The Elephant Man
Few pieces have had the ability to move me like Sir Frederick Treve’s The Elephant Man. The underlying themes of beauty, body image and self acceptance as well as ‘what is normal’ in the story are universal and easily speak to humanity’s innermost fears. John Merrick’s gross deformities created a world that none of us would ever wish to travel, a path of rejection, sorrow, abandonment and isolation which marked his existence until his eventual rescue by the man who initially came to study him as a scientific abnormality for teaching purposes. In the beginning of the story, I wasn’t sure that he would prove any more beneficial to John. As the story unfolds, Treve’s sincerely draws out the man inside the deformed body.
John’s physical form was grotesque, and in a world that idolizes beauty, people ran from him. Growing up, we all face feelings of rejection for our body’s appearance and struggle to conform, and even stand out. His deepest desire was to be a normal person. But this raises the question, what is normal? John’s mind lived in a fantasy world where he could be anything he wished, a coping device which I can closely identify with.
We see the disabled every day, a young woman by the name of Stephanie who lives with cerebral palsy comes quickly to mind. She attends my Wednesday class, coming slowly through the door in her wheel chair. Always smiling and happy to contribute, I admire Stephanie for her quick humor, and sweet personality. I take notes for her because she cannot write, and her easy acceptance of her condition and thankfulness brings me to quiet shame. I know that I would struggle accepting that someone even had to take notes for me. However, in doing this, I have gotten to know a little about Stephanie and what brought her this far. What, I wonder, does she dream of doing, or did she dream of doing that she, a young woman, will never experience?
John’s predicament was similar. John was robbed of the ability to smile, laugh or communicate with the average man. He was unable to develop a romantic relationship, although he was of the age to long for one, and was faced with women who screamed and ran who came upon him unexpectedly. How devastating this must have been for him, and to the many who are afflicted with some form of disfigurement, or burn victims who must finish out their lives forever scarred. We tolerate them, or exclude them, but seldom listen or draw them into our fold. They are “different.” But this tale reveals the unique and sweet spirited soul of a man not ruined by his banishment or suffering, but indeed a glowing testament of human suffering, intelligent, hopeful and grateful for the good that is given.
This story reminds me strongly of Flowers for Algernon, which I read as a young woman, and the similar emotions Charlie’s journey due to the experiment that was supposed to bring him to normal intelligence brought to the forefront. The deep desire to be like the world around them, Charlie and John taste just a little bit of the world which has previously excluded them and abused them. The desire to be loved and accepted burns deeply within their hearts, just as it does in ours. They, too, long for human touch.
The reaction that we read when Treve’s female friend comes to see John and takes his hand in kindness reveals the deepest desire we feel from birth, to be touched and accepted. It amazes me that John didn’t develop “failure to thrive” as starved for touch as he was. He broke down and wept inconsolably. In my marriage to my ex-husband I felt the waste land of no acceptance, and absence of a kind touch. The lack of ate into my innermost being, and when I was fortunate enough to leave the relationship and find a kind man I, too, remember weeping like a baby. The lack of touch starves the heart of nurturing healing that day to day trials call for. A constant diet of cruelty combined with an absence of loving touch is enough to destroy even the strongest of men.
Body image is another theme that runs through this story. John’s grotesque features, a face that cannot smile or show human expression, robbed him of the ability to communicate freely with the world and sets him on a plane that is lower than his peers, but inside these features lived a man with rich dreams and thoughtful musings, revealed by his letters to the doctor while on vacation when he was allowed to wander freely through the woods and pick flowers.
Body image is integral to our self esteem and the ability to feel good about whom we are, but there is little hope of that for one such as John. I recall looking in the mirror after my car accident where my nose was badly broken and my face lacerated in two places by glass wondering if I would ever look the same, and what it might do to my acceptance from others. The following days as my eyes were blackened and I was forced to get surgery, I had trouble facing crowds in stores and worried that the scars would permanently remain. The unwanted stares and attention made me inwardly cringe and I grew tired explaining what happened. That brief experience was enough to give me appreciation for all that I’d been previously blessed with. As the scar healed, and after a second surgery, improved, I remember the lifting of the burden as it no longer became a topic of conversation with every new person I came in contact with.
John’s brief life as a societal oddity is a poignant testimony of a spirit unsoiled but remaining true in the face of incredible obstacles. We should be so fortunate to face our most difficult trials with such admirable strength and fortitude.
