband visited Merrick and was horrified.

In the play, Treves is attempting to transform Merrick into a “normal” man. Treves is embarrassed at the idea of Merrick as a sexual being but believes Merrick can become more “normal” through chaste interaction with women. However, each woman Treves has brought in to meet Merrick as a prospective nurse was too frightened to consider working with him.

In a last-ditch effort to create some connection for Merrick to a woman, Treves turns to Mrs. Kendal because she is an actress and should be able to hide her emotions. Mrs. Kendal counters that all women are expected to hide their true feelings and that she is simply famous for doing so. Then she takes Treves off-balance by delicately, though matter-of-factly, asking how Merrick’s condition might affect his genitalia.

When she meets Merrick, rather than being repulsed, Mrs. Kendal is quickly taken by his eloquent introspection and insights. As both the play and their relationship progress, Merrick eventually suggests that he believes he needs a mistress if he is going to be a “normal” man. Mrs. Kendal tells him frankly that she doubts any woman would be willing, but she is not embarrassed to see him as a man with sexual urges. Out of compassion combined with a desire for fairness, she allows him to see her naked. At that moment they are interrupted by Treves, who sends Mrs. Kendal away as though he could just as easily banish Merrick’s desire for true “normalcy.” Of all the characters in the play, Mrs. Kendal is the one who most closely approximates a true friend to Merrick, seeing him as he is, revealing to him who she is, and interacting with him openly and honestly.

At the beginning of the play, Ross is Merrick’s manager. The real Joseph Merrick spent two years touring as a “freak-show” exhibit. The length of Ross’s tenure as Merrick’s manager isn’t specified in the play, but the tone of their interactions, Ross’s claims of investing time and resources into Merrick, and the fact that Merrick has managed to save nearly 50 pounds all suggest that it has been at least as long.

To the fictional Merrick, as it was for the real Merrick, the opportunity to become a “freak-show” act offered an escape from the workhouse. Ross presents himself as Merrick’s protector and caretaker, but he actually is exploiting Merrick, treating him like an animal and a commodity. In reality, Ross is casually and consistently cruel to Merrick and ultimately betrays him, abandoning him and stealing his money.

To Ross, the betrayal is just another transactional decision, which is all he believes Merrick deserves. Near the end of the play, Ross’s visit demonstrates Merrick’s growth as a person and his self-actualization, but it also demonstrates that Ross remains unchanged, still viewing Merrick as nothing more than a commodity he can exploit. He even tries to tear down Merrick’s hard-won sense of self by asserting that Merrick can’t be a man because he’s never had sex with a woman.

Treves calls in Bishop How to speak to Merrick about religion and spirituality, having purported (according to the bishop) to be a Christian himself. To Treves, Christianity is simply part of societal expectations, and that’s why he sees learning to be Christian as important for Merrick. By contrast, Bishop How sees Christianity both as the proud inspiration for imperialism and as the answer for questions that science cannot parse. The bishop counters Treves’s belief in science as the ultimate answer to humanity’s problems with his own belief in Christianity as the ultimate answer to humanity’s problems. To the bishop, Merrick is someone he can shape into his own image of religiosity. For example, Bishop How tells Merrick to repress and ignore his sexual urges rather than compromising his own image of Merrick as the perfectly moldable and virtuous Christian. He uses Merrick as an example from the pulpit and as a mirror to confirm and validate his own faith. The bishop represents religion as a comfort, bolstering Merrick’s understanding of heaven as the only real escape from his tormented body and welcoming Treves into his arms when science leaves Treves feeling despair.

When Merrick’s case gains public attention, the working-class people who stare at and run away from him are replaced with visits from the highest members of society. The royals and nobles who donate to Merrick’s cause are, as Ross points out, not so different from the people who had paid money to stare at Merrick in “freak shows.” They want, as a return for their money, to look at him and receive a personal expression of gratitude. However, the privileged elite are polite and well-bred, as trained to hide their shock and revulsion as any actor. They don’t see Merrick as fully human in his own right but as someone they can feel charitable about humanizing.

They give him luxurious toiletry tools such as silver brushes and ivory-handled razors without recognizing that Merrick’s illness prevents him from using any of them. Both Merrick and Treves accept this goodwill at face value, and Treves is stunned when Lord John uses Treves and Merrick to swindle money. Gomm, who is less idealistic, sees Lord John for the deliberate conman he is and puts a halt to Treves’s waffling about whether to believe Lord John’s lies. Lord John serves to teach Merrick that he should be wary about trusting, even when it comes to those who have been kind. In the past, Merrick has been eager to trust anyone who seems to offer compassion, but overhearing Treves and Gomm’s conversation about Lord John makes Merrick question whether even Treves or Mrs. Kendal deserves his full faith.