The Elephant Man

Treves, alone with Mrs. Kendal, wonders why so many people have gifted delicate toiletry tools to Merrick that he is incapable of using. Mrs. Kendal replies, “Props of course. To make himself. As I make me” (39). Treves is surprised that Mrs. Kendal sees a reflection of herself in Merrick, “gentle, almost feminine” (39), an artist. Bishop How enters and calls Merrick a devoted Christian who has hope through faith, seeing himself in Merrick. Then Gomm comes in and explains that Merrick, having lived a rough life before, is pragmatic like him. Next the Duchess enters and asserts that she has told Merrick many secrets because, like her, Merrick is discreet. They all exit, leaving Treves alone onstage.

Treves muses, “How odd. I think him curious, compassionate, concerned about the world, well, rather like myself, Freddie Treves, 1889 AD” (40). Mrs. Kendal reenters, adding that Merrick is also a bit strange and has been hurt but tries to conceal his pain and struggling—just like she does. Gomm returns to point out that Merrick is aware that Gomm uses him to raise money for the hospital and understands that it’s necessary. And like Gomm, Merrick is “wary of any promise, yet he fits in well” (40). Bishop How sees his younger self in Merrick’s wrestling with faith and doubts. Princess Alexandra enters and tells how her husband, the prince, had asked Treves to become his personal surgeon, joking, “[I]f you can put up with the Elephant bloke, you can surely put up with me” (40).

Everyone except Treves again exits and Lord John enters, stating, “See him out of fashion, Freddie. As he sees me. Social contacts critical. Oh—by the way—ignore the bloody papers; all lies” (41). Lord John leaves Treves alone onstage. Treves notes that Merrick’s physical condition has progressed noticeably since 1886 and 1887, in correlation with Merrick’s increasing attention from society’s elite as an object of compassion. In this, Treves sees himself and his own inner turmoil, noting, “Like his condition, which I make no sense of, I make no sense of mine” (41). Meanwhile, Merrick adds another piece to his church model.

Merrick tries to eavesdrop as Treves confronts Lord John. According to newspaper reports, Lord John has misappropriated the money raised to provide for Merrick and lost it through bad investments. Treves accuses Lord John of breaking contracts, which Lord John attempts to deny by claiming that the contracts he broke weren’t legitimate contracts. He insists that the situation is salvageable, and Gomm intervenes just as Lord John starts to ask Treves to invest more money. Pulling Treves away, Gomm states pointedly that Treves must honor his contract and get back to work as the breaking of contracts is the “sort of thing makes the world fly apart, isn’t it?” (43) Firmly, Gomm adds that Lord John will undoubtedly no longer come around the hospital to see Treves. Cowed, Lord John makes his excuses and leaves. Treves tells Gomm that he had naively trusted the man because he had been kind to Merrick. Gomm replies briskly that Treves must cut all ties with Lord John. Treves is uncertain, but Gomm asserts that Lord John is “a moral swamp” (43) who had deliberately befriended Treves in order to defraud him out of the money he was raising. Gomm warns Treves to avoid being pulled into Lord John’s swamp.

Mrs. Kendal enters to see Merrick, asking Treves about the stories about Lord John in the papers. Gomm reiterates that Treves must cut the man off and exits. Treves explains that he can’t stay during Mrs. Kendal’s visit with Merrick because he “must, well, unravel a few things” (44). He asks about Nurse Ireland and Snork, who was apparently rehired after the staring incident, and Merrick pronounces them “friendly and respectful” (44). Treves chides himself, “This is a hospital. Not a marketplace. Don’t forget it, ever” (44) and exits. Alone with Merrick, Mrs. Kendal suggests that they try weaving together. Merrick comments that Treves has promised that Merrick can live at the hospital for the rest of his life. Mrs. Kendal agrees, saying, “Frederick is your protector, John” (44). But Merrick wonders if Treves will still uphold “his contract” (45) if he finds himself in trouble. Surprised by this word, Mrs. Kendal responds with confusion. Merrick continues, “And will you?” (45) Mrs. Kendal questions, “I? What? Will I?” (45) After a pause, Merrick adds a new piece to the model.

Mrs. Kendal is chatting with Merrick, who is working on his model while it rains outside. Merrick lists some of the high-society men who have mistresses, asserting that he should have one too in order to be more normal. Merrick cannot sleep lying down because of the weight of his head, “but to sleep alone; that is the worst of all” (46). Mrs. Kendal is unruffled, although she tells Merrick that he isn’t likely to find a lover. Merrick claims that he has never seen a woman naked. Mrs. Kendal is surprised, since Merrick has spent so much time on fairgrounds, but Merrick insists, “I mean a real woman” (47), someone who hasn’t been battered and “deformed by awful life” (47). As examples, Mrs. Kendal suggests several of the upper-class women who have befriended Merrick, but Merrick rejects each one as imperfect.

Mrs. Kendal muses that the woman Merrick imagines isn’t real. Merrick concurs that perhaps this is why he hasn’t seen her. Mrs. Kendal wonders how Bishop How would respond to Merrick’s frankness about his desires, and Merrick explains that the bishop has told him to repress his urges. And Treves would be horrified if Merrick opened up about this. Mrs. Kendal expresses that she feels honored by Merrick’s trust in her. Merrick suggests that they read something. Mrs. Kendal comments that having beauty is a matter of random luck, and it isn’t as useful or significant as people believe. Merrick disagrees. Mrs. Kendal reiterates the importance of trust and tells Merrick to turn around.

She undresses, mentioning that she saw photos of Merrick before she met him, which had seemed unfair to her for reasons that she can’t understand. She allows Merrick to look at her naked, and he calls her “the most beautiful sight [he has] seen. Ever” (49). Mrs. Kendal warns Merrick that should he tell anyone what he saw, she would cut him off and he would never see her again. Treves enters, shocked and appalled by what he sees, demanding, “Have you no sense of decency? Woman, dress yourself quickly.” And to Merrick, who is quietly adding a piece to the cathedral, Treves exclaims, “Are you not ashamed? Do you know what you are? Don’t you know what is forbidden?” (50)

Ross comes to see Merrick. He asks forgiveness, which Merrick gives freely, noting that he has ended up in a good place. But Ross’s true motive is to persuade Merrick to allow Ross to manage him again. Merrick refuses immediately. Ross presses on, claiming that Merrick is still being displayed and exhibited. He’s just doing it for a more high-class audience, and they’re using him to feel better about themselves. Ross insists that there’s nothing wrong with selling himself, but there is something wrong with giving himself away for free. Merrick shows Ross the model he is building, countering that the people who come to see him are his friends and that he is a human, not a trained animal.

Ross argues that they would pay to spend time with him, pleading with Merrick and revealing that he is desperate and his health is failing. Merrick refuses again, asserting that the elite know that they’re elite and wouldn’t stand for it. Eloquently, Merrick recounts Ross’s poor treatment of him, how Ross had stolen his money and abandoned him after turning him into an animal. Merrick exclaims, “Now that I am a man like others, you want me to return?” (53) Ross replies, “Had a woman yet?” (53) Merrick questions whether this is the measure of manhood, and Ross affirms that it had been in his youth. Merrick asserts, “Not what makes this one” (53). Ross begs again, swearing that without Merrick’s help, he will have no other options but to die starving in the poorhouse. Merrick apologizes but refuses.

Merrick works and Treves reads, engrossed in research. Merrick wants to talk about God, noting that he believes the Bible’s “promises [that] in heaven the crooked shall be made straight” (54). But Treves is more interested in science than spirituality, telling Merrick about a woman who had died momentarily on the operating table due to the anesthesia. When she came back, she experienced something neutral, like a quiet fog. Merrick asks why Treves ousted Mrs. Kendal from his room if Treves doesn’t believe in religion. Treves replies that Merrick ought to trust his judgment, seeing as he had saved Merrick before. Treves tries to explain that Mrs. Kendal’s behavior crossed the boundaries of social rules. Merrick brings back the earlier adage about rules being for their own good and therefore making them happy, but Treves replies that this isn’t always quite true. Treves pushes Merrick to express his feelings if he’s angry, but Merrick is trying to parse the lines that determine socially unacceptable behavior.

Merrick wonders who creates these standards. Why is it acceptable for Treves to see a patient naked on the operating table? Merrick refers to the woman who died briefly and came back as Juliet, and Treves attempts to explicate why the situation was different from the one between Merrick and Mrs. Kendal. Treves didn’t love her, for instance, and it was for science. Merrick wonders if Treves loses patients and how love relates to this. Treves becomes frustrated and upset, feeling as if Merrick is making him out to be like a serial killer. But Merrick disagrees: “You are merciful. I myself am proof. Is it not so?” (57) Treves agrees that perhaps he was too harsh about Mrs. Kendal and he will ask her if she will come back to see Merrick. He warns Merrick that he doesn’t believe she will agree but won’t give a specific answer when Merrick questions why. Merrick leaves to go for a walk and Treves, dejected, states, “Because I don’t want her here when you die” (58).

Asleep in his chair, Treves dreams. Gomm is dressed like Ross, as Ross was on the day Treves met him at the storefront. Merrick is trying to convince Gomm to allow him to examine Treves to see if Treves is real. Merrick offers his card, stating, “I am with the mutations cross the road” (59). Gomm tells Treves to stand, insisting to Merrick that Treves is a valuable asset in which they have invested quite a bit. He is the Prince of Wales’s personal doctor. Merrick wheedles, swearing that he just wants to give Treves an exam and would return him in the same condition. Gomm points out that Treves is “a gentleman and a good man,” and Merrick concurs, “Therefore exemplary for a study as a cruel or deviant one would not be” (60). Gomm gives in to allow Merrick to take Treves, shouting, “Frederick, stand up. Up you bloody donkey, up!” (60)

Treves’s dream continues. Merrick delivers an academic lecture about Treves’s anatomy. He describes the doctor’s “terrifyingly normal head” (61). He speaks about Treves’s “normalcy” in negative terms that mirror the way Treves spoke about Merrick at the beginning of the play. For instance, “The mouth, deformed by satisfaction at being at the hub of the best of existent worlds, was incapable of self-critical speech, thus of the ability to change” (61). In Dream-Merrick’s evaluation, Treves’s “normal-sized” head only has space for his own personal dreams. His arm is very strong, but “incapable of the distinction between the assertion of authority and the charitable act of giving, that it was often to be found disgustingly beating others—for their own good” (62). Additionally, just as the real Merrick had a hip disease that began during his childhood, “the wretched man when a boy developed a disabling spiritual duality, therefore was unable to feel what others feel, nor reach harmony with them” (62).

Echoing Treves’s earlier statement, Merrick laments, “He would thus be denied all means of escape from those he had tormented” (62). The three microcephalic women enter (the “Pinheads”). One speaks out, just as the voice had at Treves’s lecture. She decries the idea that Treves will be allowed to return to his life after Merrick is finished with him, calling it indecent and disgraceful. Merrick explains that he hopes that medical science will progress enough to cure Treves of his condition in 20 years. The woman, aghast, calls this unacceptable. Merrick replies, “Had we caught it early, it might have been different. But his condition has already spread both East and West. The truth is, I am afraid, we are dealing with an epidemic” (62). Merrick adds another piece to the church. The women exit. Treves is startled awake.

In Merrick’s room, Merrick and Bishop How are praying, unheard. The bishop is gesticulating, and Merrick is down on his knees. Treves stands outside, joined by Gomm. Gomm comments on Merrick’s unwavering pursuit of religion. They discuss a report that Treves has sent to Gomm. Merrick is dying, although Merrick doesn’t know it yet. Both men agree that this is not surprising. Gomm “shall be sorry when he dies” (63), noting that Merrick had brought a lot of money and prestige to the hospital. Also, Gomm adds, he likes the man. Bitterly, Treves spits that Merrick’s heart could fail at any moment, even now as he gets up off his knees. Gomm questions Treves’s anger and Treves explains the unfairness and illogic of the situation. The more Merrick became a part of society, the more he developed and refined himself, becoming more and more socially acceptable, the more his illness worsened. Treves opines, “He—it is just a mockery of everything we live by” (64). Gomm either doesn’t hear or doesn’t understand what Treves is saying, so Treves demurs, assuring Gomm that nothing is wrong.

Gomm tells Treves that he ought to be happy. This experience has bolstered Treves’s reputation so much that he will be in high demand, becoming the doctor to kings. Gomm exits. The bishop enters, pleased to say that Merrick’s religious education is coming along, and he believes that Merrick might like to be confirmed. Treves comments, “He is very excited to do what others do if he thinks it is what others do” (64). Bishop How asks if Treves believes that Merrick’s faith isn’t real. Treves explains that everyone is seeing themselves in Merrick even though none of the reflection-seekers are similar to one another. Treves adds, “I conclude that we have polished him like a mirror, and shout hallelujah when he reflects us to the inch. I have grown sorry for it” (64). Like Gomm, the bishop expresses that he doesn’t understand everything that Treves has just said. Treves launches into a monologue about the patients he sees. The ones in the poor ward are destroyed by lives of labor, but Treves treats them so they can hurry back to work. The wealthier patients are destroying themselves with excess. They knowingly wear corsets that damage their bodies for the sake of fashion. They eat and drink too much. And the wealthier the patient, the more resources they have to devastate their bodies.

Treves has concluded that everyone is living as if they want to die. Science is no longer a comfort, and he feels as if no one but him is seeing this happening. The bishop reiterates that he doesn’t understand but offers religion as a source of comfort and consolation. Treves replies, “I am sure we were not born for mere consolation” (65). The bishop counters by pointing out Merrick and his happy existence. Wildly, Treves describes his picture-perfect family and life and the immaculate garden they keep, wondering if pruning and controlling nature is all they can do. Again, the bishop is perplexed. Treves asserts haltingly that they have taken care of Merrick without acknowledging that he is “dangerously human” (66), and what the bishop finds delightful about Merrick is his malleability and the way he presents himself as a vessel to be filled, devoid of his own hopes, dreams, and demands. Bishop How still does not understand. Breaking down, Treves cries, “Help me” (66) and begins to sob. The bishop soothes him. In his room, Merrick stands and adds one more piece to the church, announcing, “It is done” (66).

Alone in his room, Merrick stares at his completed model. Snork enters with a lunch tray, chattering about the spring gardens and suggesting that Merrick take a walk. Outside, there is the plodding march of a funeral procession. Snork explains that his friend’s healthy 28-year-old sister had died suddenly. The sister had cared for the friend’s ailing wife. Now the wife is better, but the sister is dead. Snork tries to recall the right word to describe the situation when something is “chance-y” (67) but gives up and leaves. Merrick eats a few bites. Then he goes to his model, polishing it with his breath. Merrick gets in bed, positioning himself in the sitting-up position in which he has to sleep, his knees drawn up and his head resting atop his knees. To himself, Merrick asks, “Chancey?” (67) Then he falls asleep. The microcephalic women (the “Pinheads”) enter, announcing themselves as “the Queens of the Cosmos” (67) and singing a song about darkness and sleep. They stretch Merrick’s body out into a prone sleeping position. His head falls back too far, and Merrick struggles briefly, his hands scrabbling at nothing, and then dies. Snork enters, proud to announce that the word he was searching for is “arbitrary” (68), but then he notices Merrick. Snork shouts out, “Hey! Hey! The Elephant Man is dead!” (68).

Gomm reads aloud the letter that he has written the Times as an obituary for Merrick. Treves listens, correcting Gomm when he refers to John Merrick as Joseph. The letter reminds readers of Gomm’s first letter to the paper about Merrick, which had inspired an outpouring of donations (although there was no offer for alternative accommodations outside of the hospital), amounting to enough money to support Merrick for the duration of what was expected to be a short life. Treves interjects, commenting that the coroner determined that Merrick was asphyxiated by the weight of his head on his windpipe. Gomm continues, summarizing that everyone at the hospital had worked to make Merrick happy and comfortable, and he had received visits and friendships from some of the most powerful people in the country.

Despite this attention, Merrick had remained humble and gracious, “conform[ing] readily to the restrictions which were necessary” (70). Gomm asks Treves for input and Treves starts to talk about Merrick’s intelligence, his sensitive nature, and his unfortunate dreams of romance, but stops himself, stating, “Never mind. I am really not certain of any of it” (70) and exits. Gomm goes on, explaining to readers that he wants those who donated to be aware of how their money was spent and to inform them that Merrick has died. Additionally, the leftover donations will go to the hospital, which he presumes is what those who donated would want. Gomm thanks contributors for helping the hospital to give a few dignified and comfortable years, from 1886 until 1890, to a man living a previously miserable life. He signs the letter. Treves reenters, stating that he does have something small to add to the letter, but Gomm says, “It’s too late, I’m afraid. It is done” (71).